Mosque holds open house to combat Muslim stereotypes

The mosque in Antioch is holding an open house this weekend for people of all faiths to help combat Muslim stereotypes.

The mosque in Antioch is holding an open house this weekend for people of all faiths to help combat Muslim stereotypes.

This year’s open house has a more urgent tone to it.

The purpose of the open house is to foster understanding in light of those back and forth tweet between President Donald Trump and four Democratic Congress women, two of whom are Muslims.

The Twitter war began when the President told the Congresswomen, who criticized President Trump’s immigration policy, to go back where they came from. Three of the women were born in the United States and a fourth is a naturalized citizen.

Anwar Arafat, the head Imam and Religious Director of the Islamic Center of Tennessee, fears tweets like this reinforce stereotypes.

“To hear words like go back where you came from, in my case, that’s Salt Like City, Utah, the President can say whatever he wants, the beauty of America, is that we can differ with our elected officials, and still be American.”

Arafat believes, whether it’s a President or an everyday American, words, whether, spoken or tweeted, matter.

This is the fourth year for the open house at the Antioch mosque. Arafat believes by opening the doors, it will show people who they are.