"If a person asks a question in regards to what the teachings of Islam are with regards to the actions of ISIS, (we explain) these are against Muslims."
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| File photo: Ahmadi Muslims routinely organize open houses on Islam |
Source/Credit: The Whig-Standard
By Ali Wilson | January 21, 2016
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association will be making a stop in Kingston on Saturday as members of the group travel across the country to educate Canadians on the teachings of Islam.
The Holy Qur'an Open House to Demystify Islam, which will be held at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, Turner Branch, from 1 to 5 p.m., is part of the youth association's nationwide campaign. During this campaign, the youth of Ahmadiyya will visit 35 towns and cities across Canada.
Imam Imtiaz Ahmed, imam at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque, says that the open houses are an opportunity to remove misconceptions about the religion, especially with those associated to the actions of ISIS, which he says completely goes against the teachings.
"When we look at the world and some of the actions carried out by so-called Muslims, it creates a perception about Islam that it is a religion of bloodshed and that it promotes violence or hate," Ahmed said. "The campaign is to basically remove those misconceptions that some people might have about Islam and to answer commonly asked questions in a very friendly environment.
"If a person asks a question in regards to what the teachings of Islam are with regards to the actions of ISIS, (we explain) these are against Muslims."
During the past six months, there has been an increase in hate crimes against the Muslim community. Ahmed believes that educating Canadians on the beliefs of Muslims is the solution to ending these crimes.
"Not the majority of Canadians here do it, there is only a small minority who have this perception and we want to remove that. Of course you've seen in the past six months or so there has been hate crimes against Muslims. Mosques are being vandalized -- in Peterborough there was a mosque burnt, and now we have had one unfortunate incident in Ottawa as well. So you are bound to have these perceptions and so it's important to go out, talk to people, and have those misconceptions removed. We believe in education, and we think that by educating people it would certainly help," Ahmed said.
The open houses themselves have seen overwhelmingly positive responses from their hosts, who have been openly accepting, thanking the youth association for taking the initiative to visit their town.
"So far, the response from different townships has been overwhelmingly good. People do come, they have questions to be answered, and they say they appreciate what we are promoting. They also most of the time say thank you; I've never heard of this before," Ahmed said. "When we present these kinds of verses and examples of the profit Mohammed, people are astonished and they say, 'you know we have never heard these things before,' so the response has been very good," Ahmed said.
Ahmed says the cities to which they are reaching out throughout the campaign are mainly smaller centres where it is easier to get the message across. He believes it is especially important that they are visiting Kingston because of the small Muslim community that resides here. Most importantly, the open house Saturday is another step closer for their goal of reaching all of Canadians with their message.
"We would like the residents of Kingston to come and give us a chance to explain what we are doing and hopefully we can remove any misconceptions they have and answer any questions they want to be answered. I will be there, looking forward to meeting a lot of residents and talking to them," Ahmed said.
Read original post here: Canada: Islam education tour stops in Kingston
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