Visit to KSIJ-Kinshasa by Students from The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK)
On Tuesday, February 10, 2015, Grade 7 students from The American School of Kinshasa paid a visit to our mosque in order to increase their knowledge about our religion. These students were learning about the religion of Islam in one of their subjects at school and requested to visit our mosque to gain a deeper understanding of our religion and to observe the way we pray. Their purpose of the visit was to learn more about Islam, and we took this opportunity to spread the message of Islam and to clear misconceptions many people around the world have associated with this religion.
A short speech on behalf of the KSIJ was delivered to the students upon arrival by Sister Mahek Khwaja. She started the speech with a brief background about the origins of Islam. She then addressed the stereotypes Islam has been associated with in this era. The stereotype that was mainly focused in this speech was the connection people around the world make between Islam and terrorism. Evidences from the Qur’an, some hadiths of the Holy Prophet (saww) were used to prove the justice, fairness, and righteousness of the religion of Islam.
Examples were given to show how Islam forbids these actions of terrorism and how the Holy Prophet (saww) himself discouraged and tried to eliminate these extremist opinions and actions when he saw them in his time.
After the disproving of this stereotype, she talked about how famous movements in the world such as the Human Rights Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement were actually initiated by Islam, and how the world’s knowledge’s basis comes from this religion. The speech ended with a brief background of our mosque and its origins.
After the speech, students were allowed to ask questions. Many students asked questions on the reasons and justifications behind the different rules of Islam, such as why it’s important to wear Hijab, or why it’s important to eat Halal food. The resident Aalim, Maulana Muhammad Rizwan, competently answered their questions.
Their questions proved how many non-Muslims are aware of the rules and traditions of Islam. Their curiosity demonstrated their interest and fascination in our religion. By the end of the question-answer session, the students gained better understanding of Islam and were convinced that Islam is religion of peace and compassion and terrorism has no place in Islam.
The students were served some snacks and were given a tour of the mosque. An explanation was given as to what the Alam is and why we have replicas of the important places in Islam such as the shrines of the holy progeny of our Prophet (saww).
In the sporting and social fields, the students were told about the different tournaments that take place in the mosque complex grounds and talked about the religious classes that are held weekly in the same complex.
After the tour, it was time for Zohr and Asr namaaz. Their visit ended after observing the ablution (wuzoo) method and the way congregation Namaz (Jamaat Namaz) is conducted.
Secretariat
KSI Jamaat of Kinshasa