Delta mosque holds ‘Meet Your Muslim Neighbours’ session in wake of New Zealand attacks

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DELTA (NEWS 1130) – “Meet Your Muslim Neighbours” was the theme of an open house and Q&A session at the Baitur Rahman mosque in Delta on Sunday afternoon.

About a dozen people attended, including Jean Thurley, who says it’s her first time inside a mosque.

“I don’t really understand any of it, but I do feel really hurt that so many people were injured in Christchurch,” she says. “I think that it behooves us all to pray for everybody in any church.”

Kate Turner, an Anglican Christian visiting the mosque, says she knows little about Islam but came to learn and offer support following the New Zealand mosque shootings.

“Innocent people, innocent children that haven’t done a thing wrong in their life, just praying and were gunned down like that,” she says. “It hurts me, it hurts us all, because we’re all human beings and this shouldn’t be happening.”

Imam Tariq Azeem offered his expertise to curious visitors.

“In a society where there are many fears, misconceptions growing about our faith, our faith Islam, it becomes necessary that we try to create awareness that our religion is actually a religion of peace,” he says. “If anyone is doing otherwise, they’re not following the teachings of their faith.”

He says the doors to the mosque are always open. He hopes to bring more awareness about Islam to the community.

“If that awareness is created, if we are educated about each other’s teachings, each other’s faiths,” he says, “Then we will not have incidents happening, [of] the kind we just witnessed in New Zealand.”

Thurley and Turner say they have much to learn about Islam, but they know enough to reject violence against Muslims.

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