Open Mosque Day

I officially found a new recruit to check out other faiths in LA! I had been wantint to go the Open Mosque Day being held in Southern California, and found out the week before that one of my friends was interested in going. We decided we would go to a mosque after church the following week (the open mosque day was held on a Sunday).

So when Sunday, October 18 came around, we decided to jump in our car and find a mosque. Only problem was, there was no address on the flier, and the link online didn't show any locations. So we thought we'd just drop by a mosque and see if we got lucky. We went to the one kitty-corner from USC on Vermont and Jefferson (I think), and a very nice man helped us find an address in Hawthorne.

We set off to meet the close-knit community which reminded me of a ward in a small town (or rather a small branch in Russia--we had helped the members in Ulyanovsk plan and host an open house, or day of open doors as it is called in Russian, to invite people from the local community to come find out more about what Latter-day Saints believe in and what we worship). Everyone was so eager to be of help and answer questions. I was really quite impressed with the way they pulled the event together.

After looking at displays on the 5 pillars of Islam, the Quran, and women in Islam, we went into the main room for a presentation. It started with a beautiful little girl reciting/singing a prayer with two older girls. After a few welcoming words, we watched a DVD on Islam and their beliefs. The floor was then open to questions. A few were quite hostile, but those fielding questions did a great job.

The crowning (read ridiculous) comment came from a man who seemed to be some local government official: What a sad, sad state of affairs that your religion can lead to so much violence. I wish I could remember his direct wording--he said it in such an accusatory way, as if Islam was the only religion that had ever evoked God's name in justifying violence. I remember turning and looking at him and suppressing my desire to say, "Really? Have you ever heard of Christianity? Do you really not know what violent acts have been carried out in the name of God by Christians?" But, I let the moment pass and instead raised my hand, thanked the muslim members for the beautiful, informative presentation, and asked what a day was like in the life of an observant muslim.

They explained the prayers and other obligations. I asked about studying the Quran and if that was supposed to be done daily. No, they assured me, trying to make me not think that is so burdensome as that (not realizing I put in between 30 minutes to 1.5 hours daily for my own scripture study and would definitely not be turned off by this idea).

They also tried to explain how there was a division early in Islam over who should lead--a relative of Muhammad, or if the person should come from the voice of the people. This led to the different practices of Islam. A woman sitting next to me turned to a guy behind her and said, "Well doesn't that sound familiar?" Which made me start--I had just been thinking that! It sounded much like the debate that went on in the LDS Church when Brigham Young became prophet. "Are you LDS?" I wanted to ask, but never quite got the chance. I found out later she was when I was talking to one of the representatives about traditions in Islam. He told me he had just talked to my other LDS friends and would be doing a presentation at our church (I explained we actually hadn't come with them--it was just a coincidence). Kind of funny how we get drawn to one another!

After the presentation, when we were chatting with representatives eager to answer our questions, Curtis and I were approached by people from a cable news station. They asked me to say a few words about the event, so chances are I had a few minutes of fame that I never really saw. After I made my comments, the camera-man asked if I am on camera often. I told him, no, never. He said I answered perfectly, seemed really comfortable, and did a great job. It was really fun--maybe I will strategically place myself around events where I feel journalists will be and see if I can make a profession out of being an official bystander who witnesses events lol

I ended up talking to a man named Azan, and he introduced me to his beautiful daughter Yasmine. He wanted her to tell me about a typical day in her life. She's in the 7th grade. She said, "I wake up. I eat. I go to school, I talk to my friends, I come home and do homework, and then I eat, and go to bed." It was really cute. Just before she had come over, her dad was telling me how it has really been the toughest on his kids. People at school don't understand why she dresses different, and that she is a normal person. They are faced with a lot of questions. Azan was saying that his colleagues all respect him and his family, and see that they are good people who work hard, but they follow this with--but you and your family are the exception. So sad.

Yasmine said that I could call her Jasmine, that is what the other kids call her. When we went to leave I said, "It's Yasmine, right? So nice to meet you." She beamed that I would call her by her real name. I told her I thought it was a beautiful name and that it was very nice talking with her. After dinner we passed her as she was getting in the car with her mom. She waved goodbye with a big smile on her face as they pulled away.

Dinner was great--it was like BBQing at home with my family. We looked around for an open seat and ended up eating at a table with the Imam and one of the members of the board. The four of us had a great conversation, and they were so hospitable. They seemed grateful to have us, and we were grateful for the warm reception. The Imam told us a little more about their religion, the local community, and even dating traditions in Islam. He asked if Curtis and I had any children. Instead of explaining that we weren't married, we just said that no we didn't, but talked about our families. I think they were surprised that I came from a large family, but so did the member of the board, so we had a great time talking about that.

It was really an amazing experience to go and meet sincere people from the wonderful community in Hawthorne. My roommate Fareed may go back with me on a Friday for call to prayer. I would love to see them again.