A prayer at Winnipeg Central Mosque brings people together to worship, but Othman Zeid worries negative attitudes towards his faith may be tearing Canadians apart.
"I think people just misunderstand what the Muslim community is all about,” said Zeid.
It’s a message a Manitoba Muslim leader took to Ottawa.
Shahina Siddiqui spoke on Monday about issues related to terrorism in front of the Senate committee on national defence and security.
Emotions ran high at times when Siddiqui, the founder and executive director of the Winnipeg-based Islamic Social Services Association, called on Canadians to stop treating her people as the enemy.
"Just please do not treat Muslim Canadians as if they are the enemy because we are not,” said Siddiqui.
But an Ontario senator took issue with Muslim organizations tied to terrorism saying people want something to be done.
"Canadians don't want to hear all that,” said Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak. “They're tired of us being offended, and thin-skinned and they want us to do something about people who are threatening to blow up malls and who are burning pilots in cages and who are beheading Christians."
Siddiqui said Muslims have taken steps to fight radicalization and that she herself has reported suspected cases to the RCMP.
As the executive director of the Winnipeg Central Mosque, Idris Knapp said Muslims want peace as much as anyone else.
"Our vigilance, our awareness in the community is very important," said Knapp.
He said being vigilant involves reaching out to people who have become radicalized to stop it from happening and to reverse misconceptions about Muslims.
“As Muslims, we do need to be diligent,” he said.
Shahina Siddiqui said the work done by she and other Muslims to stop radicalization is on volunteer time because her agency gets no government funding.
