Excerpt:
"Why can't you look past my beliefs and just talk to me?" Narjis Saleh, a young Muslim woman, said recently after she was called a terrorist and spat on at a train station.
Her plea for acceptance has been echoed throughout Australia's Muslim community following an increase in religious discrimination and violence since the emergence of the terrorist group Islamic State.
In a climate of increased tension and misunderstanding between some sections of the Muslim and non-Muslim communities, the timing of Saturday's first National Mosque Open Day could not be better.