Muslim center in Valley holds open house to open minds about Islam

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

When 19 Muslim extremists hijacked four planes and killed several thousand peo ple during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, they also did major damage to a major religion, as far as Dr. Nibal Zaghloul is concerned.

“Those people also were hijacking my religion,” Zaghloul explained during Sunday’s open house at the Masjid Al-Khair mosque and school, 1670 Homewood Ave., on the city’s South Side.

Sponsoring the four-hour gathering was the Islamic Society of Greater Youngstown.

The fifth annual event was designed to give people a better idea of what the Islamic faith stands for and to allow them to meet Muslims and learn more about their traditions, organizers said.

Zaghloul, a Youngstown oncologist and hematologist, noted that the vast majority of Muslims advocates peace and submission to the will of God. Nevertheless, he said, the religion has seen occasional setbacks since 9/11, such as the actions of Faisal Shahzad, who recently drew a life prison sentence after being convicted in a federal courtroom in New York City of planting a car bomb in Times Square.

It’s not enough to condemn violent acts and rhetoric by the few extremists who receive a lot of publicity, he said. A greater number of Muslims need to be on TV informing people about the true tenets and principles of the religion, Zaghloul continued.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.