Clarington, Ont. mosque opens doors to educate after Qur’an incident

With the recent spike of Islamaphobic incidents in the Greater Toronto Area, a mosque in Durham Region is extending an olive branch.

This comes after the community in Courtice was hurt when a student allegedly ripped a Qur’an during an education session.

Leaders in the Muslim community brought everyone together at A Taste of Ramadan.

“It makes me feel very proud of my school board, and my school,” says Ahmed Ali, a student at Courtice Secondary School.

“My school principal and teachers are interested in learning about my religion, and that makes me very happy.”

With food, fun and education, community leaders came together and opened their doors and hearts at the event. Representatives with the Al Rayan Islamic Centre in Clarington welcomed members of the community with a number of tools for education about their religion, and a wide buffet of foods for a real Ramadan experience.

“It’s amazing, many of the people here having dinner with us have taught me,” says Shafin Shah, the president of the Muslim Student Association.

“My biology teacher and my principal, all coming to visit.”

The gathering comes from what was a negative incident of hate last month at Courtice Secondary School. Although what happened shocked the community, the outreach co-ordinator with the Clarington Islamic Centre, Zhaihan Rashid, said it sparked the idea to start a conversation with everyone — and help open doors.

“It’s really to break down the walls of ignorance and to increase information,” said Rashid.

During the incident, students who are part of the Muslim community were running an event at their school — to fight against Islamaphobia. A group of peers reportedly came in, ripped the Qur’an and disrespected the sacred text.

Alaa Gehani, a student at the school, spoke to Global News at the time and says they were heartbroken to see such hatred towards them.

“Seeing how people were proudly damaging that book, something that is important to us, it broke our hearts,” said Gehani.

Since the incident, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board has kept an open dialogue with leaders in the Muslim community. The director of education for the board, Rita Russo, says they are working to restore trust.

“Out of a negative story can come good,” says Russo.

“We are working with our staff, with education and training for all of us — for the Courtice Secondary School staff and all of our board staff.”

The event gave educators and residents a space to learn more about the religion and its importance.

“I think it’s important that we create these spaces where we can share these ideas,” said Rashid.

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And with incidents of hate appearing to increase — such as the recent attacks at a Markham Mosque — organizers say it’s more important than ever to continue bringing everyone together.

“I hope it will also increase harmony. I hope it will stop the potential of future events that cause disharmony and really unrest,” he says.