“This country is not united by faith, and it shouldn’t be divided by faith.”
Those were the words spoken to a standing room only audience at the Islamic Center of Northern Virginia located in Fairfax Saturday evening by one of the center’s Imams, Souheil Ghounouchi. He was referring to the recent uptick in anti-Muslim sentiments resulting from the December killings of 14 people in San Bernardino, Ca by a husband and wife who sympathized with ISIS and exacerbated by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent call to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
The event, hosted by the center, was an open house for people of all backgrounds and religions to come and “meet your American Muslim neighbors”. Guests were treated to an array of food representing several countries from the Middle East and Northern Africa and a chance to intermingle with Muslims who they might not so do in their everyday lives in hopes that knowledge breaks down ignorance leading to greater harmony among people of all faiths. Speakers representing the American Muslim community also addressed the misconceptions about Islam and its followers.
“We are humans before anything else. We all just strive to be better humans, to be better citizens before anything else,” Fadia Ayoubi, a native of Syria, told the audience. “We do share humanity. We are humans before anything else. The Holy Book says we have to get to know each other in order to co-exist.”
The center’s President, Dr. Muhammad Farooq, said the idea of the event was in the planning stages for sometime, but felt the current climate in our country made it necessary to hold it sooner rather than later.
“It’s an open mosque. Anybody can come anytime,” Dr. Farooq stated. “We have fears just like they have their fears. We are not extremists. America’s constitution is probably closer to the Qur’an and teachings of the Qur’an than any country I know of.”
Dr. Farooq also said this evening’s event would not be the last and welcomes any person or group wishing to visit the center or talk about this issue is welcome. For further information, please visit: http://icnvt.com/.
