Mohammad's Feature News Article for Scholastic News Press Corps Application

 

Islamic Center of Indiana, PA

By Mohammad                                 

The Islamic center in Indiana was established in 2012, and it was hosted in a rented flimsy house located on West Pike Road. But in June 2014, it was moved to a newly  constructed building on 132 Philadelphia St. This building was constructed after an intense fundraising efforts by the congregation.

It is a non-profit organization that provides the muslim community with a place to fulfill their spiritual and cultural needs. Some members even consider this center as a home where they meet people who they call family in Indiana, especially those who live far from home.

This center has a worship hall where muslims perform their Friday Salat (physical prayer) and some other daily Salat on the rest of the week days such as morning, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening prayers. Also, it has other halls such as the celebration halls and some classroom chambers. The classrooms there serves the Sunday school of Arabic language Quran memorization and Islamic studies.

However, the Islamic center does not exclusively serve the Muslim community. One of it is main missions is to build bridges between the wider Indiana communities. With the bridges that connect and bring all people to a better understanding of each other’s differences. For example, the Islamic center assigned some days for everybody in Indiana to fast a day in Ramadan and get invited to share the breakfasting with muslims.

A recent event happened last September 25 was Eid Al-Adha. It is the second celebration for Muslims during the Islamic year. Islamic Eids don’t always occur in the same dates because the Islamic  calendar is based on the lunar month that follows the moon cycle of every month. Muslims and their friend(s) and neighbor(s) gathered in the very early morning. They prayed and ate some traditional foods together such as Shakshukah, Mamul, and Baklava. Eid Al-Adha is celebrated to remember and commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) trial by sacrificing an animal to the Lord such as a goat, lamb, or camel. Although it is not an obligation on everyone to do so.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                     

                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                            

         

                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                      

                                              

The Kabba

The Holy Quran