Many misconceptions arose about the meaning and practice of Islam after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. With war now raging in the Middle East, some of these misconceptions have resurfaced. Muslims at the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge held an open house Saturday to dispel those myths.
Naseema Mohamed, a Baton Rouge High School sophomore, said a common misconception is Muslim women are treated poorly and do not have the same rights and privileges as men.
“Actually, women have the same rights,” Mohamed said. “It’s also a misconception that women can’t get an education, because there are a lot of Muslim women getting higher degrees.”
Mohamed said another common misconception is that Islam is strongly associated with terrorism.
“Islam has nothing to do with terrorism,” she said. “There are only a few extremists who are the terrorists.”
Osman Kandara, an ISDS graduate student, said while he personally has not heard misconceptions from Baton Rouge residents, he felt events such as the open house allow Muslims to grow closer as a people.
Mehtap Kandara, an ISDS graduate student and Osman’s wife, said it was important for Muslims to build communication channels both with fellow Muslims and the outside community.
“We cannot be isolated,” she said. “We are in the big picture.”
Jehad Mahmoud, Islamic Center of Baton Rouge president, said it was important for non-Muslims to have a better understanding of the Islamic culture.
      “You can never eliminate prejudices against any minority,” Mahmoud said. “But hopefully, events like this give people more understanding of our culture.”
To further this effort, visitors to the open house could have their names written in Arabic or sample Arabic coffee and cuisine.
When it comes to the war in Iraq, the Muslims at the open house were opposed to the idea.
“I don’t think we should try to change someone else’s government,” Mohamed said. “I support the troops but not the idea behind it.”
Mehtap Kandara said people need to be aware of the cultural implications of the war.
“In the process of freeing the Iraqi people, they need to realize that providing solutions using your own culture might not work,” she said. “They deserve freedom, but at the same time, the world should be acting together.”
Using the analogy of teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish, Mahmoud said a better solution to the problem in Iraq might have been to provide assistance to the Iraqi people.
“I believe with this war, the goal of removing Saddam Hussein could have been achieved easier if we could have empowered the people of Iraq,” he said.