Entertaining and compelling real-life stories. The author is successful
business, real estate, and media entrepreneur Dick Kazan.
Published on July 26th, 2016
Moina Shaiq: And her "Meet A Muslim" program.
Moina Shaiq
Moina is a Muslim and in her "Meet A Muslim" program, she answers
questions about Muslims to ease the concerns many non-Muslims have.
She is also a mother and a grandmother, volunteer counselor to new
immigrants, a Democratic Party activist and a businesswoman in her
Fremont, California community.
But because of terrorist attacks by a tiny percentage of Muslims, Moina
sees fear of and bigotry against all Muslims.
For most people don't know there are over 50 majority Muslim nations in
this 1400-year-old religion, and that Muslims come in all colors and in
many nationalities.
Moina realized what most people really fear is the unknown, and
following the mass killings in San Bernardino, she decided to do
something about it.
"My idea was to sit in a coffee shop and invite people to join me in a
conversation. I called it 'Meet a Muslim' and I put an ad in the
paper."
"The newspaper told me to be prepared for no one to show up. So I
brought my laptop and planned to do some work. But I didn't need it."
"When I got to the coffee shop ahead of time, there were already 20
people waiting there. By the time it was over, there were over 100."
This "Meet a Muslim" program was the first of what has become a regular
well attended event in coffee shops, pizza parlors, schools, houses of
worship and other locales.
A question Moina often receives is why Muslims don't condemn ISIS and
other Muslim terrorists, to which she explains that Muslim
organizations immediately condemn terrorists and their acts.
However, the news media doesn't necessarily report this.
Another common question refers to Sharia law supplanting that of U.S.
law. Moina replies that Shariah law directs Muslims "to obey the law of
the land."
In the end, "Meet a Muslim" events are about people getting to know
people, because so many people fear those they know nothing about,
particularly when the news media fans their fears with sweeping
generalities.
"My goal is to change one person, one heart at a time," Moina stated.
"People need to live together with compassion and acceptance. We Muslim
- Americans are not going anywhere, no one else is either. And we're
all in this fight against hatred together."
Editor's Note: To learn more, please see
http://www.dailygood.org/story/1285/moina-shaiq-and-the-meet-a-muslim-in
itiative-encore-org/ and
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Lively-Meet-a-Muslim-events-s
eek-to-break-down-6814176.php from which today's quotes were taken. To
visit Moina's Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/moina.shaiq
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abandoned children.
