People in downtown Saskatoon had the opportunity on Thursday to learn about Islam via a mobile exhibition.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association launched the Cross-Canada campaign on wheels titled “Islam in Motion: I Am a Muslim, Ask Me Anything.”
“The purpose of this initiative is that … Canadians can come and speak to Muslims first-hand and learn about Islam, because in the recent past, we’ve had a lot of Islamophobic attacks and as (Islamophobia) rises … here in Canada,” said Shahrukh Abid, a missionary with the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Canada.
“It’s been pretty nice. Obviously, we’ve had some hostility but generally, it’s been very, very nice.
“People have been more receptive. They listen to us, they talk to us, they ask a lot of questions. We’ve had a lot of people come to the trailer.”
As part of the campaign, the trailer stopped near city hill for Muslim youth in Saskatoon to have discussions with people to remove misconceptions about Islam.
“I think the most common misconception is that Islam promotes war, that women don’t have equal rights as men, and that Islam is just here to force people to convert. Where that’s not true at all,” Abid said.
“Islam is a religion of peace. And our purpose is just to promote peace and harmony.”
The next stop on the tour is Calgary.
“This trailer is going coast to coast. We’re travelling 16,000 kilometres throughout the country visiting downtowns and city centers to promote this,” Abid said.