Members of Calgary’s Muslim community hosted an open house at a mosque in the northwest neighbourhood of Ranchlands on Sunday in an attempt to remove misconceptions regarding their faith.
The event was in response to recent vandalism targeting mosques in Queensland and Ranchlands.
“We were a little bit sad but, at the same time, we wanted to make sure that we do our part in terms of positive messaging and making sure that everyone understands what Islam is about,” said Mansour Shouman, media and youth director with the Muslim Council of Calgary. “(The vandalism) doesn’t represent what we are as Calgarians at all.”
Shouman says there is a myth related to Muslims in Canada that he hopes to dispel “That Muslims live in their own isolated areas and that they’re not part of the Canadian society at large.”
“We want (Calgarians) to see that Muslims are like all Canadians. They’re doctors, they’re engineers, and they’re public service workers.”
Sunday was the first time Brenda Piehl had set foot inside the mosque.
“It’s good to see the diversity within Calgary and I’m very hopeful that more and more people will become open to other religions and everything,” said Piehl. “I think this is wonderful that they’ve opened up their doors to us.”
"They're so welcoming."
Beenish Khurshid, the director of youth, women and communications at the Islamic Association of Northwest Calgary, was encouraged by the turnout.
“Calgary is a great place to live,” said Khurshid. “I’ve lived here for over nine years and the people, they’re very friendly and they’re very loving. They want to know and they want to talk and that’s really what this event is about here today.”
Nearly 200 people, Muslims and non-Muslims, took part in Sunday’s open house that included the sharing of food from several cultures.
With files from CTV's Kathy Le
