A local mosque promotes unity, interfaith dialogue, and community service

On November 19, 2015 at 2:00 a.m., a man attempted to climb over the fence surrounding the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia and threw two smoke bombs and a Molotov cocktail.   What happened in the following months, though, may not be what you'd expect.  Despite the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment at that time and since, mosque representatives made the effort to find out more about the man discovering that he was a local homeless person with mental issues.  Driven by a sense of mercy for someone in their community, they eventually lobbied for the lightest sentence and best care possible for the perpetrator.  Today’s guest is Colin Christopher, the Deputy Head of Government Affairs at that mosque.  Colin joins us to talk about the lessons he and his fellow attendees learned from that experience, and to talk about his mosque’s goal to tear down the walls of ignorance surrounding the Islamic faith, and to establish strong relations with other faiths based on cooperation, tolerance, and mutual understanding. 

A call to get out of your comfort zone and meet people in a place you've never been.

In an environment of division, ignorance, and fear, the beauty of interfaith gestures of love.

It's not about democrats or republicans, or elites with fancy degrees.  It's about average people with a passion to get involved. 

The diversity of the Muslim American community.

Full interview.  (This may take 30 seconds or so to load.)

For more information:  Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement) 

______________________________

Opening and closing music by Chris Tomlin, Your Grace Is Enough