Islamic Center Open House Aims To Educate On Muslim Faith

PFLUGERVILLE, TX -- The Islamic Center of Pflugerville will open its doors this week to let the community inside to better understand the Muslim faith.

Officials at the center announced the upcoming event scheduled Feb. 27 via a press advisory from the AhluBayt News Agency. Free and open to the public, the event is titled “Islam: Understanding Islam and Muslims and will be staged from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The goal of the gathering is to inform attendees about Islam in an manner that is accessible to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, officials said in the press advisory.

“We care about our neighbors in Pflugerville, and we want them to understand us and we want us to understand them,” Faisal Naeem, a board member of the Islamic Center of Pflugerville, said in a statement.

A scholar on Islam will be on hand to answer questions about the faith. Traditional food will be served, organizers said.

A sense of urgency in familiarizing the unfamiliar with the Muslim faith has emerged following the center’s vandalism late last year. Pflugerville residents galvanized in support of the center after its November vandalism.

One notable supporter in the wake of the vandalism was 7-year-old resident Jack Swanson, who emptied his piggy bank and donated the money he had been saving to buy an iPad -- $20 toward that goal he had collected -- to the center.

“The response from the community was awesome when they came to support us,” Naeem said.

Naeem said misconceptions related to Islam are easily resolved through more open communication and understanding.

“If I talk to one guy or 10 guys and they know that they know a person, as opposed to some caricature drawn in the media, then that’s all I really can achieve,” Naeem said. “I’m not a national political, I’m not on a national stage, so I just do it at my level and leave the rest up to God.”

The Islamic Center is located at 15803 Windermere Dr., Ste. 603B.