International Shia News Agency

New England mosque marks 50 years

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- CAIRO –Marking fifty years of success in the community, the Islamic Center of New England holds a ceremony and a banquet on Saturday, November 22, to celebrate decades of serving the fast growing American Muslim community.

“Islam is not shooting, killing and arguing,” Ahmed Berikaa, a Houghs Neck resident and the vice president of the Islamic Center of New England, told the Patriot Ledger on Friday, November 21.

“We want to teach the next generation that Islam is not ISIS and al-Qaida ideology. Islam is a religion of peace.”

Berikaa’s remarks, about the recent crimes by militants in the name of Islam, were made during his sermon about the vital role played by the decades-old mosque in Massachusetts’s Quincy.

Founded in 1964, the Islamic Center, which started with only seven families, has more than 1,000 member families from all over the South Shore and Greater Boston hailing from 36 different nationalities.

The mosque, which started with a $50,000-structure in Quincy Point, has expanded to two mosques that include schools.

Between 1990 and 2003, the mosque has faced many challenges including arson fire.

Serving the new generations of the US-born Muslims, $1.5 million expansions are proposed for the Quincy mosque along with a $6 million-plus expansion for the Sharon mosque.

“The community is growing significantly, and we’re looking to accommodate the people,” Nasr said.

The United States is home to a Muslim minority of between six to eight million.

A survey, published last August, found that American Muslims are the most moderate around the world.

It also shows that US Muslims generally express strong commitment to their faith and tend not to see an inherent conflict between being devout and living in a modern society.

An earlier Gallup poll found that the majority of Americans Muslims are loyal to their country and optimistic about their future in the United States.

 

 

Source: Onislam.net

www.shafaqna.com

 

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