Story

Published: Sunday, September 17, 2006

A taste of a different culture

Print Story

Email to Friend

Discuss this story

By JEANNE STARMACK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — There was an open house again Saturday at the Masjid Al-Khair Mosque on Homewood Avenue, but this one was a little different.

There have been tours of the mosque offered before, but the festival that showcased food, dress and crafts was the first, said Saeeda Yasmin Ghani, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Youngstown.

Kibbi and falafel. Grape leaves and spinach, meat and cheese pies. Hummus and baklava. Food is one way to get people together, Ghani said as she stood at the edge of the large tent that covered the displays in the mosque parking lot.

Jerusalem Imports of Youngstown brought in food that included kibbi, which look like little fried meat pies; hummus, which is chickpea paste and sesame seed oil, plain or spicy; and babaghnog, which is eggplant blended with sesame seed oil and crushed sesame seed paste. It's good for you, very healthy, explained Randa Hassanain and Salwa Atway, both of Youngstown, who were serving it up.

"With all the happenings in the past few years, we wanted to do something to acquaint non-Muslims with our culture," Ghani said.

A big representation

In fact, many different cultures were represented, she said.

"Muslims are all over the world."

Thus, visitors could get a taste of Indian, Arab, Egyptian and Pakistani food, as a recitation of the Holy Quran was sung in Arabic.

In one corner of the tent, clothing was on display that Ghani had brought back to Youngstown from visits to family in Pakistan. The black cotton, gold-embroidered gown she had on was shorter than the black gowns worn by women from Saudi Arabia, she explained.

Nancy Seis, who was in town visiting from Middletown, Ohio, was enjoying the clothing displays. "They're gorgeous," she said. Seis and Stephanie Fazal of Boardman were there with Fazal's three children. "I came to get food for my husband," Fazal said.

Fazal said she does cook some of the traditional foods at home. "But this way, I don't have to cook."

There are fewer than 100 paid members of the Islamic Society, and they come to the Homewood Avenue mosque, said Nafees Ahmed, a retired physician from Trumbull County.

But the mosque is open to any Muslim, she said.

She said Muslims are called to prayer, or Adan, five times a day, but those who live farther from the mosque don't go there that often. She said she usually attends Fridays and Sundays.

Inside the mosque, Jamal Ahmed, vice president of the Islamic Society, led a tour, which was offered every half-hour.

He spoke about the religion and took questions from about 10 people who stood shoeless at the edge of a rug that stretches through almost the whole room.

Plaques featuring Quran verses decorate the walls.

Friday's prayer services are about two hours long, he said.

Men stand in a front line, with children behind them, and women behind the children, he said.

The Adan, he said, is typically five to 10 minutes long.

"Anyone can come to God's house, Muslim or non-Muslim," he said. He and Bassil Ally, a board member of the Islamic Society, attempted then to explain some of the Muslim beliefs.

"We believe in all the holy books, the Torah and the Bible," Ahmed said.

A big difference between Islam and Christianity, however, is that Christians believe Jesus was the son of God, and Muslims believe he was a prophet, they explained.

Ahmed said Muhammed also was a prophet, but Muslims believe he was the last one.

In response to a question about the news media's portrayal of Muslims, Ahmed said that "those who control the media" dislike Islam. "They don't want you to know the truth, or you might become Islam."

"When 9/11 happened, we hurt just as much," Ally said.

Sunday, September 17, 2006