Response To Mosque Invitation 'Overwhelming'

David Proeber

The Pantagraph

Organizers of an open house at a Bloomington mosque have stopped taking reservations because of "overwhelming" response from people wanting to attend.

"We are overwhelmed,"  said Mohammed Zaman, president of Masjid Ibrahim, which has been serving the Twin City Muslim community since 2007. "We are astounded by the response from the community, the support."

The community's interest is prompting the mosque to hold another open mosque day at a future date to be determined.

"Because we are just starting to see the overwhelming response, we need to sit down and figure out another date," Zaman said Wednesday. "We definitely will keep everyone posted as soon we have that new date."

Residents wanting to attend the event from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday were asked to RSVP, and by Wednesday morning more than 200 people had responded, Zaman said.

But because of the mosque's size, attendance was limited to 100 people.

"We don't have a lot of room in the mosque," said Zaman. "It's not a very huge place, but we are trying our best to accommodate as many as possible."

The mosque already had 60 people signed up to attend the open house prior to a Pantagraph story on Tuesday about the event.

"The morning the story came out, within an hour we had 20 more people sign up," said Zaman.

At a Dec. 16 interfaith community solidarity event in Bloomington, spearheaded by Not In Our Town, Zaman promised to invite the public to an open mosque day.

More than 250 people attended the rally that was held to show support for the local Muslim community in response to anti-Islamic rhetoric that surfaced in the United States, especially after the terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif.

In return, local Muslims decided to open the mosque to the public for an event to show their hospitality and give non-Muslims an opportunity to better understand the Islamic faith.

"For us, we pray in the mosque without any chairs," said Zaman. "We sit on the carpeted floor, but for the guests coming in we are bringing in chairs so they will be comfortable.

"Although the space in the mosque is small, there is a lot of space in our hearts that we can open up." 

Interfaith Event Rallies Twin Cities Toward Support, Inclusivity

An estimated 250-300 Twin Cities residents gathered on the steps of the McLean County Museum of History Wednesday night to stand up against religious intolerance.

“We are all Muslims tonight. We are all Christians tonight. We are all Jews tonight. We are all members of the same community tonight,” proclaimed Michael Gizzi, co-organizer of a Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal-sponsored rally at the former courthouse.

The candle-lit event, aimed in large part at demonstrating solidarity with community Muslims at a time of heightened political controversy and campaign rhetoric, was also sponsored by First Christian Church, New Covenant Community, the Presbytery of Great Rivers interfaith group, and Moses Montefiore Temple in collaboration with the Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal and Masjid Ibrahim mosque.

Speaking at the rally -- characterized by Bloomington City Council member and NIOT leader Karen Schmidt "an amazing expression of the best in our community" -- were Mayor Tari Renner; the Rev. Kelley Becker of First Christian Church; the Rev. Bob Ryder of New Covenant Community; Gizzi, moderator-elect of Presbytery of Great Rivers; interim Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe of Moses Montefiore Temple; Brother Mohammed Zaman, president of Masjid Ibrahim; Sherheryar Muftee of the Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal; and NIOT member Mike Matejka.

"To our Muslim friends and neighbors, we stand with you as we would stand for ourselves," Dubowe said. "In 1939, during the horrors of the Holocaust, it was said that we let fear win. Today, we cannot make the same mistake."

"Honestly, this is a night I haven't experienced before," said Zaman. "I am so humbled and so overwhelmed to see these lovely faces on this chilly evening supporting the Muslim community of Bloomington-Normal.

"As a citizen of the United States and a member of this blessed community, and on behalf of Twin-City Muslims, I sincerely convey from the bottom of my heart our deepest condolences to the victims and their families who are affected by the heinous acts of extremists throughout the nation and the world at large.

"We very strongly condemn the acts of violence," added Zaman. "The people who commit these violent acts ... embarrassing this peaceful religion and making a bad name for Islam, we denounce you totally and unequivocally."

Sheheryar Muftee with the Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal said it was great to see so many people come out and support the cause.

For WMBD's coverage of the event, go to http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/twin-cities-hold-interfaith-rally-for-peace

“It’s just overwhelming that we have folks here in our town and in our country that support the minorities the way that is meant to be enshrined in our constitution,” Muftee said.

Normal Community High School teacher Kelly Keogh said it’s important to battle back against the hateful rhetoric towards Muslims.

“I think it’s important that we do, when you hear statements like that and these flippant statements when people say such hateful things, that we do stand together and say, ‘Not in our town.'”

The rally was not confined to Christian, Jewish, and Muslim viewpoints: Normal Community High School student Aishwarya Shekara decided to give up some time studying for finals to stand Wednesday night in a show of solidarity with the Twin City Muslim community.

"I have finals today, tomorrow, Friday ... but this is important," said the 16-year-old Indian-American, who is Hindu.

"I think it's amazing that we can support our community members, especially with everything that is going on and people feeling so scared. Like all of this fear — we need an outlet. We need to be able to educate ourselves and others."

"Nobody came to protest us. It's nice to see everyone coming together for such an important cause," said Normal Community West High School senior Ceil Steinbacher-Kemp. "I think this is a really good town because there is not a lot of, at least, open backlash."

Mary Broad, 88, of Bloomington, attended with her son, Bob Broad, and grandson, Dylan Hile-Broad.

"I wanted to demonstrate that there are people who are not as irrational toward Muslims or others that we hear about in the news," Mary Broad said.

"I will admit that I am generally an apathetic person, but a lot of the rhetoric leveled at minorities and Muslim Americans, in specific, is very, very deeply worrying," Hile-Broad added. "It really crosses the line."

Contributions from The Pantagraph, WJBC, and WMDB TV. Photos from Mike Matejka, Michael Gizzi, and Darlene Miller.

Multi-Faith Activism: Unplugging the Peace Process

Jewish, Muslim, and Christian peacemakers from Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Galilee will gather at Illinois State University to talk about what happens when the peace process stalls.

Eliyahu McLean, Ghassan Manasra, and Jiries Mansur will give a talk titled Multi-Faith Activism When the Political Peace Process Stalls: An Evening With International Peacemakers at 7 p.m. October 20, in the Prairie Room of the Bone Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The three are members of Abrahamic Reunion, a multi-faith group of peacemakers from Israel who seek to use religion as a force for peace. McLean is an Orthodox Jew from Jerusalem, co-founder of the Abrahamic Reunion, and director of the peace organization Jerusalem Peacemakers. Manasra is an ordained sheikh in the Qadiri Sufi Order of Islam, and director of the Peace Center in Nazareth. Mansur is a Christian Arab and deacon in the Greek Orthodox Church, and principal of a middle school in the Arab village of Kfar Rame in the Galilee.

“The Abrahamic Reunion represents something that is rarely seen when people think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict–the cooperation and willingness to work for peace across faiths that occurs in Israel and Palestine,” said Associate Professor Michael Gizzi, who worked with McLean when he visited Jerusalem last winter to lay the foundation of a possible study abroad class. “Bringing the peacemakers to Illinois State University provides our students and the community with a great opportunity to learn about peacemaking in the Middle East.”

The talk is sponsored by Illinois State University Diversity Advocacy, Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Hillel Student Union, the Presbytery of Great Rivers, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Moses Montefiore Temple, Illinois Wesleyan University’s Evelyn Chapel, the Harold K. Sage Fund, and the Illinois State University Foundation.

For additional information, contact the Dean of Students Office at (309) 438-2008(309) 438-2008. To set up an interview with Michael Gizzi, contact Media Relations at (309) 438-5744(309) 438-5744, or MediaRelations@IllinoisState.edu.

Bill: Compassion Toward Refugees Humanizing Opportunity

Bill Fike

WJBC Forum

Europe, the Gulf States, and the “West,” including the United States, have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to destroy ISIS, with the influx of tens of thousands of Muslim refugees fleeing from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The entire civilized world by humanely and compassionately, accepting these casualties of “radical Islam” into our respected countries, will demonstrate to all Muslims worldwide, that Christians and Jews are not the “Great Satan” as declared by the propaganda spewed out by likes of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Even Pope Francis has recognized the importance of this opportunity, by asking each Catholic Parish in Europe to sponsor at least one refugee family.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced today that the United States will host up to 70,000 worldwide refugees this year, 85,000 next year, and approximate total of 100,000 in 2017. He went on to explain that most of these immigrants will be Syrian.

In order to start their new lives in the United States, all refugees are fingerprinted and must pass both a security check and a medical exam before entering the country.  Upon arrival, the U.S. government expects working age immigrants to find a job within 6 months of arrival.  (Resettlement organizations often have employment specialists to help refugees find employment.)

Through my research*, I also found that our government gives new LEGAL refugees:  housing assistance, Medicaid, food stamps, and a small monetary stipend for at least 8 months to help with their integration into our society (Note: illegal immigrants DO NOT receive such benefits!).  And after one year in our country, a new refugee may apply for the much sought after “Green Card.”

I know my hard line Conservative friends are totally against taking in any Muslim refugees, and I understand their concern. But if these refugees are properly vetted so as to protect our country from possible embedded terrorists, this act of American hospitality and kindness, and the compassion shown by other countries throughout the civilized world, will help plant the seed of ISIS’s destruction in the Middle East, saving many American lives in the long run.

*http://www.refugees.org/about-us/faqs.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Bill Fike owned and operated Winnie’s of Bloomington, Inc., (Winnie’s Menswear) from 1973 until his retirement in May of 2009. Bill also owned Churchill’s Formal Wear, LTD. from 1996 until he sold Churchill’s to James Carroll in March 2007. Bill and Cheryl just celebrated 40 years of marriage this past June 12, 2011 and they have one son, Joseph, and one daughter, Carmen. Bill was in the second graduating class of Illinois Central College in 1971, and then went on to Clark School of Aviation-Flight, obtaining both VFR and IFR flight certificates. Bill has been able to trace his family heritage back to his great, great, great grandfather’s family, A.C. Herron’s, (on his grandmother’s side), who was one of the original settlers of Bloomington.