"Our goal is to get to know our neighbours and give our neighbours an opportunity to know us better," said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal.
You don't need an invitation to visit a mosque: they are open to the public. But many non-Muslims view Islam as a faith shrouded in mystery, said Ahmed Chihane, president of the Islamic Centre of Verdun, a small mosque in a nondescript building.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding about Islam in this country and in the West," Chihane said. "It is an occasion to explain to people, non-Muslims particularly, what is Islam."
Twelve mosques from Laval to the South Shore and from Vaudreuil to Montreal East are taking part in the open house, which will give members of the public the opportunity to observe prayers and ask questions.
The 2001 census, the last one to examine religion, counted 100,000 Muslims in the Montreal area. Since then, the number of local followers has ballooned to 225,000, according to the Muslim Council of Montreal.
A popular misconception about Islam is that it is associated with gender inequality, Elmenyawi said.
"Men, women, black, white, rich, poor: everyone is equal," he said, pointing out that Islamic law has guaranteed women's right to own property for 1,400 years. "Islam is probably the only religion that brought this kind of equality from Day One," he said.
Another negative stereotype about Islam is that it condones violence, Chihane said. "The word Islam comes from peace," he said. "In the Quran, there are many verses that talk about peace."
People in the West often mistakenly assume that most Muslims are Arabs, which is far from the truth, Elmenyawi said. In fact, only 300 million out of 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide are Arabs, he said.
Dispelling such misconceptions and fostering friendly relations are the goals of the open house, Elmenyawi said. "Our job is to bring those barriers down and build bridges."
Visitors are asked to dress modestly and remove their shoes inside the mosques.
Source: Montreal Gazette