#56 – FAITH – Sharif Elhosseiny & Rev. Wendy Tobias - 2015-12-18

My ‪‎‪podcast‬ with Pres. Elhosseiny of the Islamic Center Palm Beach and Rev. Wendy of St. Joe's Unplugged was PHENOMENAL!! I thank them both so very much for participating. The goal going into the conversation was to explore how we as a people and our faiths have so much more in common than we do in difference; but, we ended up finding and connecting on so much more! Listen and learn about the TRUTH of ‪#‎Islam‬, not what the terrorists and those who fear-monger want you to believe.

"The word itself, 'Islam,' comes from the root word, 'salam,' which means, 'peace.'" Unfortunately, due to those in this world who have hijacked the Islamic faith and committed terribly heinous acts in its name, there are many people who fear ALL Muslims. Just recently, Sharif’s Center was the victim of that fear—having been vandalized in the middle of the night. In the vandal’s wake, the Center’s surrounding community offered cards, flowers, and other sentiments of support.

This last Saturday, Sharif hosted an open-house to condemn terrorism and invite questions of the public, featuring guest lecturer, Abu Muhammad Al-Maghribi, visiting Imam of Masjid Tawheed in Stone Mountain, GA. ("Masjid"means Mosque in Arabic.) I attended the open-house and arrived to a peaceful and beautiful community atmosphere that surrounded me with so many warm, smiling, happy, and welcoming Muslim faces! It was a packed house, and MANY people stepped up to the open mic with their questions. The visiting Imam answered them BEAUTIFULLY!! Here are a few of his quotes:
"[We] do not let a few terrorists hijack our faith, our ‪#‎Islam‬."
"Isis [and other groups] are renegades. They are criminals. They are terrorists."
"I don't blame the non-Muslims for their fear.... We hate [the terrorists] more than you do."

Thank you, ‪‎ICPB‬, for opening your doors to the public to better understand Islam!! It was also wonderful to meet Liz Balmaseda from The Palm Beach Post as she was covering the story, and I encourage you all to read it!!

Our cultures, faiths, and people DO have much more in common than they do in difference. Hear one another and curve the cube with open hearts and open minds. ‪ Love is greater than fear‬!!

Statistics sources:
Pew Research Center: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/pf_15-04-02_projectionstables8/

FBI: https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terrorism-2002-2005

Enjoy!!
Music Beds courtesy of DJ John Hitta!!!


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