By Andrea CastilloThe Daily Northwestern
Tucked in between houses near the corner of Brown Avenue and Simpson Street in west Evanston, the future site of the city’s first mosque looks rather unremarkable.
Boards over the windows and pipes laying outside the building are a constant reminder that the building has been vacant for about a decade.
But the leaders for the Bangladesh Islamic Community Center have big plans for the modest building.
The site, 2045 Brown Ave., was previously home to Christ Temple Church. The Bangladeshi group was interested in the property, but had to wait until March to begin development, when a zoning variance for parking was approved by the Evanston City Council.
Once completed, the facility will include worship spaces for men and women, offices for center leaders, a kitchen and multi-purpose meeting rooms.
“We have an immense (amount) of work to go,” said Mohammed Chowdhury, a volunteer with the center. “We have a mountain to climb, not only in the money matters, but a load of work too.”
Construction on the mosque will take anywhere from eight months to a year to complete, said Muhammad Saiduzzaman, the center’s president.
The center also plans to offer services, such as health clinics and vocational training to community members. In addition, the center will also offer a library with books about Islam so members can become more knowledgeable about their beliefs.
The new mosque will serve as the centerpiece of a community that traces its origins back to 1991, when several families gathered together in living rooms once a month to teach their children about cultural and religious values, Saiduzzaman said.
As membership grew, the group had to move into a larger building. They began using a mosque in Chicago to host events, such as dinners, activities for children and food drives.
In time, the center outgrew the Chicago facility as well. They decided on Evanston because of its central location to members spread out along the North Shore, the presence of Northwestern and the potential for the group to make a difference in the city.
“There was no presence (of Muslims), and this is a suburb where we can come to the aid of humanity by being in it,” Saiduzzaman said. “We are willing and have a desire to be in the community, to be a role model.”
Ald. Delores Holmes (5th), who represents the ward in which the mosque will be located, said the center’s presence would enhance the area’s religious diversity.
“There’s a variety of churches and different denominations,” Holmes said. “This would just be a mosque. There are churches and temples, so why not a mosque?”
The congregation is also building relationships with other religious groups. Many members of the group have become involved with the Interfaith Action of Evanston recently in addition to attending seminars and public gatherings with other representatives of the group.
Susan Murphy, the administrative director for Interfaith Action of Evanston, said she looked forward to working with the Islamic Center in the future.
“It drives us all closer together to learn about each other,” she said. “Around here, the focus is on the hungry and the homeless, and this gives us an opportunity to help people together.”
Chowdhury said the group’s commitment to serving others would benefit the city as a whole.
“It’s going to be a great thing for Evanston,” Chowdhury said. “Everyone is doing their share of the work. Now it’s our duty to do our work and do our share. It’s a wonderful cause. There’s no contest, no agenda. The only agenda is God’s good wish.”
Reach Andrea Castillo at [email protected].
