Ever wonder what the Quran has to say about terrorism? Why Muslim women wear veils? What Islam teaches about Jesus?
Ask a Muslim. All you have to do is call 1-877-WHY-ISLAM.
A billboard advertising the toll-free number sprang up last month on FM 1960 near Interstate 45. Similar ones have also been posted in San Antonio, Dallas, El Paso and two dozen other U.S. cities.
The billboards are part of a nationwide campaign by the Islamic Circle of North America to educate non-Muslims about Islam and promote interfaith dialogue.
Calls to the hot line are answered in New Jersey by ICNA volunteers, who field an average of 1,000 queries a month on everything from the life of the Prophet Muhammad to the definition of jihad. The billboard also advertises a Web site, www.whyislam.org, where people can e-mail questions, participate in discussion forums, request free copies of the Quran, or schedule a visit to a mosque.
“The idea was to help answer the questions that people have about Islam,” said ICNA board member Hanif Harris, a 38-year-old Realtor from Clear Lake. “This way, they’ll get the answers directly from Muslims.”
Harris, who grew up in Philadelphia, converted to Islam in 1991. Over the years, he’s often had to correct misconceptions about Islam among co-workers and family members.
Funded by local chapter
Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, his mother called him up and asked if he was thinking of becoming a suicide bomber. Harris was dumbfounded. “I said, ‘Mom, you know, suicide is a sin! No, I’m not thinking about being a suicide bomber.’ I said, ‘Don’t judge Islam by what you see in some Muslims. Judge Islam by what’s in the Quran. There’s nowhere it says in our Quran to kill and murder innocent people.’ ”
Of course, most people can’t simply call up a Muslim relative to discuss Islam. That’s why Harris hopes ICNA’s toll-free number and Web site will help Muslims and non-Muslims talk to each other.
“When you watch CNN or MSNBC, you hear so much that is negative about Muslims, so for somebody who doesn’t know much about Islam, they would turn on the news and think, ‘Wow, Muslims, they really don’t like us,’ ” he said. “So this is a way for us to really build bridges with people of other faiths and let them know we’re not like what you might hear on the news.”
ICNA’s Houston chapter paid $3,000 for the billboard in north Harris County with donations from local Muslims, said ILyas Choudry, coordinator for the group’s charitable arm, Helping Hands. The 44-year-old civil engineer from west Houston said he hopes to raise enough money to keep the billboard year-round, moving it to different locations throughout the Houston area every three months.
The goal is to counter stereotypes about Muslims and spread God’s word, not to convert anybody, Choudry said.
“The Quran says, ‘There is no compulsion in religion,’ ” he said. “Our job is not to convince people, our job is just to convey that message.”
Treated with respect
Although most callers to the hot line are polite and curious, a few do have axes to grind, said Ashfaq Parkar, assistant coordinator of ICNA’s “Why Islam” project.
“Sometimes you find that people will start out a little bit aggressive or hostile, but it’s important for people answering the calls to think, ‘Why are people like this?’ They have certain impressions and that’s why they’re calling,” Parkar said. “We treat everyone with respect, and we try to understand their views and engage with them.”