Hundreds of visitors showed up at the Open House Day at Masjid Al-Jumu'ah
More than 500 of visitors showed up at the Open Mosque Day at Masjid Al-Jumu'ah Bolingbrook organized by Muslim Association of Bolingbrook and partnership with Gain Peace.
The Mosque Open House was held on Saturday, February 18th, 2017 from 12 pm to 3 pm at the Masjid Al-Jumu'ah located at 351 Veterans Pkwy, Bolingbrook, IL 60490
Visitors were welcome and offer to go sent to Exhibits hall first. In side Social Exhibits hall several tables were set up to teach visitors the basics ideologies of Islam and its associated culture, including calligraphy, the hijab, henna tattoos, and Islamic foods from different countries and cultures.
"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 many 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 Mosque Day is to introduce ourselves and our community, our religion, our culture to other brothers and sisters from different faiths and backgrounds" 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 Aamer Jaleel. The Program started with recitation of Qur'an by Fauzaan An-Nadawi and English translation by Nada. Young college Student Muryam Quadri presents a Shot 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. Dr. Ahmed said that Muslims believe that men and women are born with original goodness, not original sin. He also spoke about the message of Prophets Jesus and Moses, being no different than that of Prophet Muhammad's in which the Creator alone is worshiped, rather than His creation. 'The Muslim worship the Creator, not His creation,' he reiterated.
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. Christians and Muslims acknowledge common roots, along with Jews, in the faith of Muhammad, Abraham, Jesus & Moses. As members of one of the monotheistic world religions, Muslims worship and serve the one God with disciplined devotion. All the faith and Muslims believe that God is ever-inclined toward humankind in justice and mercy. Based on this common ground, we celebrate where Christians and Muslims are working together to make God's justice a reality for all people.
One Open Mosque Day visitor Michael said "I loved the Dr. Ahmed presentation and learned so much. We left knowing that we share many beliefs with the Islamic faith and feeling great admiration for and fellowship with the Muslim & Islamic community".
The program was very well organized, prestigious and enjoyed by the attendees and will be remembered. Volunteers from the Gain Peace and MAB teams for making this event a success 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. Najam, Sara Barday and many others.