Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: Cape Brenton Post | April 25, 2010
Erin Pottie | epottie@cbpost.com
Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
Correction update | 07:45 PST
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Ladies Association of Sydney is hosting an invitation-only event for women Friday at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre.
The presentation will include 10-minute talks on the Christian, Hindu and Muslim perspectives by three female speakers followed by dinner and a question-and-answer session.
“When you know more about each other’s religion then you think positively because you know the reasons behind that,” said Waseema Rehman, a Glace Bay family doctor who organized the event. “For example when a Muslim lady wears a scarf, or a hijab, if you don’t know why they are wearing it, other people might (think) ‘Oh, she must be an extremist.’
“She’s just doing it because she loves God.”
Rehman, who wears a head scarf, says Islam doesn’t tell women what to wear, although many women chose to cover up to show their affection for God.
She said in Canada, Muslim women often chose to show their faces as part of the social norm of the country.
Parallels of conservative clothing in religion can be drawn to Christianity, said Rehman, as nuns often cover their heads with a veil, and in Judaism men often cover the top of their heads with yarmulke.
Saima Haleem, a medical doctor practising in Membertou, said as a Muslim woman, she sometimes gets questions from people about her religious and cultural beliefs and practices. However, she added, more often than not people are afraid to ask for fear of offending.
The interfaith symposium is free and designed to offer women an opportunity to learn more about other faiths and cultures in a friendly environment, Haleem said, and it’s timely, especially after Quebec recently passed a law banning face coverings for people seeking public services.
Men are not invited to the interfaith symposium, Haleem said, because it’s organized by the ladies’ association and because of Islamic segregation rules. However, a men’s group is planning an interfaith symposium open to all in the fall.
“I find there’s a lot of misconceptions about Muslim women, like they’re only there for the men, to stay home and cook, but it’s not true,” she said, noting that five members of the women’s interfaith group are medical doctors.
Although the women’s event is by invitation only, anyone wishing to attend is asked to call Rehman at 537-2244, or email interfaith.sydney@gmail.com, at least three days before to see if spaces are available.
Read original article here: Muslim association hosting symposium for women
Editor's note: Previously Ahmadiyya Times erroneously identified and posted this as an event in Sydney Australia. We were alerted to the error and please accept our apologies for the error and any inconvenience.
[ Alert credit: Ahmad Khalid, Sydney, Australia]
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