{"id":2171,"date":"2012-07-23T11:11:51","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T11:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=2171"},"modified":"2012-07-23T11:11:51","modified_gmt":"2012-07-23T11:11:51","slug":"special-ramadan-joy-for-oklahoma-muslims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2012\/07\/23\/2171\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Ramadan Joy for Oklahoma Muslims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"images\/stories\/news1\/oklahomans_mosque.jpg\" border=\"0\" align=\"right\" \/>The holy fasting month of Ramadan is bringing a special joy for Muslims in the city of Norman, in the US state of Oklahoma, this year as they celebrate the opening of a new mosque to accommodate the religious needs of the growing community.  <!--more-->  <br \/> \u201cEvery single mosque is expanding,\u201d Imad Enchassi, president and imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, one of the largest Muslim congregations in the state, told The Oklahoman on Sunday, July 22.<br \/> \u201cThere&#8217;s a lot of growth and progress.\u201d<br \/>The Muslim community in Norman celebrated the beginning of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, on Friday, July 20.<br \/>The community also celebrated the opening of a new mosque with Tarawish prayers and fellowship gatherings at the 7,000-square-foot worship place.<br \/>Farid Elyazgi, spokesman of the Islamic Society of Norman, said 95 percent of the $950,000 cost of the new mosque from the Muslim community in Norman.<br \/>Muslims in other parts of state and even from other states have contributed in the construction.<br \/>As the Muslim community in Norman began to grow, a need arises for building a mosque to fulfil their growing religious needs.<br \/>Starting with a small group of international students who formed the Muslim Student Association at OU in the mid-1970s, a growing Muslim population required an additional space for worship.<br \/>As the community grew, leaders purchased three more houses for mosque activities, forming the Islamic Society of Norman.<br \/>Seeing a positive response from the surrounding community, the Islamic society began raising funds for a new facility in 2007 and demolished the houses on the site to make room for it.<br \/>It was finally completed in March 2012 with an eye-catching dome that could be seen from a few blocks away.<br \/> \u201cI&#8217;m really appreciative of the officials of the city of Norman,\u201d Elyazgi, 51, said.<br \/><strong><br \/>Thriving Muslims<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Muslim leaders say that the new mosque expansion efforts are an obvious indicator of a thriving Muslim population in Oklahom.<br \/> \u201cOur kids were born here, and they were raised here,\u201d Ahsan Amil, 61, the Islamic society\u2019s cultural secretary, said.<br \/>\u201cThey don&#8217;t want to go anywhere else.\u201d<br \/>Azhar Mahmood, 52, the society&#8217;s financial secretary, agreed, says that his family considers Norman home too.<br \/> \u201cThey are Sooners,\u201d he said, smiling.<br \/>There are an estimated 30,000 Muslims in Oklahoma, making up less than 1 percent of the state&#8217;s population.<br \/>The Muslim population adds to their communities in many ways, including establishing thriving businesses and being industrious professionals in their career fields.<br \/>Those feelings of brotherhood pervade not only in the Muslim community but in the entire community.<br \/> \u201cThe characteristic that Norman is known for is brotherhood,\u201d said Abdul Rahman, the Islamic Society of Norman&#8217;s president and acting imam.<br \/>\u201cIt has that reputation and I like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Source: OnIslam &amp; Newspapers<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The holy fasting month of Ramadan is bringing a special joy for Muslims in the city of Norman, in the US state of Oklahoma, this year as they celebrate the opening of a new mosque to accommodate the religious needs of the growing community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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