There are about 2,500 Muslims living in Northern Nevada. And during Ramadan, different groups meet at the Northern Nevada Muslim Community Center Mosque in Sparks. They meet at sunset for their meal of the day, to pray and to share news of the day.
As the events in Orlando, Florida unfolded this past week, members of the Muslim faith here grew concerned about non-Muslims and their tendency to cast judgment.
"In our community we got scared and a lot of people who were supposed to be cooking and coming here began to think that there would be retaliation. We had to call the Sparks Police and they were here for our protection while we were here."
Sharif Elfass is the President of the Muslim Community here.
"Every time something like this happens who is it that suffers? It is the innocent Muslims who suffer," he said. "And who gets scared? Innocent Muslims, law abiding citizens."
He is searching for answers to stopping terrorism in its tracks and to seeking out the bad apples in every religion.
"It is not the Muslim way," he says. "And people should understand that the Quran says that if you kill one person you kill all of humanity. And if you save one soul you save mankind. We are peaceful people and we feel that Reno/Sparks is a very good place to be. There is much support here from the Interfaith Community. We want to open up communication and invite in everyone to understand our religion and our traditions. We welcome all people."
