City buses in Broward and Miami-Dade counties have been advertising information on a religious topic that some people have found surprising -- Islam.
The advertisement reads “Islam: Got Questions? Get answers,” and gives this telephone phone number: 1-888-ISLAM-55. It is an effort to educate Americans about a faith that has been villainized in the media, said Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, a physician from Chicago who is director of the effort.
Ahmed is a member of Gain Peace, an outreach group founded under the umbrella of the national organization Islamic Circle of North America.
“There are many misconceptions with what is being shown in the media in the Middle East and, therefore, we would like to create a bridge between people of different nationalities and religions and platforms and talk in a friendly and courteous manner, compared to out there in the battlefield,” Ahmed said.
“Instead of people taking out their differences in a physical way, we want to sit down at the table and discuss the misunderstandings,” he said.
The educational effort began in Chicago and has spread to other areas, including Miami-Dade and Broward, where buses have been painted with the message for eight weeks, from early November to the end of December, according to Phyllis Berry, spokeswoman for the Broward County Transportation Department.
MANY CALLS
Berry said she has fielded many calls from people who wanted to know why the county was promoting Islam.
“It’s been very interesting. . . . We have received calls and e-mail from people who expressed concerns, but after explaining that we have a policy that does not allow anyone’s religion to be demeaned and there is such a thing as the First Amendment, people still may not like it but they understand,” Berry said.
She said that in the past, buses have carried advertising for churches, arranged by an independent company.
“It’s freedom of expression, but my initial thought was it shouldn’t be allowed,” Berry said. “But it’s about fairness, it’s about the law and it’s about what it’s like to live in America. We don’t always like the law, but it’s there for a reason.”
Berry said many of the complaints were prompted by the mention of Judaic prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus in the same line with the prophet Mohammed. But “they did not demean anyone’s religion,” she said.
MANY QUESTIONS
Ahmed said many of the calls that came into his Chicago call center were about the four prophets.
“The common question is: How come we are including Jesus with other human beings because he is the son of God to them and we should not be including him with other human beings.
“So we politely respond to them the position of Jesus in Islam, that he is a prophet of God, he invited people to worship God, he worshiped God, and he was given a revelation, just like the prophets of the past.”
When Altaf Ali, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Florida, learned of the Chicago project, he requested that it be extended to South Florida. He said CAIR embraces the goals of the campaign.
“You have people who are extremists, who are displaying the wrong information about Islam. We feel that for too long these extremists are the ones who are getting the attention of the American people,” Ali said. “Our campaign is to allow fellow Americans to learn the truth about Islam.”
To learn more about the get-to-know-Islam campaign, visit www.gainpeace.com.