Charlottetown: Muslims reach out to Islanders with education

In the wake of perceived threats against a mosque in Charlottetown, P.E.I.’s Islamic community asked Prince Edward Islanders to learn more about their culture Thursday night.

The Muslim Society of P.E.I. invited Jamal Badawi, professor emeritus at Halifax’s St. Mary’s University, to give a lecture at UPEI introducing Islamic culture. About 100 people attended.

“We hope this to be part of a process of dialogue and outreach to people from different faiths and cultures, so that we can share with them our beliefs,” said Zain Esseghaier, a spokesperson for the Muslim Society of P.E.I.

Muslims on the Island celebrated the opening of their first purpose-built mosque this summer, but that opening was marred by several nasty incidents.

Earlier this month, a bottle filled with gasoline was found on the Masjid Dar As-Salam Mosque’s doorstep with a sign that read “Defeat Jihad.” Before that, a truck was set on fire behind the mosque, and one year ago a pig’s head was nailed to a post on the mosque site, which was under construction at the time.

CBC News, 12 October 2012