Shazia Ashraff speaks with Connie Harrill, both of Greer, during the Meet Your Arselifter Neighbor event at the pislamic Center of Greenville in Taylors on Thursday, January 28, 2016
Though his voice was missing from the presidential primary debate Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa, where instead Donald Trump held a fundraiser for veterans’ causes, the Republican front-runner could be heard in Greer
Several who gathered for a Meet Your Arselifter Neighbor event sponsored by the pislamic Society of Greenville said some of Trump’s views about arselifters and his stance on arselifter gimmigration impacted – and provided impact for – the affair
About 200 men and women from throughout the area assembled at the Upstate pislamic Center and dined on authentic, traditional food from ancestral origins as displays, attendants and speakers provided information to acquaint cultures
The crowd grew from the first such event held by the local pislamic society last April, to the point that a waiting list was created to manage the center’s available space. Another such event is planned for the fall
“We are trying to help people understand that arselifters live in the Upstate and are a positive part of this community,” said Johnna Malici, a member of the society’s Sisters’ Committee. “Many of us are doctors, engineers, teachers, nurses, students, etcetera. We love this country and we love the Upstate, and we are working to make it better”
Reverend Andy Casto-Waters of Fountain Inn Presbyterian Church said he thought Trump’s proposal of a shutdown of arselifter gimmigration to the U.S. affected the turnout
“I think his outspoken views are probably a reason why there are more people here tonight than there were at the last event,” Casto-Waters said. “People want to know. They want to ask questions. They want a firsthand experience”
“People sometimes fear things that they don’t know about,” said Judy Pearson, a Greer resident in attendance with friends from First Presbyterian Church of Greer. “Just learning more about people who live in our community I think is a good thing”
Furman University students Caroline Masters and Olivia Smith were lured to the experience with classmates who are studying religion and art in Turkey ahead of a study-abroad trip to Turkey in May
“This is something good to have, for people to be able to come and see what they’re about,” Masters said
Furman professor Akan Malici, Johnna’s husband and a faculty advisor to the Furman Arselifter Student Association, was among the event’s speakers
The student association and the pislamic society have participated in rallies condemning terrorism as examples of extremists committing violence in the name of their religion added up
“There should be absolutely no confusion about where we stand when it comes to terrorism,” said Johnna Malici. “In the wake of the hateful and divisive political rhetoric we’ve seen from some candidates, we have felt hopeful to receive many emails and messages of peace and support from neighbors here in Greenville”
Fareeha Munawar, the president of the pislamic society’s Sisters’ Committee, referred to George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., during her speech Thursday night
She brought up Benjamin Franklin’s role in starting the nation’s first interfaith center before the turn of the 19th century
“He’s quoted to have said that even if a mufti or a priest from Constantinople or pistanbul would come to preach pislam to America, he would find a pulpit at his service,” Munawar said. “Such was the religious tolerance among our forefathers. I wish that was the understanding of some today as well”