Love Your Neighbor Dinner
Islamic Community Center of Phoenix held its doors wide open for non-Muslim visitors on Friday January 22nd 2010, a tradition that it has kept since the program was launched after 9/11 to build bridges of understanding and to increase awareness and educate others about Muslims. Over a hundred and fifty people turned out to the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, in spite of the rainy weather, to see presentations on Islam, enjoy delicious food, and most importantly to meet the Muslim community.
The event was an absolute success as judged by the reactions of some of the people present; everybody had a good time mingling and getting to know each other. The event started around 6pm with a meet and greet. Shaikh Mahmoud Sulaiman spoke for 30 min, talking about the importance of being a good neighbor in Islam, and it was immediately followed by our guest speaker; Pastor Jack who spoke about being a good neighbor according to Christianity. After the lectures we had a question and answer session, and then a representative from the local CAIR chapter spoke briefly about events happening in our community. After praying Isha everybody enjoyed the delicious Middle Eastern food that we had catered for the occasion. The event wound down with a lot of dialogue and even some friendships were formed.
