Islamic Center hosts Open Mosque Day

NAPERVILLE, IL: The unseasonably cold, rainy April day did not dampen the enthusiasm of the guests as they poured into the Islamic Center of Naperville (ICN) to attend the Open Mosque Day hosted by the Islamic Center on April 15.

They walked in from the cold to a warm, friendly welcome by about 80 volunteers from ICN who have been working tirelessly over the past few weeks to make this a successful event.

“We really enjoy hosting our friends and neighbors from different faiths and we strive hard to make their visit to our mosque a memorable one” said Shoaib Khadri, ICN president.

“This is our sixth Open Mosque Day and we saw a significant number of new people, which was very welcoming. The primary purpose of the event was to give people of different faiths an opportunity to visit a mosque, something they may have never had a chance to do, and learn more about their Muslim neighbors.”

The 800-odd guests included students, church groups, elected representatives, school board officials, law enforcement officers, local girl scout troops, families with kids, and the elderly across various faith denominations.

The format of the Open Mosque Day (OMD) was similar to the previous similar events with the main booths and food in the gym, the congregational prayers in the prayer halls, and presentations in separate rooms. A new addition to this year’s OMD was an inspirational gallery showcasing beautiful exhibits with verses of the Quran as well as Hadith –the sayings of Prophet Mohammed.

All the booths were laid out along the periphery of the gym with a large open area in the middle for people to gather, meet with a seating section facing a stage where continuous videos featuring the activities of ICN were played along with some snippets about Islam.

The booth that always attracts a lot of questions was the “Islam and Extremism” booth considering all the negative perception of Islam in the public. The volunteers shared a lot of material that clearly explained that aggression and killing of innocent people were clearly forbidden in Islam and how most violence carried out in the name of religion is actually politically motivated and had no religious basis.

There were booths with free literature on Islam and copies of the Quran for people to take home, including a separate booth with literature in Spanish.

Shahab Sayeedi, a board member of the ICN as well as an active member of the Outreach Committee, presented the basics of Islam and answered guest’s questions.

A new feature called ‘The Feedback Wall’, a large paper mounted board to solicit feedback from the guests, captured the mood of the visitors as many of them penned their thoughts in vibrant marker colors.

Mayor Steve Chirico of Naperville, who spent a fair amount of time interacting with the hosts as well as the guests, commented: “Thank you for being such wonderful community partners.”