For the third year in a row, 18 mosques across Massachusetts, US, are taking part on April 28 in the annual ‘Open Mosque Day’ to push forward the peaceful coexistence between the different religious communities in America, NECN reports.
“Inviting neighbors in to see what a mosque looks like helps to break down walls between the different religious groups,” believes the event’s organizer, Martin Bentz.
Advocates of the interfaith event explain that their festivity is meant to give members of the public a chance to meet their Muslim neighbors and see the real image of Islam away from Islamophobic media propaganda.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Massachusetts and the Islamic Council of New England announced that visitors will have a chance to tour a mosque, hear a brief introduction to Islam, and observe a Muslim prayer service.
“The open mosque events will generally take place between 3 and 6 p.m. in 18 different mosques across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Bentz informed.
Massachusetts is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It’s named after the native Massachusett American tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area.
According to 2018 estimates, Massachusetts had a total population of 6,902,149 people, where Muslims represent 1.2% of them.
The event’s participating mosques are located across the state, including in Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Framingham, Chelmsford, Lynn, Hadley, Quincy, Sharon, Dartmouth, Wayland, Medford, Chelsea, Haverhill, West Springfield, and Malden.
Visit My Mosque Day is held annually in a number of countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Norway, and France.
In the UK, it first began in February 2015, with around 20 mosques taking part.
More mosques are expected to register for this year’s event, seeing growth from 200 mosques in 2018 and 150 mosques in 2017.
In Canada, the first-ever Visit My Mosque Day took place in October 2017.
Last October, some 100,000 non-Muslims visited more than 900 mosques across Germany.
During the event, imams in 900 German mosques gave presentations about the Islamic faith and culture and answered visitors’ questions.