Open Houses Aim to Dispel Muslim Stereotypes

posted on: Oct 17, 2009

Called “Meet your Muslim neighbor,” open houses are to be held today at eight mosques in metro Detroit in an effort to help dispel stereotypes about Muslims. It’s believed to be the first time that local mosques have coordinated together on a one-day event to educate non­ Muslims about Islam.

“When people hear the word ‘Islam,’ they don’t know what to think,” said Rashid Taufiq, 57, of Rochester Hills, who is coordinating the open houses with the Council of Is­lamic Organizations of Michi­gan. “They read about some ter­rorist activity in some other part of the world. They don’t know what to make of a Mus­lim who might be a next door neighbor. … A Muslim is no dif­ferent from any other Ameri­can in this country.”

All are invited to the mosques — men, women and children — to learn more about Muslims and their beliefs. Visi­tors can look forward to having any questions about Islam an­swered, and they can tour the mosques.

The open houses happen to come after a controversial book, titled “Muslim Mafia: In­side the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America,” was released this week. It alleges that a Muslim group, the Council on Ameri­can- Islamic Relations, sup­ports extremism and terror­ism.

Citing the book, four Repub­lican U.S. representatives called on federal officials to in­vestigate the group, which they said was trying to place interns in congressional com­mittees and harm national se­curity.

The book and the state­ments by the Republicans brought criticism from Demo­crats, including U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat. In a statement Thursday, Conyers said that “patriotic Americans of all races, reli­gions and beliefs have the right … to participate in our political process.”

In a statement, CAIR said it was troubling that “elected of­ficials would serve as publicity agents for extremists who seek to bar an American minority from exercising its … rights.”

Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press