THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER: First festival of its kind in Hawaii draws at least 1,000 to McCoy Pavilion
When the Hawai'i Legislature approved a resolution declaring Sept. 24 "Islam Day," the measure set of[f] a firestorm of debate because the day fell so close to the date of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
But yesterday, politics was set aside as hundreds of people packed the McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Beach Park to celebrate Hawai'i's first Islam Day.
By 5 p.m., about 1,000 people had walked through the pavilion's gates and event organizers expected more as people got off work and headed to the park.
"We expected 200 to 300, so we're very pleased with the turnout," said Hakim Ouansafi, president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, which sponsored the event.
More than a dozen Honolulu police officers and private security personnel patrolled the pavilion grounds, but there were no protests or reports of trouble.
"It's a historic day. It's long overdue," Ouansafi said. "It's a day of celebrating our commonality, a day of people of faith and no faith to get together and talk story."
The Legislature approved the resolution last session to acknowledge the "rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" of the Islamic world. Yesterday was selected because it marked the end of Ramadan, the month in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and make contributions to charities.
But the resolution sparked debate in Hawai'i and across the country because Islam Day fell in the same month as the Sept. 11 attacks. Critics were concerned about the link between the Islam religion and the extremists responsible for the attacks.
Ouansafi said criticism of Islam Day had subsided since the resolution was passed and opposition soon changed to support.
"A lot of people reacted out of fear and ignorance and they've had a chance to reflect a little bit more and people are coming around," he said.>>> Curtis Lum, Advertiser Staff Writer | Friday, September 25, 2009
