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Surrey Masjid Welcomes Students from Surrey Christian School
12-26-2018
On December 5, 2018, Surrey Jamea Masjid welcomed grade 12 students from Surrey Christian School to learn about Islam and do a tour of the Masjid. Their teacher Dane Splinter who teaches Bible-Religious Studies has brought two of his classes this year to learn about Islam. The interfaith connection was through Sireen El-Nashar, Sireen organizes the tour, and Brothers Sami Shaikh and Shaharyar were also in attendance for the tour and answered questions about Islam. “My deep hope for students is to invite them into a different story, a story where inter-religious conflict is replaced by inter-faith cooperation and community” Dane Splinter
The students reflected on what they learned about Islam and this is some of their reflections:
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students were challenged by the intention of the devotion they witnessed; many of them spoke of how they were inspired to look within themselves and their own tradition for avenues to strengthen devotion
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students highlighted how much they appreciated the Salah pillar...this lead to many other positive comments around being intentional and supportive-they loved the prayer schedule on the wall
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students noted how meaningful it was to have Sami demonstrate the call to prayer and the posture of prayer
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students mentioned the comment around not judging a diverse group of people by the bad behavior of a sub group. This comment seemed to really hit home.
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more than anything, students reflected on how this face to face encounter with you re-framed their perception of Islam in general, and Muslims in particular.
As the students enter the Masjid, they are intrigued of where they are entering and they seem very curious and fearful of the unknown, but after the tour they are at ease and many commented that they would like to come back again. The students also enjoyed a pizza lunch before going back to their school.
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