Islamic Center of Alameda (Alameda, Alameda County, CA)

This is a relatively small mosque located in a relatively small city of the Bay Area.  However, the mosque may be small, but the community is rapidly growing.  On Sunday, the same night I attended Lighthouse Masjid, or Imam Zaid's masjid, this mosque had a fundraiser which featured Imam Zaid, amongst other luminaries.  It's pretty clear that while this space may be cramped, the community is taking steps to expand its facilities.

Unfortunately, on the island of Alameda there is very little room to expand, if any.  At this point, there's no chance there's an empty parcel of land here so they'll have to redevelop an existing property.  They have already expanded over to the next block; the masjid is on one corner and a community center is just opposite, leaving them with plenty of room for spillover and community events.  It'll be interesting to see where this mosque is in five years.  I do hope they have expanded their facilities, because as of right now, they're woefully inadequate.

The imam who leads taraweeh here is very talented.  It's easy to get lost in his sonorous recitation, which you can hear from the sidewalk.  For the neighbors' benefit, however, they didn't have any speakers outside.  It is located in a relatively quiet part of Alameda, and it's good to see that they're being considerate.  Seriously, though, very nice recitation.

The crowd was substantial, but it wasn't as crowded as I remember it being in years past.  The parking lot was jammed; if you come here for taraweeh and decide to park here, you'd better plan on staying till the end, because chances are someone will block you in.  I can't decide if it's better for Muslims to double or triple park in the masjid parking lot or take away street parking slots from local residents.  You annoy someone either way, but I suppose it's better than Muslims be annoyed than innocent neighbors.


Date Visited: August 10, 2012

Location:
901 Santa Clara Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501

Tag-team taraweeh: No

Qirat: Great!

Size of congregation: 30-40

Capacity of center: 75-80 if you spilled over to the community center

Parking: Limited off-street parking

Mihrab: Yes

Minbar: Yes

Shoe shelves: No

Building: Tiny one-story facility, with a community center across the street.  The community center used to be a liquor store, judging by the style of the sign hanging outside the door.

Friendliness towards women: Women have adequate facilities in which to pray

Friendliness of congregation: This is a very diverse community, anyone is welcome to pray here.

Masjid Quba (Alameda)

After Penn Station was demolished, a New Yorker mourned its fate: “One entered the city like a god, one scuttles in now like a rat.” Similarly, to enter Alameda, you have two options: you could scuttle in through the Webster Tube, or you could cross the drawbridge like a god. I chose the former because it made my route significantly shorter, but man would it have been nice to take the bridge.

The first thing you notice about this mosque, before you even visit, is its name. Masjid Quba is a loaded name for a mosque because of its historic significance. Quba, in present-day Saudi Arabia and south of Medina, was the site of the first mosque established by the Prophet after he migrated from Mecca. The name symbolizes establishing a community after a great journey, which I suppose makes sense the more you learn about who operates this mosque.

The masjid is run and maintained by the Afghan community, who built it way back in 1986, at the height of the war in Afghanistan. The refugees were fleeing incomprehensible violence and persecution at the hands of the commies and I suppose it’s that sentiment that led them to build a mosque and name it after Quba. Were the Afghans persecuted as much as the Muslims in Mecca in the 7th century? I’m uncomfortable to say they were, and while I’m fascinated by the fact that the masjid is named after Quba, I’m not sure if it’s right that they’re trying to draw a parallel between their struggle and the Prophet and his young ummah’s struggles.

The fact that the mosque was established in 1986 also disappointed me because it doesn’t seem like the community’s made much progress in terms of developing their community. The building is a converted house which was barely big enough to hold their congregation for isha and taraweeh. Additionally, their facilities included one bathroom and two wudu stations which doubled as their sink. I might have been missing something, but I also did not see any facilities for women. Sure, there was a section of the house with a separate entrance and a curtained wall, but where could the women go to powder their noses?

If you’re a guy, though, this place is AWESOME. I was taken to the back, where they’ve laid Persian rugs in the backyard and have a fridge. I was offered something to eat, something to drink and a comfortable place to sit down. Folks were speaking exclusively in Dari, but that didn’t bother me because hey, it’s their mosque.

What bothered me was the fact that my female guests from the Contra Costa Times were not extended the same hospitality. While they were allowed inside the men’s section, I could sense that the community felt a tad uncomfortable with the two women there. Here’s the thing, and I’ve mentioned this before: these same Muslim men interact at close quarters with women all the time. What is it about some mosques that after crossing the threshold that all women must be safely tucked away behind a visual barrier? This, by the way, is in stark contrast to an almost-exclusively Afghan masjid I visited in Fremont, where women outnumbered men and damned if they were going to be praying behind a curtain. Just goes to show that one can’t stereotype about Muslim communities even by ethnic group.

I’m incredibly grateful for the hospitality the community did show me. I showed up well past iftar time but my host had his young son rustle up a plate for me. I had tea to drink and dates to snack on. It would have been a perfect experience if the congregation hadn’t known I was writing a blog post about them. As soon as they found out, they regarded me with suspicion. It was unnerving, really, the men were speaking in Dari about me, obviously, but weren’t even making eye contact. It was almost like before they could figure me out, they were going to pretend I didn’t even exist. Just another reason why it’s best to visit small mosques incognito.

After the prayer, I was followed outside by a gentleman who turned out to live in Point Richmond as well, which was great, except he got my phone number and address, and he ominously said, “we’ll be coming over.” Nightmares of TJs flooding my apartment flashed before my eyes and I hesitantly asked what he meant by “we.” He said he meant his family, but the odd thing is it’s like he expects me to just open my doors and feed his entire family. Sorry, bub, brotherhood is something to be revered, but it has a limit. Yes, Muslims are encouraged to embrace brotherhood, but I’m also sure it’s against the sunnah to show up uninvited, and worse, expect sustenance. I’m going to see how this plays out, but I may be tapping some of my connections to concoct some TJ-repellant.

The past two days have made me realize something I didn’t think of till tonight. The more well-educated the community is, the more open and receptive they are towards outsiders. My logic is the South Bay and Plesanton/San Ramon congregations, being highly-educated, work for corporations where they’re surrounded by non-Muslims. Most of these small masajid are funded by small business owners who probably exist in ethnic enclaves and therefore never get used to dealing with non-Muslims. Large, established mosques in San Jose and Santa Clara regularly have outsiders observing Friday prayers. The reaction from the community today told me that they’re not used to the same kind of attention.

Sign hanging outside the mosque

Date Visited: August 10, 2011

Location:
707 Haight Ave
Alameda, CA 94501

Tag-team taraweeh: No

Qirat: Good. The hafiz they usually employ was ill today so they had a substitute. However, his recitation was still enjoyable. It was kind of funny because the sub got up to explain that the hafiz was sick and that he’d be leading the prayer. A kid didn’t hear in the back and he asked his friend what was going on. “We’re getting out early,” he said, like it was a boring class. Hilarious.

Size of congregation: 40

Capacity of center: 40

Parking: Street

Mihrab: Yes

Minbar: Yes

Shoe shelves: Not enough for the congregation, the stoop was littered with shoes. Considering the stoop is right on the street, not sure what kind of message that sends.

Building: A converted house with a sizeable backyard which is currently covered by Persian carpets.  To their credit, it looks very pretty inside and out.  The mihrab is made of marble and is decorated with calligraphy.  It's clear that the community takes pride in its mosque.

Friendliness towards women: Plenty of women showed up, but their section was maybe a quarter of the space allotted to the men.

Friendliness of congregation: Good, but it was a little unnerving hearing them talk about me while I was standing RIGHT THERE.

Islamic Center of Alameda

Alameda is a bubble. It’s separated from one of Oakland’s rougher neighborhoods by a small strip of water (affectionately called “the moat” by locals) and the difference is almost night and day. You go in one end from a rapidly-gentrifying warehouse district and come out the other in suburbia. It never ceases to amaze me.

If you’re looking for the mosque but have lost your way, close your eyes and open your ears. If you’re in the neighborhood, chances are you’ll hear the call to prayer. I parked my car a block away and even while I was walking towards the mosque I could hear the call to prayer for isha. Wonderful for the Muslims, I’m sure not as wonderful for the neighbors.

As I stepped inside and found my place in the prayer hall, I had a flashback to my childhood. Before my hometown mosque became the minaret-building behemoth it is today, its sole operation was a tiny converted church. This mosque was not only by the early ‘90s too small for the community, but lacked a community hall for events/spillover and had a sound system which seemed only good for picking up signals from a shady neighbor’s police scanner. Similarly, at this mosque, men (and I’m sure the women too) were asked to squeeze together to make space, old men yelled at children to be quiet (“We want the children to be future Muslim leaders, not playing outside!”), the speakers were busted and, the coup de grace, congregants were parking illegally.

None of this I minded. First of all, it was nice to be back at a mosque where children were thronging; younglings may not comprehend the importance of taraweeh but at least the parents were making an effort to bring them to the masjid. Second, I was pleasantly surprised to see how diverse the community is, another detail which reminded me of home. Third, it was great to be at a family mosque where the focus was on prayer and nothing else. Unfortunately, the larger the mosque gets, the more expensive programming gets. Anyone with an iota of nonprofit experience (that’s how much I have) knows most money comes from individuals. Unfortunately, the only way to get to said individuals is to make announcements which inevitably hold up the prayers. It’s a necessary evil and one every mosque has to embrace if they get large enough.

I didn’t do any research about this mosque, and nor did I speak to anyone in the congregation, but it does seem like the community needs a new mosque. While it may be true that the hall wasn’t bursting at the seams after 8 rakats of taraweeh, it’s obvious the building wasn’t designed to hold so many people. The men’s restroom had only one toilet, which makes me shudder to think of the lines during jummah prayer. Plus, clearly, something has to be done for the kids. While it’s great they’re at the mosque, it’s important to develop programs to keep them occupied so they don’t get restless. The solution to these problems would be, of course, to purchase a new property.

Of course, there’s a variety of factors that need to be considered before making that decision, such as availability of money, community support, proximity to Ground Zero, etc. It’s just that the Muslim population in the Bay Area is only increasing, especially in more affluent areas like Alameda as the community becomes more well-established. I say take advantage of the fact that we’re not in Sheboygan, WI or Temecula, CA and build a larger mosque if you can.

I know two girls from Sheboygan and Temecula and they’re both very nice people. I’m sure the people from both cities which led vitriolic campaigns against the Muslim community building masajid were a very small cross-section of the population.

Welcome to suburbia...I mean, the Islamic Center of Alameda

Date Visited: August 3, 2011

Location:
901 Santa Clara Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501

Tag-team taraweeh: No

Qirat: Good

Size of congregation: ~50

Capacity of center: ~40 (it was a fire hazard for a bit, for sure)

Parking: Street

Mihrab: Yes

Minbar: Yes

Shoe shelves: Who needs them when you have the floor?

Building: Looked like a converted office

Friendliness towards women: Separate entrance, but it looked like they had a space of equal size. They had had closed-circuit television set up so the women could see the men’s section, always a good indication of progressivism.

Friendliness of congregation: High