Alqassam Mosque in Tampa, Florida opens its door to community

Sunday 14 Feb 2016 - 11:11 Makkah mean time-5-5-1437

he Islamic Community of Tampa held an open house at their mosque for people to come and learn more about the Islam and how the Muslim community is part of the broader community. Image from TBO

Tampa, Florida (IINA) - Members of a mosque in Tampa, Florida in the United States are hoping to bridge the gap between Muslims and the rest of the community by combatting stereotypes and starting conversations, The Tampa Tribune (TBO) online news reported.
On Saturday, Alqassam Mosque hosted an open house, inviting people to come, ask questions and find out more about Islam.
Mohammed Sultan, a retired imam, said a lot can be done to knock down cultural fences and dispel cultural stereotypes in a simple conversation.
“We are neighbors. We live and work together everywhere,” he said. “It’s nice to know each other and it’s sad that we try to separate ourselves because of race or religion.”
Tampa Bay area residents were invited to the mosque on Saturday to speak with Muslims, observe prayer, share a meal and ask questions. Sultan said in his experience, locals have embraced Tampa’s Muslim population, but he sees how the actions of a handful of extremists can reflect on ordinary Muslims.
“I’ve been here 40 years; my kids were born here, grew up here,” he said. “We want to decrease this tension. The more we meet with people one-on-one the better result we get.”
Maritza Rodriguez of northwest Tampa visited the mosque for the first time. She has read about Islam and is exploring her personal faith, and came to the mosque to get more information.
“When you aren’t familiar with the people of the religion, you don’t know what to do,” she said.
Forty years ago, Adilah Abd Khaliq was in a similar position.
Tampa native Khaliq grew up in a Christian family her sister is even a Christian minister but she always felt something was missing, she said. Someone told her about Islam in the 1970s and she converted. “I wouldn’t trade Islam for nothing,” said Khaliq, now 70.
Since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, Sultan said being a Muslim in America has been complicated. Many Muslims are viewed as foreigners in places they’ve lived their whole lives, and are being blamed for the violent actions others commit in the name of Islam.
In November, two St. Petersburg mosques received threatening, profanity-laced voicemails referencing attacks in Paris carried out by members of ISIS that killed about 130 people. The FBI determined the threats were not credible, and arrested Martin Schnitzler of Seminole for making the calls. Schnitzler entered a guilty plea on Friday to a charge of obstructing people in the free exercise of religious beliefs.
In the calls, Schnitzler threatened to put together a militia to bomb the mosques and shoot people because he was tired of terrorism. If convicted Schnitzler could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Sultan said the mosques take safety precautions in the aftermath of such threats, but Muslims won’t stop practicing their faith because of them.
“It’s sad, you know, because this was influenced reaction for what happened (in Paris),” he said.
They’re also a reminder about how events like Saturday’s open house are important.
“Hopefully this is the first step, not the last one,” Sultan said. “A simple five-minute conversation might change everything.”
SM/IINA

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