Imam Umran Bhatti, the pastor of the local Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Cape Breton, held a Learn about Islam event at the McConnell Library in Sydney on the evening of Tuesday, 08 Dec 2015.

An audience of about 20 people from the community attended the event.

Iman Bhatti’s main message was that the word Islam means peace, and that the slogan of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is: Love for all, Hatred for none.

The Ahmadiyya are a sect of the Muslim community that is separate from the Sunnis and the Shias, but is one that enjoys a global following. Like other Muslims, the Ahmadiyyas acknowledge the prophet Muhammad as the founder of their faith and revere the Qu’ran as the word of God. The Ahmadiyya take their name from a modern-era prophet, Mizra Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), who they believe was the long-awaited Messiah. Interestingly, (for me, anyway) I learned that Jesus is an honoured figure in Ahmadiyya’ traditions, though their stories of Jesus were new to me.

Iman Bhatti says that the Prophet Muhammad was a man of peace. He says that Muslims and groups like ISIS that quote the Qu’ran to justify war and killings follow neither the word nor the spirit of the text, which he says is focused on peace and God’s forgiveness.

There was a lively question-and-answer period that followed. My olden-days journalism professor would have been impressed by the questions, which were thoughtful and direct and free of presumption. Some of the questions had to do with specific word definitions, like: What does Jihad mean? It turns out that Jihad a fairly common term in Islam that means, struggling to be a better person and improving your relationship with God. Bhatti says it does not mean going to war with others.

There were numerous questions about the role of women in Islam. Bhatti says that the Qu’ran speaks clearly about equality between men and women, but that men and women have different and often separate roles to play.

In the matters of burqas and head coverings, Bhatti pointed out that the tradition of women covering their heads has precedent in Christian and Hebrew teachings as well. He pointed to the head-coverings of nuns as an example. The implication being that the head-covering traditions of Muslims are not unique, but vary from modern western standards by a matter of degree.

My read of the event/discussion was that followers of Islam, like followers of Christianity and other religious traditions, are struggling to find a place for modern values while staying true to their ancient traditions.

Of special note, one Muslim gentleman in attendance (I didn’t get his name) offered a short story about accommodating Muslims in a non-Muslim community. He said he was invited to a dinner party one time, and the hosts refrained from serving pork at that meal because they knew that Muslims don’t eat it. He said he was especially grateful to the hosts because they did not put him in a position where he might have to refuse their hospitality.

Iman Bhatti says he is planning to continue these presentations. He says the next Learn about Islam event will be in New Waterford.