Starting Out

Inside a European mosque.

We recently returned from another city where a cultural center was in place. In this city, there is an even larger mslm population than our own, and workers have been there a lot longer. The center was started and funded by believers from another North African country. At the center immigrants can take classes for computer, Spanish, English etc. We were able to tour the small facility and see how one group of workers are using the center to reach out.

It's easy to look at this center and ask the question, "So, when do you tell them about Him?" It's easy to be critical and say the center is not a means for us to engage people. But during our 2 week Islamic Studies class, we learned some valuable information about the culture:

• Women immigrants living in Europe need a place to gather and socialize with other women. Some women are only allowed to leave the home once during each day, so they want a place where they can be with other women. Because places they would normally go can't be found in Europe (take for instance, the Haman), women need a place to gather. Can we use a center to meet their social needs, as well as teach them a valuable skill? Can the relationships we build during these classes carry over into our daily lives?




• Immigrants need to learn the language of their current country. Many countries in Europe aren't thrilled to have so many new immigrants. So an immigrants chances at starting a language exchange with a native are slim to none. Are language classes offered at the cultural center a practical way we can help?




• Being a worker in Europe has it's good points and bad points: Good-we can openly share what we believe without fear of being kicked out of the country. Bad-we live in one culture, but are building relationships with another-it can be hard to have a legitimate reason for meeting a NA. We can shop at their stores, and eat at their restaurants, but what other more stable ways can we build relationships? Can a cultural center give us more long term access to people who need to hear the hope we have?
  

A cultural center is something we'd like to see here in our city. There are currently people working to get it up and running. We don't disregard some of the cons of having a cultural center. Centers take lots of funding to get up and running, they require people to staff the classes, and it can be a big drain on ones energy. However, while we don't plan on putting all of our eggs in one basket, we do feel a cultural center would be one way to reach into the lives of immigrants in our city. Here we hope to create more of a Internet cafe and classroom center so that it can be self-sufficient. A cultural center is not for everyone, or for every city. But we trust that if He wants this to happen as a means to engage people, than it will happen in His timing.