Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/we-have-to-band-together-vandalized-pointe-saint-charles-mosque-opens-doors-to-public-1.3967115
‘We have to band together’: Mosque opens doors to public
Muslim community seeks to dispel misconceptions about Islam following deadly attack at Quebec City mosque
Mosques in Montreal opened their doors Friday to show the public what goes on inside and to spread awareness about Islam and the Muslim community.
Elsewhere in Montreal, and across Canada, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community opened their doors.
One of its mosques, the Al-Nusrat Mosque in Montreal North, wanted to dispel myths about Islam.
“We basically want to clear the misconception that there’s something going on,” said Rafi Safdar, the secretary of foreign affairs of the Montreal West Ahmadiyya community.
“We come to Friday prayer to pray, and it’s like any other religion,” he said.
Other members of the mosque’s community said despite what happened in Quebec City, they still feel safe in Quebec and Canada.
Imam Luqman Ahmed said Friday prayer at a mosque is like prayer at any other religious institution. (Jaela Bernstien/CBC)
“They can’t change our thinking. We still feel safe,” Imam Luqman Ahmed said.
“Coming from Pakistan, I just arrived here. They gave us shelter. And from Pakistan, we have been persecuted there.”
A Concordia University software engineering student, Awais Mughal said most of the mosque’s members are immigrants to Canada fleeing persecution.
“So even though this has happened, we still feel safe in Canada, in Quebec,” Mughal said.