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Kelowna  

Opening the mosque doors

A dialogue was opened between Muslims and non-Muslims Saturday morning, when the Kelowna Islamic Centre opened its doors to the greater community for its Open Mosque Day.

Adnan Bhat, an organizer of the event originally from Indian administered Kashmir, said the UBC Okanagan Muslim Students’ Association hosted the open house to educate people on the Muslim faith, let people know what they believe in, and show people how they pray.

“Ever since 9/11 there has been lots of skepticism about Muslims and Islam, and in order to bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in Kelowna … we’re trying to make some of these initiatives,” Bhat said. “People often fear what they do not know.”

Bhat said the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris played a part in getting them to host the event.

“Those attacks were a catalyst in organizing this,” he said. “After the Paris attacks I was speaking to one of my non-Muslim friends and we invited him for breakfast last Saturday and from that we thought, ‘Let’s have this for everyone.’”

In light of those attacks, Bhat said it’s important for Muslims to not only tell others about who they are not, but who they are.

“It is definitely a responsibility for Muslims to tell others about who we are, not only who we are not … so we can develop this mutual understanding and respect among all faiths.”

Bhat said the reaction so far from the community had been very positive.

“People are very happy to check out the mosque and see what we do and how we do it.”

Amber Lipsett was one such person.

“It was awesome to hear,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about it.”

Lipsett said the more she learns about different religions, the more similarities she sees across them.

“It’s neat to see that out of all the religions I’ve learned, they’re pretty similar, there’s no big, huge differences,” Lipsett said. “I mean obviously the way they carry out their practices are different, but as far as their beliefs they’re pretty on point with everyone else, so it’s neat to see.”

So what does Islam mean to Bhat?

"It is a means for me to connect to the divine reality, to God, in a way that I find spiritually and intellectually satisfying," Bhat said.



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