Worshipers in the main prayer hall, stand in rows facing Mecca in Saudi Arabia. (Dave Bender)
Muslims in Atlanta celebrated the opening of a new home for community and prayer yesterday. Their 10 million dollar mosque in midtown near Georgia Tech is considered the largest, most ornate mosque in the southeast.
Under the coppery dome of the white and tan al-Farooq mosque on 14th Street, over a hundred barefoot men and youths line up in rows, and prostrate themselves facing Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
A "mu'adhdhin" – or prayer-caller - intones the afternoon service in the building's dramatic, three-story, carpeted hall.
In the lobby behind them, over a hundred dignitaries, interfaith groups and Muslim worshipers are here to see the new 46,000 square-foot center.
It replaces the original, nearly 30-year-old mosque that had room for only 300 prayergoers. The new center’s prayer halls have room for 1,800 men and women.
One of them is veteran member, Haji Iqbal:
“We are glad. finally, we open it, you know, and have a big facility for all the people to come and worship.”Those who come to pray are Sunni Muslims, and they come from 39 different countries. They’re part of over 80,000 native and immigrant Muslims spread throughout metro Atlanta.
And Khalid Saddiq of the mosque's board of trustees says this community is happy with their spacious new spiritual centerpiece:
“I think it's a sense of humbleness and gratitude towards god almighty that he has enabled us to see the completion of this mosque. The mosque has turned out to be much better than what we ever expected.”To celebrate the opening, they invited the Atlanta community; from Baptist ministers and Jewish lay leaders, to state representatives like Congressman John Lewis:
“It's a tremendous new religious gathering place, and it's very wonderful for this open house to take place, and it's important for people to know and understand the Muslim community.”Two community members that are clearly proud of the new structure, are Pakistani immigrants Shakib Sadiqui and Adnan Hanan.
Worshipers Shakib Sadiqui and Adnan Hanan, standing near the mosque's minaret. (Dave Bender)
They stand beneath the building's almost 150-foot tall white minaret – or prayer tower. To them, the mosque is a symbol of Islam’s growth in Georgia and the south:
“It's a symbol of Islam, alhamdilah (Allah be praised), and you know, we pray to Allah – God Almighty – that he makes this a means of spreading Islam in this part of the world... and the opportunity to understand Islam."Besides the mosque, the four-acre complex includes a school, parking facilities, and officials hope to build a student residence hall and library.
Muslim community members and guests in the main prayer hall, as seen through the lobby's ornate glass doors. (Dave Bender)
