austin.twcnews.com: An empty room isn’t always bad thing. To the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, it’s a sign they’re part of Round Rock.

“It’s gotten to that point now to where it’s like, ‘Oh, open house. We already know these guys,'” Usama Malik, the Round Rock mosque was barred from participating in a July Fourth parade because locals thought the group would hold signs decrying America. The Muslim community opened its doors to show they’re the just like their neighbors.

“We are always trying to dispel any kind of misinformation that is out there, and the only way to do that is to open our doors and let people come in,” Muhammed Ahmad said.

The open house worked, and the mosque was let into this year’s July Fourth parade.

“It was actually a blessing in disguise,” Malik said. “They came in, they checked us out and they said, ‘Oh, these guys are just like us,’ so we were in the parade and got real good feedback from it.”

This year, the mosque opened its doors again, asking people to talk to members about Islam, the Islamic State militant group or terrorism because they want to dispel people’s fears.

“We are part of the community, and we want to be inclusive of everyone that wants to experience our way of life as well,” Ahmad said.

And it looks like people have learned that members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community are just normal people.

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