From Fears to Friendships: Local Muslims Share About Islam

Cathartic.  One word said by a participant to describe her feelings about a Community Circle event hosted by the Human Rights Commission.  Last Thursday was no different.  The Muslim Speakers Bureau of Columbia in coalition with the HRC invited the Columbia community to experience this month’s circle discussion entitled “From Fears to Friendship: Local Muslims Share About Islam.”

The event aimed to bring local Muslims and non-Muslims together to foster an atmosphere that enabled people to ask whatever they’ve ever wanted, but were always afraid to ask about Islam.

The evening in the “Friends Room” of the Columbia Public Library was filled with many denominations of faiths and also had those who could happily say, “I’m not affiliated with anything.”

With several small discussion circles around the room, the 40 or so participants nibbled on cookies and talked about their experiences and questions about Islam.  Many of the misconceptions about Jihad and the role of women in Islam were common topics of conversation.

In order to address these issues, the Muslim Speakers Bureau of Columbia (www.msbcolumbia.org), which is a free Islamic knowledge resource, gave a video presentation of clips from a PBS film called “Muhammad: Legacy of the Prophet.”

The interviews in the film caught everyone’s attention, for many of the concerns brought up in the circle groups were answered in the film indeed by a Muslim, but from an unexpected source: a New York City fireman. 

By taking everyone into the homes and workplaces of some of America’s Muslims, the clips absorbed everyone’s attention as it showed how Muslims live by the Prophet Muhammad’s example.  Islam was portrayed in its truest sense: upholding ideals of service to humanity, compassion for the suffering, and respect for all beings.

As one Christian man said, “I didn’t realize how similar Islamic teachings were to Jesus.”

The Human Rights Commission is holding another event on Thursday, December 6 at the Cherry Street Artisan at 6 p.m.  This celebration is an open opportunity for teens to share experiences, feelings, ideas, struggles, hopes and dreams through their artistic expressions of poetry, rap, spoken word, song and music.