September 2009
13 posts
Movin' on up -
Salam all,
We have procured 30mosques.com and redesigned the site.
All updates from this point on, will be on 30mosques.com -
goodbye tumblr -
www.30mosques.com
Day 22: Albanian Islamic Cultural Center
Staten Island definitely has some of the most precious hidden gems in New York City’s Muslim community. So tonight Bassam and I were joined by our homey Jordan Robinson and together we hopped on a ferry to Staten Island to do some treasure hunting. Hello Statue of Liberty.
We got off the ferry and took a short cab ride to our destination the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center. Before I...
Day 21: Harlem Islamic Cultural Center
Today we visited this new masjid that was established a couple of months back. Take two steps away from the bodega and you’ll miss it.
A brief dhikr took place before iftaar. The congregants at the masjid were incredibly hospitable. Everyone I walked by asked if I had enough orange juice, tea or coffee. The majority of the people were from West Africa and spoke both Walaf and Arabic. We...
Day 20: Makki Masjid
A few blocks from the subway in Brooklyn, Bassam and I took a stroll down Coney Island Avenue and found a bustling street of Pakistani run businesses, including a hospital. Check out the banner on the hospital celebrating Pakistan’s Independence Day last month.
Across the street from the hospital was our destination, the Makki Masjid.
It’s a predominantly Pakistani mosque that is...
Day 18: MAS Youth Center
I was tired and slept my way to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Thankfully the train ride took 70 minutes so I was fresh by the time I got off the train.
There was a certain calmness in the air, something you just don’t get in Manhattan.
There are many mosques in Bay Ridge and it was tough to choose which one to visit. Somehow or another, we decided on the Muslim American Society (MAS) Youth...
Day 17: Mount Hope Masjid
Today Bassam and I were joined by our good friend Omar Mullick as we went into the south Bronx to check out the Mount Hope Masjid. This is a congregation of primarily West Africans. One of the people that talked to us said most of the people are from s Togo and Ghana. He said the two countries’ cultures are similar, comparing them to the similarities between New York and New Jersey.
What...
Day 16: Jamaica Muslim Center, Inc
Note: Many comments from this posting have disappeared. We encourage those whose comments have disappeared to re-post their thoughts. Sorry for the inconvenience, Aman and I are looking into this issue.
How do you get to Sesame Street? Follow a muppet. Jamaica Muslim Center? Follow the topis (hats) and hijabs on Hillside Ave.
O, how Jamaica has changed! Back when we lived in Astoria, I...
Day 15: Noor Al-Islam Center
Our first trip on our journey to Staten Island, way overdue. No Bassam today, but instead I took my little brother Zeshawn and my cousin Salman to the Noor Al-Islam Center on Richmond Terrace. This is a World War II bomb factory they converted into a mosque. But before I get to that, we first took a chillaxing 25-minute ferry ride to Staten Island. Bye bye Manhattan and Statue of Liberty:
To...
Day 14: Riverdale Islamic Center
Today, Aman and I went to the Riverdale Islamic Center in The Bronx. It’s interesting how no other borough in New York has a definitive THE in front of it. I have yet to hear anyone say the Queens or the Brooklyn.
(Update: Turns out the Bronx comes from the landowner who acquired the borough back in 1639, Jonas Broncks. - Here’s a snippet from an article:
“A river ran through...
Day 13: Masjid Dawood, another take
This entry was written by Fatima Ashraf. A community activist who wants to “make it plain,” as brother Malcolm taught us.
Masjid Dawood, better known as the Yemeni Mosque on State St, is a sad story in my opinion. But let me start with the good, since it is Ramadan. The sister’s section is on the second floor. The carpet in this masjid always reminded me of the Dome of the...
Day 13: Dawood Mosque
Today I was was Bassam-less and continued my journey into Brooklyn to one of my favorite places to pray at, the Dawood Mosque.
This is a predominantly Arab mosque with a fair amount of South Asians and African Americans as well. I got there about 10 minutes before prayer and was confused why it seemed like I was one of the only one there.
But then I heard people chatting downstairs and...
Day 12: Masjid Tawhid Inc.
In Brooklyn, go east on Ralph Ave and you’ll see two mosques. The Bangladeshi masjid.
And then, two blocks later, the West African one.
My good friend Ibrahim AbdulMatin pressed me hard this afternoon to go to the West African masjid. To be honest, it was difficult passing up the South Asian mosque. I was Aman-less today and wasn’t ready to be out of my element. But I had to...
Day 11: Masjid Al-Hikmah
Bassam and I headed back into Queens to check out Masjid Al-Hikmah. The building is extremely difficult to miss in the homey residential neighborhood on 31st Street
This place has a predominantly Indonesian congregation. Given the fact that Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the entire world, the breathtaking size of the mosque seems fitting.
Apparently last week the mosque had...
Day 10: Masjid Al-Farooq
Brooklyn: New York’s cultural hotspot … and the place that rappers have to give shoutouts to 31 times in every hip hop record.
Step outside the subway station at Atlantic Avenue and immediately you get hit with crazy amounts of gentrification, including this huge shopping center.
Lucky for me, the place I need to go to is Masjid Al-Farooq. It’s about a block away from the...
August 2009
10 posts
Day 9: Masjid Aqsa
Today, I decided to stay in my neighborhood and visit Masjid Aqsa. The mosque is a couple of blocks south of my apartment on 116th and Frederick Douglas. The community is predominantly West African. It is said that this area also houses the majority of the Senegalese in New York.
Similar to other masajid in Manhattan, vendors surrounded the entrance selling everything from Madani Dates to Nike...
Day 8: Masjid Noor-Ul-Huda
The Bronx! My family was in town today, so I decided to bring them along to visit Masjid Noor-Ul-Huda off Gun Hill Road. This is a large house they renovated into a breathtakingly beautiful mosque (that’s my Mommy on the bottom right).
I’m floored by the fact they only spent $500,000 to build this place. Check out how beautiful the interior is.
This place was 3 levels. Wudhu and...
Day 7: Al-Iman Mosque
Little Egypt, Queens. Where it smells like argilah and tantalizing Arabic cuisines named “Magic Carpet” live. We won’t tell Disney if you don’t.
The Al-Iman Mosque is tucked along these streets.
A really nice set of double doors welcome the congregants, well, the male congregants. Unfortunately, the sisters entrance isn’t as lofty. Left of this entrance is a...
Day 6: Madina Masjid
Today, Aman and I trekked out to Madina Masjid. It’s located in the heart of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
The masjid sign outside reads, “Islam Is The Way. Read The Quran The Final Revelation.” An interesting sign for a predominantly upper middle class white neighborhood.
Similar to the 29th st. masjid, we were filed into the basement to break fast. Everyone sat...
Day 5: Islamic Center of Mid-Manhattan
This place provides refuge from all the posh fashion shops up and down Lexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
I broke my fast with some milk, dates and a plum.The people who go there consisted mainly of young professionals, who mostly work in the area. The person I sat next to was named Waleed and works for the investment group Barclays Capital. He’s a cool guy and is coming to my...
Day 4: Islamic Cultural Center of NY
Wow. This mosque hiding behind the trees is believed to be the largest mosque in the NYC area. Its primarily funded by the Kuwaiti government.
Lined around the masjid gates were vendors and congregants waiting for iftaar.
This is also the first masjid in New York that resembles a traditional masjid.
There was a brief drought of dates which led everyone to attack the bananas. Thankfully,...
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Day 3: Malcom X's Mosque
Today we went to the Malcom Shabazz Cultural Center on W. 116th Street in Harlem (the photo I took was crappy, so I borrowed one from our friends at Salatomatic.com). At one point in time this was a casino that soon became a full-fledged mosque dedicated to Muslim pioneer Malcom X.
The masjid volunteers kindly served us water with dates wrapped in foil. It was a very intimate gathering. They...
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Day 2: My neighborhood mosque
I was in a hurry to get home today, so I ended up just going to the mosque on E. 110th Street, about two blocks from my house.
Afterwards, I went to the Halal Chinese restaurant nearby. I just moved to this neighborhood about a week or so ago, so it was my first time going to the restaurant. Pretty nice guys, I ordered the Singapore Mei Fun (its what I typically get at any carryout Chinese place,...
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Day 1: The Journey Begins
Tonight my friend Bassam Tariq and I came up with an insanely random idea: What if we prayed at a different mosque every single day for the month of Ramadan? Hence, this Web site was born.
Tonight we prayed at Masjid Rehman, located on West 29th Street and Broadway. The place was insanely jam packed, you should have seen how many taxi cabs were parked outside the place.
This is a true story: I...