August 30, 2015

US residents in southern Wisconsin welcome Janesville's first mosque

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Sunday 30 Aug 2015 - 11:27 Makkah mean time-15-11-1436

(Image from gazettextra)

Janesville, US (IINA) - Breaking barriers in the community, Muslims on Friday have opened the doors of the first mosque in Janesville, in southern Wisconsin, in order to introduce true Islam to visitors, according to Gazettextra news.
“People are worried that Muslims are some type of a threat,” mosque's official Salih Erschen said. “If they don't know about the faith and the practice and the ideas and what Muslims are focused on in life, then that causes a bit a fear, so I always encourage Muslims to open their doors and invite people in and talk about what our faith is and share.
Erschen's open-door policy worked. Several residents experienced Islamic culture firsthand as Erschen shared a short message about social injustice and Allah's role in the world. Erschen's son-in-law Ibraham Jitmoud read from the Qur’an in Arabic and ended the evening by leading Muslims in prayer.
Those gathered included Christians from nearby churches who were curious about the mosque. First Congregational United Church of Christ member Jim Hay has also visited the mosque. 
“We are an open and affirming church, where all people are welcome regardless of your sexual orientation, and we want to build upon that for the future,” Hay said. “I think it's great because we are a diverse culture, diverse area, and we can't ignore, we can't leave out, we can't pick and choose who we want, who we don't want,” Hay said, referring to the opening of the city's first mosque, OnIslam reported. 
“And even if we might disagree, we need to find what it Islam is all about and at least respect it.”
SM/IINA

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