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Open Mosque Day at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT Masjid) in Richardson, Texas, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Under a bright sun, families and curious neighbors streamed through the arches of the Islamic Association of North Texas Saturday afternoon. The Richardson mosque\u2019s copper-colored dome caught the light as volunteers greeted visitors at the entrance, welcoming many who were stepping into an Islamic house of worship for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The \u201cOpen Mosque Day\u201d event had been months in the making, following other open house events that took place in Plano Saturday morning and Austin last week. It aimed to dispel stereotypes and misconceptions, especially regarding Shariah, that some Muslims say have plagued communities across Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many anti-Islam, anti-Shariah, anti-Muslim incidents that happen in Texas, and we want to make sure that our fellow Americans, our brothers and sisters in humanity, know what is Shariah and what it is not,\u201d Dr. Sabeel Ahmed, director of Islamic outreach organization GainPeace, said in an interview. Ahmed was the keynote speaker of the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Shariah, the moral and religious code in Islam that guides all aspects of a Muslim\u2019s life, has been utilized by some officials nationwide and in Texas to suggest Muslims are imposing a system of laws on American communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ahmed described Shariah as \u201cGod\u2019s guidance\u201d for daily life that encapsulates gratuitous actions. He noted that \u201cpreserving the environment\u201d is a part of Shariah, just as caring for neighbors and the elderly and fighting racism are.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope and pray that they realize that Shariah and Muslims are not a threat,\u201d Ahmed said. \u201cThey should realize that there are so many commonalities about humanity, and when we compare the faiths based on the commonalities, it’s the principle of Islam to form better societies.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Martha Nichols, left, shares as laugh as she gets henna on her hand from Farzana Ekram during ‘open mosque day’ at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT Masjid) in Richardson, Texas, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Opening the mosque to the community<\/p>\n
The Islamic Association of North Texas was founded in 1969 and is the largest mosque in Dallas-Fort Worth, according to its website.<\/p>\n
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The gymnasium was decorated in shades of blue. On one side, long tables held heaping amounts of food; bowls of biriyani rice and samosas, cups of mango-flavored juice and steaming chai; and delicately decorated desserts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other, volunteers stood behind tables dotted with English translations of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, and informational pamphlets about Islam. Non-Muslim guests were able to take them home. \u00a0<\/p>\n
For Colin Fletcher, Saturday\u2019s event marked his first time inside a mosque.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said he learned about Shariah and that Islamic culture has \u201creally good food.\u201d He noted that he felt \u201ccalled to go\u201d and was eager to build relationships with people of different faiths.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can look up stuff on YouTube or the internet,\u201d Fletcher said, \u201cbut it’s better to just hear from what others have to say and build up some relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The event began with a recitation of a verse from the Quran by an imam, a community leader who is designated to lead prayers at a mosque.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Afterward, the president of the mosque, Mohammed\u00a0Elithy, extended a welcome to the non-Muslim members of the community. He emphasized the mosque is a haven for any member of the community, Muslim or non-Muslim.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where we extend a hand. This is where when somebody needs help, they come to us,\u201d Elithy said. \u201cAs our neighbors, as our friends, we want you to see us on the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event also featured a tour of the mosque, a Q&A session and the opportunity to watch Muslims attendants pray Asr, one of the five daily prayers. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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The main prayer room is empty during ‘open mosque day’ at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT Masjid) in Richardson, Texas, Saturday, July 18, 2026. The women\u2019s prayer area (top) overlooks the mens area below.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Plano\u2019s open house\u00a0<\/p>\n
Similar conversations unfolded earlier Saturday at the Islamic Association of Collin County in Plano, where another Open Mosque Day brought residents together to learn about Islam.<\/p>\n
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Attendees asked questions ranging from \u201cHow do mosques select their leaders?\u201d to \u201cWhat\u2019s the relationship between Shia and Sunni Muslims?\u201d<\/p>\n
One attendee said he has learned much about Islam from his Muslim neighbor, and asked about the rights of women in Muslim countries.<\/p>\n
Among the visitors was Jarren Mohanna, a member of Custer Road United Methodist Church, who brought 15 members of her church to the event to learn about their Muslim neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll our fears and all our judgments are created by not really knowing the people,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the event, Mohanna said she appreciated the discussion on the meaning of Shariah and the history of Muslims in America and around the world, saying she came away understanding it as similar to the Ten Commandments in the Bible.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGetting to know our neighbors will dispel some preconceived ideas that were maybe not accurate, but based on political rhetoric and some fears that people have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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People get food during ‘open mosque day’ at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT Masjid) in Richardson, Texas, Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Why organizers say the event matters<\/p>\n
Organizers said the open house comes at a time when Muslims in Texas continue to face political rhetoric they believe misrepresents their faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last couple of election cycles, the politicians, and even our governor, have used Islam as their crying point to get elected and to\u2026 rile up their base, and they spread all these false statements and false rumors,\u201d said Khalid Hamideh, legal counsel for the Islamic Association of North Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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He added that hosting open houses inside the mosque is extremely important because Muslims are on the election ballots and are being \u201cunfairly targeted by the extreme right wing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamideh said events like Open Mosque Day give residents an opportunity to form opinions based on personal interactions rather than political messaging.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve got to let our friends and neighbors know what we stand for and who we are,\u201d Hamideh said. \u201cWe are just like anyone else. We care about our kids in school. We care about gun control. We care about abortion. The message is we’re good for Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff writer Isabella Volmert contributed reporting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open Mosque Day at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT Masjid) in Richardson, Texas, Saturday, July 18, 2026.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28,88338,92240],"class_list":["post-379696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-tp-collin-county","tag-tp-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}