See also: Not Real Muslims!
An Invercargill Islamic leader has seen a positive shift in peoples’ approach to him and his family since the Christchurch mosque shootings.
He believes there is a still misunderstanding of Islamic religion and is organising an event to share his belief.
Dr Reza-Abdul Jabbar said he has felt tremendous support from the community since the terrorist attack but wants to create more of an understanding of the Islam religion.
Some people refer to Islam as a culture, but it’s a belief, he said.
The Muslim community is growing in Southland and there are two billion Muslims in the world, Jabbar said.
“We owe it to them to put on something like this.”
His event on Saturday, being hosted alongside the Murihiku Islamic Trust, will be an informative Islamic display along with a Qu’ran listening [religious Islam text].
People can also try on and learn about hijabs.
It will be the first time in Southland an event had been held like this, he said.
The event is designed to educate people and create a unity between different cultures and beliefs, Jabbar said.
“I really believe once you spend a bit of time as a community we can live and co-exist in harmony.”
The right information is often not accessible enough which leads to misunderstanding, Jabbar said.
“Why do we need to wait for such a big event to take place before we do something like this.
“Maybe if we had done more we could have prevented this [the terror attacks].”
The event, dubbed Media Islam vs True Islam, will be held at Hansen Hall at the Southern Institute of Technology between 11am to 3pm on Saturday, November 2.
Invercargill Islamic leader to host event to create understanding of religion