Issue date: 10/27/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Christine Soriaga Members of the Muslim Student Association pass out free copies of the Qur'an Saturday at the Masjid Open House. [Click to enlarge]

The public was invited by the Muslim Students' Association to shed their shoes and stereotypes at the door of the Masjid Open House Saturday, to learn about Islam and the Masjid or mosque.

"We throw this event every year and the purpose is to reach out and educate our community about Islam and Muslims," said Muslim Students' Association member Maryam Ahmed.

She said it is a way to reach out and break and shatter the stereotypes people may have and to educate people and create friendly relations and an understanding for a better society.

"There is a lot of misconceptions that people have concerning either the rights of women in Islam or the practices and most importantly who we worship," said the senior math and science education major.

Before entering the mosque, visitors must take off shoes in respect for God. Another practice they preach is to not shake the hand of someone of the opposite sex in respect for their significant other as well as show respect to the person whose hand they may be shaking. They said that if someone meets a Muslim who chooses not to shake their hand, they should not be offended, they are being respectful.

"We take off our shoes as just a matter of cleanliness because when we pray we put our hands and heads on the floor, and obviously socks are cleaner than shoes, I mean who knows what's out there that's being tracked inside," said Mohamad Mouneimne, a sophomore chemical engineering major.

Throughout the event, Islamic students were available to answer questions and there were tables set up with fliers and posters shown around all of the rooms answering questions about the beliefs of the Muslims, who they worship and what they practice. They provided Islamic food and games and provided henna tattoos to visitors.

"Basically we want to show that we are a part of this community as students, professors and professionals. Not many people have had exposure to Islam and they don't know of anything but what they see on the media," said Mohamed Zebda leader of Masjid Open House.

"This was an opportunity to invite our neighbors and get them to see for themselves what Islam is about and for them to learn more about the culture," said the graduate health policy and management major.

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