Photo by Howard Owens
Muhammad Hamaz has never met another Muslim in Batavia. He worships with a community in Rochester when he can. He said he wanted people in Batavia to know more about Islam, so he sat on a bench Wednesday on Main Street, between the U.S. Post Office and Tim Horton's, holding a sign that read, "I'm A Muslim. Ask Me About Islam."
At the time a reporter spoke with him, nobody up to that point in the day had stopped to ask him about Islam, he said.
"I want to teach others about Islam to the best of my ability and let others know that it is not a violent religion and that it is a religion of peace," Hamaz said.
A soft-spoken man, Hamaz said he converted to Islam on Oct. 14.
"Islam interested me because I never really believed that Jesus was God," Hamaz said. "I never really believed in the Trinity. So when it came down to Islam, well, Jesus was just a very beloved prophet. I was like, 'That makes more sense to me.' I always want to worship just God, not Jesus, because Jesus is just a guy, and, well, a very beloved guy. I just fell in love with Islam as I learned about it."
If anybody did stop and talk with him, he said his message was simple for his fellow Batavia residents: Islam teaches peace.
"I just want people to know that Islam is not a dangerous religion," Hamaz said. "After 911, so many people think that Islam is a religion of terrorism. It's really not. It's about love and peace and submitting to the will of God. And I want people to know that I am out here because I want other people to know exactly what I said and that Islam is not violence."
