Mosque opens doors to fight ignorance
‘We’re all one humanity learning from each other’
The Hamilton Downtown Mosque is within walking distance of Tolani Makanjuola and Calvin D’Souza’s home.
And while the couple had been eager to visit the York Boulevard space since moving to Hamilton a few months ago, they had not found the perfect time.
Until, that is, the downtown mosque’s “open doors” event on Saturday.
“It was just something we knew we would do, and since they were having an open house, we were like, ‘What better day to go?’” said Makanjuola.
“It makes for a great opportunity to get to know our neighbours and form relationships with them,” added D’Souza.
Saturday’s open house offered a chance to tour the mosque, listen to speakers, watch entertainers and browse booths featuring calligraphy and henna.
The mosque, which moved to York from Wilson Street in 2015, has been holding the “open doors” event twice a year to offer a chance to learn about Islam and for neighbours to meet, said Muhammed Ebrar Aydin, one of the lead co-ordinators of the open house.
“I would say the primary purpose of the event basically is to tackle ignorance,” he said.
“It’s not necessarily in regards to people not knowing about Islam — it’s also about Muslims learning about who their neighbours are as well.
“It’s a dialogue.”
While the mosque’s doors are always open to the public, Cara Aydin — the event’s other lead co-ordinator — recognizes showing up and asking questions might be intimidating for some people, hence the importance of Saturday’s event.
With recent world events, it’s particularly important to have conversations to address misconceptions some may have about Islam, she said.
“Islam is portrayed as something very foreign, but rather Muslims feel just as much Canadian as they do Muslim — it’s something that goes very comprehensively together,” she said.
Tragedies like the mosque shootings that killed 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, don’t change the meaning of events like the one held Saturday — the core message is still the same — but the climate can increase the turnout, Muhammed said.
The easiest way to “start wars” against people is to “dehumanize” or “otherize” them, he said, so he hopes the weekend event will serve as a “reference point” for attendees.
“When they go around in their lives and maybe their coworkers or their friends might make some sort of racist comment ... they’ll have this event as a reference, and they can say, ‘You know what, I actually went to the mosque and it’s not what you’re saying,’” he said.
During Saturday’s program, Imam Kamal Gurgi of the Hamilton Downtown Mosque spoke to those gathered about how ignorance is the “No. 1 enemy.”
Islam promotes tolerance, coexistence, love, brotherhood and sisterhood, he said.
“Islam calls for peace,” he said. “Islam never calls for acts of violence.”
Gurgi said the frequency of gatherings at the mosque and other sacred spaces like churches, synagogues and temples should be increased as a way to combat ignorance.
Before visiting the mosque Saturday, Makanjuola and her husband, who are both Christians, had been considering stopping by for dinner during Ramadan.
Now they definitely will, she said.
“We’re hoping to just build friendships at that time,” said Makanjuola, who was born in a Muslim family.
“At the end of the day, we’re all one humanity learning from each other.”