Mosque holds open barbecue

More than 30 non-Muslims showed up at Masjid Hamza’s community barbecue last Saturday, where they enjoyed food and conversation with the mosque’s parishioners.

“Perhaps it was the adversity of some of the things happening to the Muslims here that made this positive event possible,” said Janet Chimino, of Merrick, a member of the Baha’i Center in Valley Stream. She referenced reports of discrimination, including one teenager she spoke with who told her she gets unfriendly looks and attitudes from some customers she deals with as a cashier at Costco.

Chimino said that as a Baha’i, her religious affiliation might also be perceived as unusual, but it doesn’t come with the identifiable garb that many Muslims wear that can sometimes attract unwanted attention.

Cecilie Newton is a St. Albans, Queens, resident who attends Valley Stream’s Christian Science Church. She said the thought the event was a valuable experience.

“I think the idea of getting together is a wonderful thing to do,” she said, “because everyone is running scared, everyone is afraid of everyone else based on ignorance and, frankly, just fear, and this get-together is a very beautiful idea, and very educational.”

Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Legis. Carrie Solages gave remarks advocating for appreciation of different cultures, and expressing strong stances against any form of discrimination. Several members of the Valley Stream Religious Council, which provided the impetus for the event, also spoke, including Rabbi Yechiel Buchband, of the Valley Stream Jewish Center.

“I like to always feel that when I stand with my neighbors, some of whom are Christians, many of whom are Muslims, we’re all children of Abraham, who brought the ways of Godliness, of goodness, of righteousness, of mercy and compassion to the human race, as the first messenger of the one God,” Buchband said, to applause.

He noted that many Jewish immigrants started coming to America in the 1930’s, and the community struggled to be fully accepted and embraced, but persevered in time.

“America, at its best, always knows how to embrace and respect and value the many, many communities that make up the beautiful mosaic of American civilization,” he said.

Rick and Pat Zeff, of Lawrence, said they appreciated the invite.

“It was very nice of them to open up their center and welcome us in,” said Rick, who noted that some who practice his Baha’i religion in certain predominantly Muslim countries are persecuted, making unity with local Muslims all the more meaningful.

Karim Mozawalla, a trustee at the mosque and organizer of the event, said a local man who had read about the event in the Herald brought his wife and two young children.

“We talked for 45 minutes before he left,” Mozawalla said. “He was so interested. He said that he never knew so much of what I was telling him about Islam.”

Mozawalla said that he looked forward to more outreach events in the future.

Mohammed Shaikh, a member of Valley Stream’s Auxiliary Police, watched the crowd from his post near the mosque’s entrance. A former president of his college’s Muslim Student Association, he said that he thought some of the separation between local Muslims and the rest of the community comes down to factors like a language barrier and first-generation immigrants, many of whom arrived in the U.S. in the 1990’s, who are less assimilated than their children.

“If you look at the older generation, they’re eating the rice and chicken,” he said, looking at the crowd. “But if you see the kids, they’re running around with cheeseburgers.”