Fourteen mosques across Montreal will open their doors to the public Sunday to break bread and build bridges, but also to express condolences and support for the victims of the attack on a Quebec City mosque two weeks ago.
It will be the 17th annual Open Mosque Day, said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, but this one will be different.
“You know our mosques are always open for people to come and go, but now we are inviting the neighbours with refreshments and food and people who speak different languages (to act as interpreters) so we can have a dialogue,” Elmenyawi said. “This is something I’ve realized even more — the need for this dialogue after the Quebec City tragedy. Only through dialogue can we reflect and recognize our mistakes.”
In the past, the mosques have welcomed different religious leaders, Elmenyawi said, naming a few off the top of his head: Father John Walsh, Reverend Darryl Gray, Rabbi Michael Whiteman.
They have even served kosher food at the mosques.
And they have always received many visitors who come to send the message that they are connected to the community and have no reservations dealing with the Muslim community, he added.
They come to emphasize shared values.
“Sometimes people ask about Allah — the god of Muslims. And we say it is specifically stated in the Quran that our god and your god is the same. The god of Jesus and David and Solomon is our god, too.”
But Elmenyawi hopes this year to also see people who have never set foot in a mosque before, he said, to dispel some of the myths surrounding Islam and its followers.
“I hope people will come and reflect on what happened in Quebec City and what we can do together to move forward,” he said.
Fazle Elahi Ahmad, of the Masjid Khadijah Mosque in Point-St-Charles, said he was overwhelmed after the Quebec City shooting to receive so many emails and letters and phone calls from Quebecers expressing their condolences and solidarity with the Muslim community.
Six people were killed and 19 injured Jan. 29 when a university student open fire inside the mosque just after the last prayers of the day.
But only four days after the shooting, as the funeral for some of the victims was being held in Montreal, someone threw a brick through the window and vandalized the Masjid Khadijah mosque, an incident Montreal police are investigating as a hate crime. On Friday, Sylvain Gingras, 50 was charged with mischief in relation to the incident.
Ahmad said Sunday will be a golden opportunity to bring the community together after such a difficult two weeks.
Visitors can enjoy an open buffet of oriental food, as well as the opportunity to observe prayers and tour the mosque.
“We can’t ever get anything positive out of violence — now enough is enough,” Ahmad said. “We have to know each other and stay together and make a peaceful world.”
