The organizers of the upcoming Conversations with Muslims hope things get uncomfortable. The Dec. 10 event at the Vancouver Community Library centers around any questions people want to ask Muslims about their beliefs.
“We are encouraging people to not be polite,” said Shirin Elkoshairi, who’s one of the speakers. “We want those controversial questions. We want people to ask us, like, ‘Well, what about getting 72 virgins if you’re martyred in Jihad?’ Or, ‘What about those verses in your holy book that specifically call out violence?’ We really just want to answer them.”
Elkoshairi is on the board of directors for the Islamic Society of Southwest Washington. He moved to La Center two years ago after living in Virginia and a “5 1/2 -year layover in Egypt.”
The Islamic Society held A Conversation with Your Muslim Neighbors last year at Washington State University Vancouver. That event focused more on what Islam means to followers. Elkoshairi said it didn’t really address today’s geopolitical issues or talk about why Muslims have a bad rap, which is this year’s focus. Circle of Peace, an interfaith group, is hosting the event.
After Khalid Khan, who’s on the Islamic Society’s board of trustees, gives a brief overview of Islam, he’ll hand it off to his longtime friend Arif Humayun, who will give a presentation on radical ideology, geopolitics and human rights. He’s focused on discussing the geopolitical and historical issues behind today’s problems.
“What we’re trying to do with this is show this quazi-neo-Islamic phenomenon that doesn’t go back to the roots of Islam,” Elkoshairi said. In short, a different form of Islam that’s a “completely, outside, foreign religion” emerged around the 1850s in the Arabian Peninsula.
“A lot of Muslims are like, ‘I was taught by my parents to respect my neighbors, respect my elders, help poor people and do this,'” he said. “Muslims ask, ‘What happened? Why are some of us so crazy?’ He’s actually going to attempt to address that.”
Last year’s event was standing room only. The Columbia Room at the Vancouver Community Library has a recommended occupancy of 120, so organizers are asking people to RSVP online to reserve a spot. After Humayun’s presentation, the next 90 minutes are devoted to candidly answering questions from the audience.
“I think it’s gotten to the point where we have to just address it just very sincerely, very succinctly and not paint ourselves as always perfectly innocent. But, look, we do have some issues within our faith community,” Elkoshairi said. “Obviously, those issues are not representative of the vast majority, but they do exist.”
