Members of British Columbia’s Muslim community wanted to talk about the similarities shared by the world’s religions, but those at a forum in Summerland on Saturday had questions about the differences.
“All (faiths) are from the same source,” said Mohmmad Aslam Shad, regional president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. “All religions of the world, if you compare the teachings, have more similarities than differences.”
He added that terrorist acts committed in the name of religion are done by a minority who seek to use the religion for their own agendas.
He said acts of terror and killing of innocent people are not taught in the Qur’an, the Muslim scriptures, nor is persecution of those who adhere to other faiths.
“Unfortunately, there are some Muslims who are not following the teachings of the Holy Qur’an, but that is not true Islam.”
The questions raised by the roughly 20 people at the meeting were about the practice of Islam, especially about Sharia law (Islamic religious law) and the rights of women under Islam.
Shad said Islam teaches that the roles of men and women are different, but the rights are equal.
“Sharia law is not against the rights or privileges of women or anyone else,” he said.
He added that Sharia law is close to the legal system already in place in Canada, with few differences. Where the two differ, he said Muslims must follow the law of the country.
The meeting in Summerland on Saturday is one in a series of similar meetings the Islamic organization is holding across the province.