'They're no different than us': Montreal mosques open doors to public

Mosques around Montreal opened their doors to the public Sunday in an effort to break down barriers and build bridges.

Fourteen mosques held open house events, according to the Muslim Council of Montreal.

Among those participating was the Khadijah Masjid Islamic Centre in Pointe-Saint-Charles, which was vandalized on Feb. 2.

Musabbir Alam, the imam at the Imani Community Centre in Little Burgundy and co-founder of the Canadian Muslim Alliance, found out about the incident as he was attending a funeral for the victims of the Quebec City mosque shooting.

"We were shocked," he said. "We realized that, you know, we have some work to do from our side. We have to reach out and we have to invite our brothers and sisters and just eradicate whatever fear they have."

Alam spent the day debunking myths about Islam and fielding questions about Muslim customs and beliefs, from ways of dressing to the importance of forgiveness. 

"I think the first thing is to get to know each other," said Alam.

Tom Boushel, one of the non-Muslim visitors to the Pointe-Saint-Charles mosque and a resident in the area, agrees with Alam.

"If you met any of these people individually, you could never throw a rock through their window," he said, echoing the sentiment felt by some at the open house that the vandalism might not have happened if people better understood each other.

"They're no different than us," Boushel said.

Open houses sparked by mosque shooting

The Muslim Council of Montreal says the open houses are an opportunity "to offer condolences, ask questions or engage members of our community in general."

The events come two weeks after six worshippers were killed and 19 wounded when a gunman entered a Quebec City mosque on Jan. 29 and opened fire.

• Our full coverage of the Quebec City mosque shooting

The attack sparked demonstrations of solidarity with Muslims across Quebec and Canada.

As Montreal mosques held open houses Sunday, Canada's Defense Minister, Harjit Sajjan, paid a visit to the Quebec City mosque where the deadly shooting occurred.

"It's so important for all of us to be able to work together, give confidence and make sure our children and generations take away any type of events like this for good in the future," Sajjan said.

The participating mosques listed by the Muslim Council of Montreal were:

• Centre islamique du Québec at 2520 Laval Road in Saint-Laurent.
• Mosquée Assuna Annabawiyah at 7220 Hutchison Street.
• Centre Communautaire Islamique De L'Est De Montreal at 4201 Bélanger Street.
• Khadijah Masjid Islamic Centre at 2385 Centre Street in Pointe-Saint-Charles.
• Mosquée Baitul Mukkarram at 4225 de Courtrai Avenue.
• Al-Madinah Center at 1260 Mackay Street.
• Premier Masjid altawheed at 6130 Jean-Talon Street East.
• Madani Mosque & Quran Islamic Education for children and adults at 12080 Laurentien Boulevard.
• Association Musulmane Turque de Montréal at 416 Neptune Boulevard in Dorval.
• Imani Community Centre at 550 Richmond Street.
• Masjid Alfalah at 1885 Nielsen Street, in Saint-Hubert.
• ICNA Montreal Centre de Resources et Banque Alimentaire at 5876 Upper Lachine Road.
• Islamic Community Center at 5905 Grande Allée, in Brossard.
• Centre Communautaire Musulman De Longueuil at 1398 De Chambly Road, in Longueuil.