Islamic Group to Build Mosque
The Muslim community in Germantown, Maryland, USA, could soon have a place to worship, learn, celebrate and mourn in the upcounty.
The Muslim community has grown over the past several years to an estimated 200-300 families in Germantown, according to Ammar Najar, an imam and board member on the Islamic Society of Germantown.
The society bought nearly an acre of land for a masjid, or mosque, at 19825 Blunt Road in 2002, according to Najar. The society recently submitted preliminary plans for the project to the county's Planning Department and could have a decision from the Planning Board by the end of the year, he said.
Plans for the two-story, 10,000-12,000-square-foot masjid include classrooms and seating for about 230 people, Najar said. The religious center would host Muslim weddings, funerals, prayers and other events, he said.
"It's a place for them to come out and meet other people, a place that plays a major role in the community," said Najar of Germantown. "The way it is now, people barely see each other. They're busy and have very limited time."
The masjid will have room for the society's Sunday school classes for youths, now held at Fox Chapel Elementary School in Germantown.
"Hopefully once it's up on its feet it'll be a place to give education about Islam," Najar said. "It'll be good for the community at large."
The project is expected to cost around $900,000, Najar said.
Any action on the facility is likely to occur after the County Council finishes its work on the Germantown Employment Corridor Sector Plan, which is scheduled to conclude by the end of the year. County planners have proposed connecting Blunt Road, a cul-de-sac, to Middlebrook Road. The extended road would go through three properties on Blunt Road that the society wants to purchase from the county for extra parking.
The society has been working with the county on the details of the road, Najar said.
There are two mosques in the county, according to Najar and Irma Hafeez, president of the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the Montgomery County Muslim Council. The mosques are the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring and the Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg.
Attendance at the Islamic Center of Maryland's three Friday services is so high that the congregation also hosts services at the Casey Community Center in Gaithersburg, Hafeez said.
"We already have a mosque in Gaithersburg but the community has expanded so much that it's just too far to go to [Route] 124," said Hafeez, also chairwoman of the county's Middle Eastern American Advisory Group. "You can see there's a need."
The Islamic Society of Germantown operates out of donated space above the Iman Learning Center, a Germantown daycare, and also holds a weekly service at Casey Community Center, Najar said.
Source: Gazette.net
The society bought nearly an acre of land for a masjid, or mosque, at 19825 Blunt Road in 2002, according to Najar. The society recently submitted preliminary plans for the project to the county's Planning Department and could have a decision from the Planning Board by the end of the year, he said.
Plans for the two-story, 10,000-12,000-square-foot masjid include classrooms and seating for about 230 people, Najar said. The religious center would host Muslim weddings, funerals, prayers and other events, he said.
"It's a place for them to come out and meet other people, a place that plays a major role in the community," said Najar of Germantown. "The way it is now, people barely see each other. They're busy and have very limited time."
The masjid will have room for the society's Sunday school classes for youths, now held at Fox Chapel Elementary School in Germantown.
"Hopefully once it's up on its feet it'll be a place to give education about Islam," Najar said. "It'll be good for the community at large."
The project is expected to cost around $900,000, Najar said.
Any action on the facility is likely to occur after the County Council finishes its work on the Germantown Employment Corridor Sector Plan, which is scheduled to conclude by the end of the year. County planners have proposed connecting Blunt Road, a cul-de-sac, to Middlebrook Road. The extended road would go through three properties on Blunt Road that the society wants to purchase from the county for extra parking.
The society has been working with the county on the details of the road, Najar said.
There are two mosques in the county, according to Najar and Irma Hafeez, president of the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the Montgomery County Muslim Council. The mosques are the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring and the Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg.
Attendance at the Islamic Center of Maryland's three Friday services is so high that the congregation also hosts services at the Casey Community Center in Gaithersburg, Hafeez said.
"We already have a mosque in Gaithersburg but the community has expanded so much that it's just too far to go to [Route] 124," said Hafeez, also chairwoman of the county's Middle Eastern American Advisory Group. "You can see there's a need."
The Islamic Society of Germantown operates out of donated space above the Iman Learning Center, a Germantown daycare, and also holds a weekly service at Casey Community Center, Najar said.
Source: Gazette.net
