Attending the groundbreaking for the new Institute of Islamic Studies site off Old Trenton Road last July, West Windsor police sergeant Mark Lee thought of ways to reach out and welcome the group to West Windsor.
At the end of February Lee, as in-service training coordinator for the West Windsor Police Department, organized a four-day, department-wide diversity symposium with members from the Institute.
Township staff from other departments also participated, and the main goal for Lee, a 19-year department veteran who grew up and lives in West Windsor, was to have everyone be a part of a shared community.
“The Institute leadership itself are residents of West Windsor,” Lee says. “We wanted to have a very good understanding of the Islamic faith as well as the cultural backgrounds. Knowing that we had this group that was going to be a part of the community, we wanted to welcome them in, like we would with any other part of the community.”
The Institute is moving from East Windsor to West Windsor and the new mosque is expected to be completed in 2016. The majority of the congregation are from India and Pakistan.
The event featured speakers from the Institute with extensive dialogue and mutual introductions.
“People just openly asked questions, and I knew the group wanted to be open about extremism, what separates them from what is being seen overseas,” Lee says. “We understood the different denominations within the township and we understand people’s rights to practice faith.”
Some negative online comments reacting to news of the event underscored Lee’s belief in the value of organizing such an event.
“Some of the comments that came out, it shows why we need to do this, why we as a township need to lead,” Lee says. “I think people need to be more aware, taking the important first step of knowing who our community is. The current events are out there. Unfortunately, when you see the stuff on TV, it’s stuff that sells. The stuff that we did is a positive thing, we wanted to get out there it’s not all negative.”
Lee also pointed to current events that emphasize the importance of building bridges in the community.
“Ferguson is an example of not having connection with your community. When something does happen, it is better to be able to communicate with your community. I think we’ve established that. That’s where Chief Joseph Pica has really instilled in us to be part of the community. Not only did he support this event, he encouraged it.”
Lee says he met a fellow resident, Mazoor Hussain, and received an informational book on Islam authored by Hussain.
“Dr. Hussain has been a West Windsor resident since 1976,” Lee says. “It’s somewhat irritating hearing how they are outsiders. This guy has been here for almost 40 years. It goes to show you how people need to understand a little better who is part of our community. The Institute leadership has welcomed anyone to visit and learn more about the faith and the culture, to have a dialogue, and to address extremism, what’s going on overseas.”
Hussain talked to the police department about the different prayers Muslims conduct throughout the day, and Lee says knowing this is helpful for officers.
“You don’t have to be in the mosque in order to pray. It’s based on timing, sunset is one of the prayers. The prayer is very short in duration. If we encounter someone who is praying, let’s say at sunset, Dr. Hussain asks we respect the fact that they are praying, and allow them to finish the prayer, and wait for him to finish prior to interceding with him, unless there’s an obvious safety issue. It is generally accepted, it may not be, but at least we have a better understanding.”
Police officers also are in contact with families when a family member dies.
“As with all the faith groups in West Windsor, we have the deaths of the loved one, we respond. We want to make sure we help the family at the time of grief, and respect their religious values.”
This was the first time the police department has reached out to a religious community to learn about Islam, but not the first cultural diversity event.
“The Martin Luther King Day Human Relations Council event, we took part in it,” Lee says. “Lieutenant Robert Garofalo spoke during the meeting. Seeing the different nationalities in the room, this is what MLK meant, when you can have so many people getting together and just enjoying the day, respecting each other.”
#b#Plainsboro Outreach.#/b# The Plainsboro Police Department held a town hall style community interaction program Saturday, March 14. Sergeant Joseph Jankowski said a diverse group of 60 people attended.
“After a brief burglary safety presentation, it was a forum for the community to ask us questions and we were candid as can be,” Jankowski says. “The design of the program is to create that transparency between the community and the police, for residents to ask ‘why do you do this, why do you do that.’ This is the first time we’ve held the program and it will be held on a standing basis in March and October.”
Smaller scale “coffee with a cop” events are held at the library, and the interaction program grew out of an earlier collaboration with the township Human Relations Council (HRC).
“We had some burglaries and home invasions in the surrounding communities that were targeting the Asian-Indian community specifically,” Jankowski says. “HRC got a lot of feedback, and we had messages we wanted to get to that community. In December we had a meeting. The largest message is cooperation with the police department. If they see something, say something. If somebody comes to your door, to your neighbor’s house, call us. Open the line of communication, it’s okay to call us even if it’s the smallest of things. From there working with HRC, we decided, let’s do something twice a year and open it up to the entire community.”
