Creating dialogue

Imran Tariq hopes a BBQ will help the community better understand the Muslim faith and eliminate negative stereotypes.

The Thunder Bay Mooselim Cultural Institute hosted its first open house Saturday. The family event offered a range of foods, a bouncy castle and a tour of the John Street Masjid. Both high school and Lakehead University students organized the event.

Tariq, who moved to the city three years ago for school, said the Muslim population in the community is small but growing. He believes a big problem is the lack of communication with Muslims and finding out more about the faith.

He said the open house was a chance for their neighbours to come over and talk.

“Muslims are here,” he said. “They come from everywhere and they’re Canadian as well. We’re a very small minority in Thunder Bay. It’s really hard for someone to say ‘hey are you Muslim? Can I ask you a question’. It’s almost embarrassing sometimes. Being a Muslim I’m pretty happy to answer questions or talk to people.”

He said most stories about Muslims in the media are negative, which can give people a bad impression on all Muslims. He argued that many Muslims do good deeds as well but they aren’t often reported.

Organizers of the event also asked Imam Habeeb Ally to speak about the Qur’an and answer questions anyone might have had.

Ally, from Toronto, said the most common questions he gets on Islam is if his faith spreads violence or what role women play in the religion. Having spoken about Islam for a number of years, Ally believes it’s important that a Canadian voice should speak to these issues in an attempt to show the whole picture.

“In Toronto we’re quite diverse,” he said. “You can go to any block or any restaurant and you can see diversity. Statistics show that about 52 per cent of Canadians haven’t met a Muslim. Some of the stereotypes are being reinforced unfortunately. Just like the Bible, the Qur’an teaches us that humans are humans and we don’t see them for whatever shade or colour they bring to the table.”