Toosif Ahmed and Zein Malik of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are standing at the Stadsplein in Amstelveen with a very simple request: ‘ask me a question’. “By entering into the conversation we want to combat polarization,” says Toosif with a plate in his hand.
I am muslim ask me a question, is written on their plates. “We notice that people find it difficult to start a conversation with Muslims, we want to break that.”
Soon the shoppers passed by Toosif and Zein. Simple questions about why they do this, to personal questions about whether they have ever experienced discrimination. “It is precisely those personal questions that are important,” says Toosif. “It shows that you want to understand each other.”
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Both gentlemen are part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. This is a movement within Islam that mainly focuses on charity. “Islam also means peace,” says Toosif. “The media sometimes focuses a lot on the very extreme believers,” Zein Malik explains to two interested passers-by, “but that doesn’t tell the whole story.”
Toosif and Zein have been busy all day answering all kinds of questions.