On Sunday, members of the community got the chance to visit the Islamic Center of Naperville for its Open Mosque Day.
Hope After The Pandemic
“This is the first time we’re actually having it again after COVID. The opportunity is for our neighbors to come and visit the Islamic center of Naperville, find out more about Islam, engage with the Muslim neighbors, and also participate in some really exciting events that we have going on here today,” said Yousuf Siddiqui, chair of the inter-faith committee.
Visitors got to learn about Islamic culture and the Muslim faith.
Specialized Booths
“As people enter they basically get the ability for them to engage with different people, different Muslim people, volunteers who are on different booths,” said Siddiqui.
Displays included a henna tattoo station, an area to try on and learn about hijabs, a spot to write one’s name in Arabic, and a virtual reality experience to see Mecca of 640 AD. There was also a sampling of food from around the world.
Getting Rid Of Stereotypes
Besides offering the chance to learn a bit about another culture, the event also is meant to combat stereotypes.
“I think that’s quite crucial and it does an amazing job at that. Even in the past, we’ve noticed that people said, oh, we didn’t know this, we didn’t understand this. Also, you know, there’s a lot of things that have been in the media in the past, like we should talk about these things like extremism, etc. So we’re here to talk about what the Islamic stance is when it comes to these sorts of issues that are very important for everyone to address,” said Siddiqui.
Naperville News 17’s Anthony Yench reports.
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