Mosque open house aims to bridge cultural gaps

Manama: The open house at Bahrain’s largest mosque is meant to help clear misconceptions about Islam and not to convert non-Muslims, organisers have said.

Al Fateh Mosque held its doors wide open for non-Muslim visitors on Eid Al Adha, a tradition that it has kept since the programme was launched 10 years ago to build bridges of understanding with all communities in Bahrain and in the Gulf. Around 2,000 people visited the mosque in Juffair on the first two days of Eid.

“The tour of the mosque seeks to correct misinformation about Islam and overcome deep anti-Muslim stereotypes reinforced by those who seek to demonise Islam and spread the wrong message about the religion,” Farhat Al Kandari, head of visitors’ section, said. “It is not meant to convert non-Muslims, a 30-40 minute tour never does that anyway, but rather to give meaningful insights into Islam and help dispel negative misconceptions.”

During the tour, guides explain the functions of the mosque and highlight its architecture and brief visitors on the Islamic faith.

“We had around 3,000 visitors from various nationalities and religious backgrounds on Eid Al Fitr and more than 40,000 people visited the mosque in 2008. The open house on Eid days and the open door policy throughout the year have been highly successful, more successful than any other event in fact, in bridging gaps between cultures and promoting friendships,” he said.

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions about mosques and Islam and tour guides say that they welcome provocative queries or provoking comments in line with their “religious duty to reach out to people of all faiths and interact with them.”

Some of the misconceptions that the open house helped correct claim that Muslims are anti-Christ, that Muslims worship Prophet Muhammad instead of God, that Muslims hate Westerners and that mosques are hideouts to train terrorists, organizers said.