Canada Muslims Showcase Islamic Culture

With dozens of cultures and close to 50 languages spoken, Winnipeg's Muslim community could host its own Folklorama.

This Sunday, it did just that -- but on a smaller scale and in just one location, the Winnipeg Grand Mosque.The Manitoba Islamic Association invited the public to its first Islamic Culture Day.
The purpose, said Louay Alghoul, was to help people understand the diversity of Islam in Winnipeg.
"We really want to open the Muslim community up to the public," said the lawyer and member of the association executive. "They can ask 'Who are you really? What do you do when you're not at the mosque? What country do you come from?' "
With increased immigration, the Muslim population in Manitoba has more than doubled to nearly 12,000 in the last decade.
Yet the only knowledge of Islam some people have is when an Arab or Middle Eastern country is in the news -- Egypt, Libya, Syria -- and not often is the news good, he said.
Culture and the Muslim faith are often mixed up in the media and popular culture, said Alghoul. "It's our job to explain the difference," he said. "We can't just say 'Oh well, people don't understand.' "

Source: Winnipeg Free Press