Thousand turns out for Open Mosque Day at Muslim Community Center Chicago
Muslim Community Center, Chicago invited Neighbors for a Mosque Open House on February 19, 2017 from 2-4 pm at 4380 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60641. MCC was established in 1969 and is one of the oldest mosques in the City of Chicago.
The event, organized by the Muslim Community Center Interfaith & Outreach with the partnership with Gain Peace, hopes to encourage members of the public to come and ask any questions about Muslims and Islam and to understand the faith and religion beside negative media coverage.
In the mosque Community hall several booth were set up to teach visitors the basics ideologies of Islam and its associated culture, including calligraphy, the hijab, henna tattoos, and Islamic foods
Visitors to the mosque in Chicago for a regional initiative called Open Mosque Day received guided tours of the center, enjoyed Arabic, Pakistani, Indian and Hispanic food and learned first-hand about a religion that many had only heard about on news media Like CNN & Fox News etc. Several visitors never visited Mosque before. One visitor John Said "I had never met any Muslim Imam prior to visiting their mosque you guys are wonderful".
Visitors came from all over the Chicago land area many came from far Chicago calmly listened to Basic Islam presentations, asked questions, gazed at myriad translations of the Qur'an, learnt culture and enjoyed a sumptuous meal. Visitor came from all the ages different Children Youngster, older and all the ethnic Back grounds
"As a community with different faiths, we can overcome any phobias, misconceptions and misunderstandings," said Imam Nazim Mangera,
Numbers of interfaith groups came from Churches, Synagogue and Temple to support open Mosque day.
Many Visitors had several interesting questions and concerns - Are women allowed to visit & Pray? Why shoes are not allowed in prayer area?
The main program was held in main prayer hall. Guests were asked to remove their shoes and taking a seat inside the mosque prayer room. The emcee was Saarah Bhaiji. Imam Nazim Mangera started Program with recitation of Qur'an with English translation. In the Translation he explains "God have created you all male and female and have made you nations and tribes so that you would recognize each other". The program proceeded with a welcome and thank-you from Mohammad Sarwar Nasir (President) He Said "We welcome you all our door are open for every one during whole year".
Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, director of the Gain Peace project, was the Keynote speaker of the open Mosque. He explains in his presentation about the practices of a Muslim based on the five pillars of Islam: belief in one God, prayer, charity, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca.Dr. Ahmed also provided evidence from the holy book Quran and Prophet's example, historical proof of how the Muslims have lived in peace and harmony with their neighbors.
Four panelists which are include Anjum Ali, Imam Mufti Nazim Mangera, Diana Cruz and Dr. Sabeel Ahmed answered typical and hard topic questions from the audience.
The Open day Mosque was an informative day and many of the guests departed with offering thanks to the Muslims for hosting the wonderful event.