US: Muslim Day at Six Flags

They just can't stop proselytizing, can they? Convert or die, infidel.

"An opportunity to talk to curious non-Muslims about Islam at the park.'

On any other day, Sobia Ahmed would opt to forgo many of the snacks on offer at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. To perform the Islamic prayers she recites five times a day, she likely would slip onto a secluded path at the amusement park or look for solace under a shady tree for a few furtive minutes. But this Saturday Ahmed and her family will eat and pray at their leisure in the park with hundreds of other Muslims from the Chicago area who plan to visit the sprawling entertainment center for a day catered especially to them.

For the fourth time since 2004, Six Flags in Gurnee is sponsoring Muslim Day, bringing in outside caterers to provide halal food and turning an amphitheater into a makeshift mosque to accommodate Muslims who observe dietary laws and strict prayer schedules. Muslims who plan to go say they appreciate the sense of community the event creates as well as the opportunity to talk about Islam with curious non-Muslims at the park.

A brief history of the event:

Started in New Jersey by an interethnic Muslim organization called the Islamic Circle of North America, Muslim Day at Six Flags has grown from a one-time gig focusing on youth—which took place a few days before the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy—into a popular annual family event at several of the company's theme parks, Muslim organizers and park representatives said. One of the New Jersey organizers died in the World Trade Center, which stalled efforts to organize a Muslim Day in 2002, according to Raza Farrukh, the Islamic group's New Jersey representative.

Today the New Jersey event is so big that the organizers typically buy a day at the park for Muslims only. There are also special days for Muslims at parks around Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles, in addition to Chicago, organizers said.