Dispelling Fears on ‘Open Mosque Day’

Ayisha Macauley pointed to her veil and to the black abaya that covered her from neck to toe.

Then, in a voice choked with emotion, she appealed for understanding to about five dozen members and visitors who had assembled Sunday morning at the Omar Ibn Al Khattab mosque.

“I dress this way for Allah ... not because I’m oppressed,” she said. “I have more power in my house than my husband. Please explain to people who don’t understand why we dress this way.”

The gathering at the downtown Los Angeles mosque was part of the third annual Open Mosque Day, during which about 25 mosques throughout Southern California invited non-Muslims to share in Islamic prayers, food and literature.

But as Macauley’s plea underscored, the initiative to dispel myths and fears about Islam has taken on new urgency in recent days.

International rights groups have raised concerns that the final version of a new Iraqi constitution will hew closely to Islamic law and possibly strip women of rights they have enjoyed in the past.

Though it was planned long before, Sunday’s event also took place less than a week after it was reported that three members of an Inglewood mosque had been arrested in connection with a possible terrorist plot to attack National Guard recruitment centers and synagogues in Southern California.

With images of the July 7 London bombings still fresh in people’s minds, many U.S. Muslims “feel as if they’re being held accountable for the actions of a few,” said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, which began the Open Mosque Day in 2003.

“I got a bunch of e-mails after London saying, ‘Pack up your bags and leave,’ ” he said.

For former Marine Jose Marin, 36, a visit Sunday to the Islamic Society of Orange County mosque in Garden Grove satisfied the curiosity he first felt while part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Marin said he saw many mosques in Iraq but never went inside them.

“Only the [higher-ups] were allowed to go in,” he said. “Every morning we would hear the morning prayers on the loudspeaker. It was interesting.”

At the Garden Grove mosque, there were free literature, guided tours, two lectures on basic Islamic beliefs and refreshments in the social hall for an estimated 200 non-Muslim visitors.

“We are your neighbors,” said Muzammil H. Siddiqi, the society’s spiritual leader. “Please know your neighbors. People have all kinds of strange ideas about Muslims.”

During his lectures, Siddiqi pointed out that although “misguided” Muslims may support terrorism, Islam forbids violence against innocents. He also emphasized theological similarities among Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

One visitor said the event overall had helped her overcome some fears.

“It was enlightening that Islam embraces the other religions,” said Wendy Ulrich, 50, a first-grade teacher from Huntington Beach.

“It has lessened my stress level, given today’s climate -- seeing that this religion is nothing to be afraid of.”

Her husband, Ronald, 53, said the couple decided to attend the open house because they felt the “stereotyping” of Muslims after Sept. 11 had been unjust.

“We came here to put faces to the religion,” he said.

Many visitors said that although they were inside mosques for the first time, they found the experience more familiar than they had expected.

“Their beliefs are similar to ours,” said Robert Bremmer, 49, the bishop of a local Mormon church who brought his wife and three teenage daughters to the mosque.

“It’s the first time we’ve seen the mosque, and it’s very nice,” he said. “They have modest dress, and so do we. They believe in all the prophets, as do we.”

Meanwhile, at the Omar Ibn Al Khattab mosque, Afifa Al-Rawi showed off ornate oil lamps and an inlaid serving plate from her family home in Baghdad as her husband wrote out visitors’ names in Arabic.

Los Angeles physician and ethicist Hassan Hathout, author of “Reading the Muslim Mind,” spoke in the mosque’s meeting room, warning listeners of extremists who might conspire to make Americans hate the Muslims in their midst.

“Don’t take the bait,” he said.