New Fort Collins Mosque, Islamic Center Gives Visibility to Muslim Community
Praying knees felt for the first time last week the plush hand-woven carpet of the newly constructed Fort Collins mosque and Islamic Center.
The 18,000-square-foot facility at 925 W. Lake St. obtained a temporary permit to allow a prayer service Thursday, but will officially open in coming weeks as a beacon of hope and visibility to the city’s roughly 2,000-strong Muslim community.
The Turkish-style mosque, complete with a 70-foot minaret and 50-foot dome both topped with crescent moons, is not only an upgrade in space to the community but in community accessibility and prominence, said Islamic community leader Shakir Muhammad.
The Islamic Center’s current building is just more than 2,500 square feet without many external identifying features.
“It lets people know where we’re at,” he said. “Right now, people have a hard time finding us. As a Muslim community, we’ve been under the radar and just doing our own thing. It’s time to put ourselves more on the map.”
Around five years ago, the Fort Collins Shambhala Center made a similar move, renovating an old bar in Old Town Fort Collins to provide a more central, visible meditation center.
Shambhala Buddhism originates from Tibet and encourages the awakening of society and the emergence of good human society, said Director of Practice and Education John Reichhardt. Those goals are accomplished through meditation and the embodiment of individual kindness and compassion, he added.
Fort Collins’ Shambhala community saw a dramatic uptick in community involvement and membership after moving into the new facility, 126A Mountain Ave. The group now has more than 800 on its mailing list, 100 core members who support the center financially, through meditation and volunteerism and countless others who come to three weekly meditation teachings, Reichhardt said.
“There’s a tremendous interest in meditation,” he said. “We’ve also found that our presence in a central area helps make a statement about tolerance. People — whether their wisdom tradition is Islam, Buddhism, Christianity or something else — all have a basis of wisdom to share.”
Source: coloradoan.com
The Turkish-style mosque, complete with a 70-foot minaret and 50-foot dome both topped with crescent moons, is not only an upgrade in space to the community but in community accessibility and prominence, said Islamic community leader Shakir Muhammad.
The Islamic Center’s current building is just more than 2,500 square feet without many external identifying features.
“It lets people know where we’re at,” he said. “Right now, people have a hard time finding us. As a Muslim community, we’ve been under the radar and just doing our own thing. It’s time to put ourselves more on the map.”
Around five years ago, the Fort Collins Shambhala Center made a similar move, renovating an old bar in Old Town Fort Collins to provide a more central, visible meditation center.
Shambhala Buddhism originates from Tibet and encourages the awakening of society and the emergence of good human society, said Director of Practice and Education John Reichhardt. Those goals are accomplished through meditation and the embodiment of individual kindness and compassion, he added.
Fort Collins’ Shambhala community saw a dramatic uptick in community involvement and membership after moving into the new facility, 126A Mountain Ave. The group now has more than 800 on its mailing list, 100 core members who support the center financially, through meditation and volunteerism and countless others who come to three weekly meditation teachings, Reichhardt said.
“There’s a tremendous interest in meditation,” he said. “We’ve also found that our presence in a central area helps make a statement about tolerance. People — whether their wisdom tradition is Islam, Buddhism, Christianity or something else — all have a basis of wisdom to share.”
Source: coloradoan.com
