A group of central Wisconsin Muslims is inviting people to attend an event to learn more about the religion and the people who practice it. The May 2 gathering will feature speakers who will explain the basic tenets of the faith to debunk common misunderstandings, said Asif Hussain, a member of the Marshfield mosque Masjid Al Noor, Marshfield News Herald reports.
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As news of atrocities committed by terrorists in the name of Islam have become prevalent in the media, misconceptions about the religion have grown, Hussain said. The region's Muslims want their condemnation of terrorism to be known, and their religion to be better explained.
"We hope this open house will engage our communities in deliberate discussion to better understand the ideology of Islam and fight extremist ideology and dispel the misconceptions about Islam," Hussain said.
Islam has about 1.6 billion followers across the globe and is both the second-largest and the fastest-growing religion in the world. Because extremist followers are in the news so often, many laypeople think that Islam promotes violence and terrorism, which is not true, Hussain said.
"There are many misconceptions in the media and a prominent one is that Islam is against freedom of speech," he said.
Central Wisconsin Muslims have existed peacefully for years among their neighbors of other faiths with no conflict, Hussain said. The experience of the mosque's members living in and near Marshfield is that the community is welcoming and appreciates the cultural diversity Muslims bring to the area. Hussain said he's also found that since the area is predominantly Christian in faith, many people are curious about Islam.
"We are often asked by individuals and organizations, who are keen to understand Islam in general and Muslim culture, about our belief system," Hussain said.
Among those who want a better understanding are Kathleen Rulka of Marshfield and her husband, Brian Ewert, both of whom attended a similar open house about two years ago at Marshfield's mosque.
"It did expand my awareness of Islam and I plan to go to the next one too," Rulka said. Both she and her husband have backgrounds in religious studies and are naturally curious about other faiths.
"What I will do when going to the next seminar is to approach it with the beginners mind to learn more about their culture," Rulka said. "It's an opportunity to learn about their culture and build community."
Ewert said that history teaches that members of all the world's major religions have used their faith to justify both evil and violence and compassion and hospitality.
"Right now the media is focused on those who do the violence and not as interested in those who show the compassion," Ewert said.
The free event is an outreach project of the GainPeace Project of the Islamic Circle of North America. It was initiated to share Islam with non-Muslims and to clarify misconceptions people may have due to biased reporting in the media, said Adeel Aslam, a member of Masjid Al Noor and one of the event organizers. The event is sponsored by the Islamic Society for Central Wisconsin.
The Holiday Inn was chosen as the venue for the event because space is limited at Masjid Al Noor, Aslam said. As of this week, more than 130 people had registered for the seminar.
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