Mourners in New Zealand from two mosques have begun burying their dead. It's been over a week since a mass shooter killed 50 people in Christchurch. MPB's Jasmine Ellis spoke to Muslims in Mississippi who say they are not allowing hate to stop them from worshiping.
Okolo Rashid is co-founder and president of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson. She is giving a tour through The Legacy of Timbuktu: Wonders of the Written Word exhibit. Rashid says she wishes people were more informed on the history of Islam.
"One thing that Islam teaches is that God created every human being with this sense of inner dignity... a moral compass," said Rashid. "And, therefore, every human being has that. So there's this ability to reconnect and to nurture that inner dignity that's in yourself. But also that means that you have to see that in others."
At the Masjid Muhammad mosque in Jackson, security measures have long been in place to protect worshippers. Ameen Abdur-Rashied is imam at Masjid Muhammad. Although they are concerned about their safety, he says God is the best form of protection.
"In Islam death is not the worst thing," said Abdur-Rashied. "Our perception about death is different because we have to think about it all the time. We have verses and chapters in the Quran that remind us about death. But the one comes to mind that oppression is worse than death. So death is not the worst thing for a Muslim oppression is."
Members of the Muslim Community say they are not going to live in fear.
