Ramadan approaching; religious freedom something to be celebrated

First Amendment gives all religious groups right to practice openly

Posted: June 21, 2014 - 8:06pm
By NATALIE GROSS
A-J MEDIA

During a sit-down dinner with a Lubbock Muslim family on Wednesday, a typical Ramadan meal in front of them, a mother looked at her daughter and laughed.

“We believe we are normal.”

Unfortunately, since moving to the U.S. from Lebanon almost 20 years ago, the Mechref-Rafei family hasn’t always been thought of that way, often getting lumped in with stereotypes propagated by Islamic extremists or ignored once someone finds out about their faith.

“Actually, one thing about Islam — with the extremists’ whole ideas and the way they make things look bad about Islam — nobody knows that Islam respects other religions,” said Reda Rafei, wife to Yehiah Mechref and mother to American-born Muslims Farah and Miriam. “We have to be kind to our neighbors who are from the other religion and treat them well.”

http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2014-06-21/ramadan-approaching-religious-freedom-something-be-celebrated#.U6ZJlk7D_aE