And they did, judging by the smiles on many faces, children and grownups alike. And by the imam’s satisfaction.
"Open house means open hearts,” said Sackor. "We’re trying to get our neighbors to know us so we don’t seem like people who are strange and foreign.”
More than 400 people attend Friday services at his mosque, Sackor said, and they represent a wide cross-section of society.
"We’re part of this community,” he said. "We’re part of Providence. We have mothers, we have doctors, we have children that go to school in the community. We have teachers. All facets of the community.”
The Providence mosque was one of four participating in "Open Mosques Rhode Island” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Also holding open houses were Masjid Al-Islam in North Smithfield, Masjid Al-Hoda in South Kingstown and Masjid Al-Rahman in Pawtucket.
"Like other philosophies and religions in the world, Islam is a part of our global human heritage, and Muslims as a community are intent on making the world a better place for everyone,” Imam Adnan Adrian Wood-Smith, president of the Rhode Island Council for Muslim Advancement, said in announcing the open houses.
"We want to invite the whole Rhode Island community to join us in our spiritual spaces to meet Muslims and learn about Islam, and so we can all enjoy each other’s company.”
The open-house idea originated in the United Kingdom, where this year’s Visit My Mosque Day, on Feb. 5, found more than 150 mosques participating.
Visitors to Rhode Island’s mosques were given tours, participated in question-and-answer sessions, and offered food and refreshments. They had the opportunity to read translated passages from the Quran – and to see and listen to passages in Arabic. Pamphlets including "Introducing Islam” and "Allah: The Creator and Lord of the Universe” were distributed.
According to Sackor, Masjid Al-Kareem is located in a former jewelry factory. "This mosque has been here since 2004,” he said. "We bought the property and refurbished it, did a lot of work. This is one of the oldest mosques in this area.”
"We’re opening our doors to let people know who we are,” said Sackor. "A lot of people probably haven’t met, or don’t know, who Muslims are. So we’re trying to let them know that we are regular, ordinary people — part of the community.”
