Nova Scotia Islamic community encourages people to learn about faith to help dispel misconceptions

Tables lined walls filled with jewelry, clothing and other displays as part of Islamic Heritage Day celebrations at the Nova Scotia Islamic Community Center.

However, the weekend event was about a lot more than the Islamic faith. Organizers hoped it could foster connection as well as inspire younger members of the community to get involved.

As part of Islamic Heritage Month, on top of displays, members of the community and visitors got to experience performances, speeches from guests and more Saturday.

Imam Atef Asker said the event was meant to reflect the diversity of the community and to educate others on what makes up the religion.

“We have a lot of things to talk about like physics and science,” he said. “We have a lot of things, and everyone has his own history that we can talk about.”

To him, those who misunderstand or judge do so because they haven’t taken the time to learn or already have assumptions.

“Recently, we have heard and experienced some of the actions of some people who do not know about Islam,” Asker said. “Unfortunately, they don’t see, they don’t read, or they have some misconceptions.”

So beyond just celebrating Islamic heritage, events like this allow those misconceptions to be addressed through displays and conversation with community leaders like Asker.

“You learn from me and I learn from you.”

Event volunteer Holly Groschok knows how a lack of knowledge can lead to misunderstanding and assumptions. While not growing up religious, she converted to Islam about two-and-a-half years ago. Before converting, Groschok held her own misconceptions about the religion.

“I was scared, too, and I didn’t understand,” she said.

Following a conversation with a friend, she questioned assumptions and decided to take the leap and learn more.

From her perspective, events like Heritage Day give people outside the community the chance to be curious, adding that she hoped visitors left with more knowledge about what it means to be Muslim.

“I know we judge things before we understand them,” she said. “The only way you can truly understand something is by knowing.”

A similar message was shared by Nova Scotia Lt.-Gov. Mike Savage in his remarks, emphasizing the importance of diversity in making a stronger Canada.

“There’s challenges in the world and the solution is not to push away from each other,” Savage said. “It’s to rely on each other and to understand that we want the same things.”

The future of the Muslim community in Halifax was also highlighted during the celebration. According to community youth advocate Hania Ali, keeping the community strong requires younger members to get involved.

“I think having events like this is really important for the youth to understand how important community is,” she said, adding that they can also bridge the gap between younger and older generations.

Ali said getting young people involved isn’t always easy, however, but seeing the volunteers at Saturday’s event gave her hope.

During a speech, Ali thanked the community’s elders for laying the foundation for younger generations, saying all generations have a role to play in keeping the community strong.

“The greatest way to honour the generations who came before us is to ensure that their legacy does not end with us,” Ali said.

“Let us build a community where our heritage is not simply remembered but lived, where young people are not simply inspired but empowered.”