More than 200 people showed up last night at the Sioux City Public Museum for the Conversation with a Muslim Neighbor gathering. The venue had to be changed from a smaller site because so many people signed up.
Siouxland Public Media’s Mary Hartnett has this report.
The event is a part of the Sioux City Human Rights Commission’s new on-going series, “Who Are the People in Our Neighborhood.” Two muslim doctors answered questions from the crowd about religion, the current immigration ban, terrorism and the role of women in Islam.
Fayez Ahmad Hakim (FEYE-ez-AK-mad HAH-keem) is a cardiologist at Mercy Medical Center. Someone asked him about the meaning of the word “Islam.”
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“Islam means peace, by submitting to the will of God. Everybody’s in search of peace in this world, whether you are rich, you are old, you are sick, you are healthy, you want peace, right?”
Dr. Rick Cowell is an emergency room physician who converted to Islam after marrying his wife. Cowell says President Donald Trump’s immigration ban for security is religious persecution.
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“He has singled out a group, despite all the lawyer talk and legal talk and the mumbo jumbo, he basically has picked out a religion to discriminate against.”
Siouxland continues to react to immigration ban. The First Congregational Church on Hamilton Boulevard at 6:30 this evening and the Unitarian Church on Jackson Street will hold a benefit concert with a good will offering tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.. For Siouxland Public Media, I’m Mary Hartnett.
