By Anam A.
WNYMuslims held their second annual “Roses of the Prophets” event on Sunday October 12th and Monday October 13th.
Over 30 volunteers helped distribute multicolored roses to passersby at the Walden Galleria Mall on Sunday and at the University of Buffalo’s Student Union on Monday. The roses, which had quotes from each of the Abrahamic prophets – Prophet Moses/Musa (peace be upon him), Prophet Jesus/Isa (peace be upon him) and Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) – attached to them, were symbols of love and friendship on behalf of local Muslims, and were a peaceful response to some of the misconceptions regarding Muslims often portrayed in the media.
Last year’s event included sayings that were solely from Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him), but this initial concept was expanded upon this year to include the other prophets in order to encourage interfaith tolerance and increased unity within the community.
The event was so well-received on Sunday, that additional roses had to be bought and prepared overnight to ensure that there were enough for the next day. It is estimated that over 600 roses were distributed across 2 days.
“Roses of the Prophets” was seen by the community as a truly effective way to spread joy and raise awareness of the true nature of Islam, and many people commented on the meaningful impact of the seemingly small gesture of distributing a rose: Jeff Neubert e-mailed WNYMuslims and said he was “humbled by [WNYMuslims’] continuing efforts to promote peace within all cultures.”
Similar events have been held in the UK, Norway and USA, but this is the first known “Roses of the Prophet” event to include Jesus (peace be upon him) and Moses (peace be upon him) as well.
Thank you to all our generous donors and volunteers for helping make this event possible, especially Tasleema Baksh, Samad Khan and UB Muslim Students Association, whose contributions deserve a special mention.
Click HERE to read more about “Roses of the Prophets” in the Buffalo News.
Click HERE to see more photos from the event.