Muslim chef is sharing her religion one meal at a time

Amanda Saab is a Detroit-based social worker and blogger who is using food to help people understand her faith.

Saab, the first Muslim woman to compete on Fox’s “MasterChef” in a headscarf, has been inviting guests over to her home for over a year to have open conversations about what it’s like to be Muslim in America today ― while serving visitors a fresh, home-cooked meal.

God willing we will be started our #DinnerWithYourMuslimNeighbor in the coming weeks. If you live in SE #michigan are not Muslim , are interested in joining us for dinner and learning more about #islam (and don’t mind being on video) please let me know ?? #NoBigtoryNoHate #StrongerTogether #wethepeople #americanMuslum #islamophobia

A post shared by Amanda Saab (@amanda.saab) on Feb 13, 2017 at 7:52am PST

The idea came to the chef while she watched the news after work one day. On her blog, Saab wrote about how she became frustrated by how Islam was being been depicted in a negative light. She decided she wanted to be “more available, open and welcoming” to people in her life who may have questions about Islam.

Candid shot of @hussein_saab and I at yesterday’s #DinnerWithYourMuslimNeighbor ???? inshallah it will be aired soon on @king5seattle I’ll post links when it’s available ?? ?: @internationalexaminer

A post shared by Amanda Saab (@amanda.saab) on Aug 13, 2016 at 7:22pm PDT

Saab and her husband, Hussein Saab, decided to try inviting a small group of colleagues, friends, and some strangers over to their house for an interfaith dinner. Since the first meal in January 2016, they’ve had several dinners both in their old home in Seattle, Washington, and after they moved to Detroit, Michigan. Saab has also taken the event to universities.

“For us, culturally and religiously, it’s so important to be hospitable and treat others with respect and kindness,” Saab said on an NBC News video. “So let’s start at a basic fundamental need that we all need, which is nourishment and let’s not only nourish our stomachs but let’s nourish our minds.”

Thank you to all who attended our first Dinner With Your Muslim Neighbor event last week, inspired by our lovely guest speaker, MasterChef Season 6 Contestant Amanda Saab! #DinnerWithYourMuslimNeighbor ?

A post shared by Students for Islamic Awareness (@sia_umd) on Dec 13, 2016 at 7:38pm PST

At a dinner this week, Saab and a few guests gathered at her home in Detroit for an intimate meal. On the menu, according to a Facebook post by Saab, was salmon with garlic herb butter, pesto chicken with Alfredo pasta, roasted rosemary potatoes, asparagus, fig and goat cheese crostini and a citrus salad.

On Facebook, Saab thanked her guests for their compassion and willingness to engage in an important conversation.

“I enjoyed hearing your perspectives and experiences and hope we can continue to work together to make our world the place we want it to be,” she wrote.

COURTESY HUFFINGTON POST