Education is the first step to understanding our neighbours. This was the focus of a public presentation on Islam hosted by the Westminister United Church on Oct. 19. Ilyas Sidyot, Imam of the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Inc. was invited to speak about Islam, which was quite an honour, he says. He was also pleased with the number of people who attended with around 40 people coming to listen and ask questions. “Many people came there and we had a really special session over there, almost 2 hours and people were listening attentively.” In Saskatchewan, there is an estimated 25,000 Muslim people, with around 20,000 in Saskatoon and Regina. Even with such small numbers spread throughout the province, Sidyot says he is surrounded by friendly people. “My children grow up here and we do walk in street and marketplace in traditional dress and I get nothing but respect from the people.” While this has not been the case for all Muslims in Canada, the best way to counter hostility is with education, he says. There are many misconceptions about Islam, says Sidyot, which is not helped by the media and television. What is shown on the news is all wars and killing, he says, which is not the full picture of Islam. People would learn more about Islam by sitting down and talking with an actual Muslim, he says. “People are concerned. Are Muslims like this? No, but if you meet with Muslims, that is a total different reality.” With such a big crowd, there were many questions about the faith and culture differences. A big question, says Sidyot, is about interactions between men and women of the faith. Related men and women can shake hands, he says, but interactions between men and women who are not related and are around the same age can lead to temptation. In Islam, they remove that temptation all together. “The decision has been made in that you avoid shaking hands with opposing gender and highly at the young age.” This also a reason behind the Muslim clothing for women, says Sidyot, with women choosing their clothing based on how comfortable they are with the opposite gender. With some Muslim women, in order to avoid the opposing gender while still living her life outside the home, she would wear specific clothing, like the burqa or the hijab. With recent decisions in Quebec regarding face coverings, while the numbers of women who wear the burqa are low, says Sidyot, the right to wear it is covered under our Canadian Charter Rights under religious freedoms. With the Muslim family dynamic, even the men in the family cannot dictate proper clothing, says Sidyot. “Even father cannot dictate on wife, mother, daughter, sister, then why would government come and say you have to wear this and not this way.” While Rev. Brenda Curtis knew a little bit about Islam, she learned a whole lot more, she says, through Sidyot’s presentation. “Everybody learned something from it for sure, some more than others, it depends what people were looking for when they came.” Curtis knows that Sidyot is busy with his position as Imam of the Islamic Association so she appreciates the time and passion he dedicated to coming to Humboldt. “You can tell he has a passion for interfaith dialogue,” she says. “He wants us to connect with people around different faith traditions and he knows a fair bit about both Christian and Judaic faith traditions.” Discussion around the bible and Koran was a big part of the presentation, says Curtis, and Sidyot’s knowledge of the bible was extensive and well used. “I found that interesting the parallels he made between Christianity and Islam.”

Imam Ilyas Sidyot at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon for Eid al-Adha PHOTO BY LIAM O'CONNOR /Saskatoon StarPhoenix