Bolingbrook mosque's open house draws hundreds
More than 500 of visitors showed up at the Open Mosque Day at Masjid Al-Jumu'ah Bolingbrook organized by Muslim Association of Bolingbrook (MAB) and partnership with Gain Peace.
The Mosque Open House was held on Saturday, February 18th, 2017 from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Masjid Al-Jumu'ah located at 351 Veterans Pkwy, Bolingbrook, IL 60490
Visitors were welcomed into the Mosque and were first asked to attend the Booth Exhibits in the back hall of the facility. The main event was setup in the actual prayer area of the Mosque. Upon entering the exhibits, the first setup was face painting, balloon twisting, and other kids' activities, followed by the Islamic Artifacts booth. "This is such an amazing experience to see so many people appreciate us for who we are, giving us hugs, sharing their tears, and their words of support," said Asma Misbahuddin who was one of the coordinators. "This will always be a very special and memorable day for me and I can't wait for the next event," she said.
"The goal of the Open Mosque Day is to dispel the myths surrounding Muslims and Islam and creating an environment for direct interaction, fostering relationships while enjoying delicious foods". Said President Anwaar Khan, Muslim Association of Bolingbrook
The event that was attended by many officials, including Bolingbrook Mayor, Mr. Roger Claar, Congressman Bill Foster and other State & local officials
The community member Ashfaq Hussain Syed Said "The purpose of the Open House to Promote Message of Harmony, Peace and Clear Misconceptions, Build Bridges between all the religion and community".
"The whole purpose of Open House Day is to introduce ourselves and our community, our religion, our culture to other brothers and sisters from different faiths and backgrounds" An event advisor Mr. Shaikh Omar Haqqani said.
"We need to get to know our neighbor each other, to sit down with each other," Dr. Sabeel Ahmed.
The program was competently emceed by Aimer Abdul Jaleel. The Program started with recitation of Qur'an by Fauzaan An-Nadawi and English translation by Nada. A Young college student Muryam Quadri presents an informative speech about An Exemplary Woman of Islam.
Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, Director of the Gain Peace outreach program, who was the main Speaker of the day, gave an overview of the religion of Islam, covering such topics as Woman's Rights in Islam, Jihad, Sharia Law, etc.
At the end one of the Open House Day visitor Adam Said "I loved the Dr. Sabeel Ahmed presentation and learned so much. I will join more open houses next time. I wanted to learn more and find out more".
The program was very well organized, prestigious and enjoyed by the attendees and will be remembered. Volunteer's team was behind the successes. some name were Iqbal Jafer, Sonia Hasan, Mir Saud Ali, Mir Asaad Ali Yaadullahi, Awais Chaudhry, Zulfie Ahmed, Shahbaz Lateef, Farhan Ahmed, Akhtar Khan, Mahfooz Khan, Omer Haqqani, Syed Ismail Ahmed, Salman Faiz, Kiran Malik, Sr. Najm, Sara Barday and many others.