South Minneapolis mosque reaches out with open house

A 20-year-old teacher poked her head into classrooms and looked in on prayer services, allowing community members who didn't look or dress like her to get a glimpse inside her world.

Aisha Aden encouraged guests to remove their shoes as they observed hundreds of men kneeling on the carpet, reciting their third prayer of the day. She fielded questions from those unfamiliar with the Islamic faith.

In an effort to combat misconceptions and connect with the community, Abubakar As-Saddique mosque in south Minneapolis opened its doors to neighbors of all races and religions on Wednesday evening.

Following recent terror attacks in Belgium and France and the high-profile rhetoric they inspired, Muslim leaders said it was time to allow outsiders into their own holy space so they could see how peaceful the faith actually is.

"We're trying to correct our image and show that we as Muslims are not part of that [jihadist] ideology," said Aden, a student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College who teaches Arabic and Qur'an studies at the mosque, one of Minnesota's largest. She helped coordinate the open house.

Aden said that Islamophobia has cast a shadow on the congregation and that she is sometimes threatened by strangers when they see her hijab. "Right now it's kind of terrifying being a Muslim," she said.

During a dialogue and dinner in the mosque's wedding hall, speakers talked about their faith and encouraged questions. The Rev. Mike Matson's 6-year-old daughter, June, asked why people had removed their shoes. He explained that it was out of respect.

"Little [differences] like that can make us afraid or uncomfortable," said Matson, a pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. "So it's getting them OK with feeling vulnerable."

Meetings between authorities and Twin Cities Somali-Americans have been held periodically since a few young men began leaving to go fight for the terror group Al-Shabab in Somalia in 2007, and again when the U.S. attorney's office charged 10 young Twin Cities Somali-American men with plotting to travel to Syria and join ISIL.

Last month, community leaders met to confront anxiety after GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz referenced Minneapolis' Somali-American community as one where law enforcement efforts could be concentrated.

On Wednesday, several police officers mingled with the crowd and handed out stickers to children, while Third Precinct Inspector Michael Sullivan announced that the Minneapolis Police Department is hiring — and specifically looking for diversity among recruits.

"We feel very at home here," Sullivan said.