THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Masjid held an open house on Saturday to give community members a chance to visit the space and learn a bit about Islam.
Over 25 residents came out for the open house, many of whom had never been in a mosque before, and were able to speak to mosque members, ask questions, and listen to a brief introduction to Islam presented by the Imam while also trying foods from various Islamic countries,
Mosque member Mohamed Elshafei said that members of the mosque really wanted to meet the community, teach them about what Islam really is, and clear up any misconceptions.
“We believe that the image of Islam introduced to do social media is not fair, so we are trying to present Islam as it is,” he said. “And I think if the audience ends with today with like this image, this actual image of Islam, so we are more than happy to to deliver this message only.”
The Thunder Bay Masjid is the only mosque in the city and Elshafei said that while there isn't exactly a large Islamic population in the city, it is growing.
“you can say every week or every month, maybe one person comes to our place to more of them, most of them are interested to see more about Islam and even some of them to actually be with us here in the masjid,” he said.
The event was open to all members of the community and one local resident, Cynthia Cooper, said she came out to meet the local Islam community and learn what the religion is all about.
“I go to a church in the neighbourhood, Saint Michael and all Angels, and I figure that it's good to know our neighbors and to be inclusive of everybody,” she said.
“And and I really don't know a lot about this religion and the church, and I thought this was my opportunity to come and meet the people, and so far, as I was coming in, a wonderful gentleman just answered a couple of my questions and directed me in the right place, and I've so far enjoyed it.”
Elshafei said that they're planning on having more open houses in the future and more information about dates and times can be found on the mosque’s Facebook page.
