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SALT LAKE CITY — Islamic leader Imam Shuaib Din is offering a free, 12-week course at the Utah Islamic Center to educate recent converts about the basics of Islam.
The class started Jan. 13 and will continue for the subsequent 11 weeks at 7:30 p.m. in the main prayer hall.
“We felt as a community that there was a greater need to take care of those who had converted to Islam and embraced the faith,” Din said.
Din plans to teach Islamic basics such as how to pray in Arabic, the do’s and don’ts of the religion and the Islamic code of ethics.
“The main purpose of the class is just to simply teach the basics of Islam, what every Muslim should know,” Din said. “Most of the people who are coming to the class already know that Islam, like any other religion in the world, is a peaceful religion and does not promote or condone violence of any kind, but it’s always good to reiterate at the expense of repeating the obvious.”
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and Salt Lake has a large Muslim community, but the retention rate is very low, Din said.
“Not many people hold onto the faith after officially embracing the faith, so many of them fall through the cracks,” Din said. “This [class] is just a drop in the bucket to have people hold onto the faith.”
Anybody is welcome to attend the class.
