DiverCity Stop Three: A Controversial Mosque; a Lesson Posted on November 15, 2015June 28, 2024 by JAMS Living Learning Community Fall 2015 People pray at the Brookfield Mosque. Photos by JAMS LLC reporting team. The last stop and possibly one of the most eye-opening experiences students of Milwaukee experienced on the first organized “Divercity” tour was a stop at Brookfield’s Masjid Mosque. The Brookfield Mosque started when the Milwaukee’s Islamic Association of Greater Milwaukee, Inc, (IAGM) bought the closed down New Road School in Brookfield. After a long construction period, the Mosque was completed in Spring, 2015. Its doors officially opened in March. The spacious and beautifully detailed interior was built with the utmost respect for the religion, with tiles imported from Pakistan and carpet from Turkey. The uniqueness of the Masjid mosque comes from the entire project being funded by donations and built by volunteers, including students from the UWM area. Students of UWM’s Jams LLC had an evening of cultural food and got to talk with those who practice the faith of Islam. Hassan speaks to the students. Photo by JAMS LLC reporting team. The religion of Islam is one of true devotion, which can be seen by all who follow it, speakers told the students. Those who practice, pray five times a day, following all the points of the day starting with morning prayer. Dr. Mushir Hassan, one of the leaders of the mosque, and Bushra Zaibak discussed openly the misconceptions of the Islamic faith. Hassan talked about all the major holidays, including Ramadan, described as a “once a year spiritual recharge,” comparing it to the ideal of Lent, but instead of giving up a guilty pleasure, Dr. Hassan said “[they] give up everything.” Zaibak also discussed the idea behind the hijab, which is the headpiece Islamic women wear in order to practice the ideal of modesty, saying “Society creates a very sexualized culture for woman,” she said, adding that with the hijab she wants to be “seen for [her] character and morals.” The mosque has intricate design. Photo by JAMS LLC reporting team. Hassan gave short teachings from his lessons for Sunday school, and brought up the crisis in the Middle East, condemning ISIS, and saying it, “Can’t be mainstream Islam, since it’s so awful to human life.” Hassan said he preaches that Islam is a faith with the utmost respect for human life. “No one viewed the KKK as Christian, but people view ISIS as Muslim,” said Hassan. Hassan and Zaibak stressed how corrupt ISIS is in regards to their faith and how it is damaging their reputation, saying it’s “dramatically distorting” to the community and forcing those who practice to be watchful of their actions for fear of the consequence. “We have to be on our best behavior because of them.” This story was reported and written by JAMS LLC students Tess Klein, Daniel Miller, and Megan Hall.