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Community grows, thrives
By Jim Warren
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Mahmoud Shalash recalls that, when he moved to Lexington 30 years ago, places for Muslims to gather and worship were few and far between.
"When I first moved here, students at the University of Kentucky were going to Friday prayers at the student center, and people in the community would go to the American Muslim Mission on Georgetown Street," Shalash said. "But things have changed. There's been a great deal of growth since I came to Lexington."
Indeed, Lexington now boasts two mosques -- one led by Shalash -- as well as an Islamic school. And mosques are proliferating all over the area -- in Richmond, in Danville, in London, in Frankfort.
And the days when a Muslim who moved to Lexington might struggle to find others of his or her faith in town are past.
Shalash notes that between 2,000 and 3,000 people now regularly turn out at Heritage Hall in downtown Lexington for Eid ul-Fiter, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.
None of that surprises Ihsan Bagby, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at UK and imam at Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah, a mosque on Russell Cave Road in Lexington. In 2001, Bagby co-wrote a national survey that identified more than 1,200 mosques in the United States. Bagby says he expects that a recount scheduled next year will show a substantial increase.
He estimates that there are at least 22 mosques operating in Kentucky today, although he said there might be some other, smaller ones he's unaware of.
http://www.lexingtonheraldleader.com/158/story/164921.html
By Jim Warren
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Mahmoud Shalash recalls that, when he moved to Lexington 30 years ago, places for Muslims to gather and worship were few and far between.
"When I first moved here, students at the University of Kentucky were going to Friday prayers at the student center, and people in the community would go to the American Muslim Mission on Georgetown Street," Shalash said. "But things have changed. There's been a great deal of growth since I came to Lexington."
Indeed, Lexington now boasts two mosques -- one led by Shalash -- as well as an Islamic school. And mosques are proliferating all over the area -- in Richmond, in Danville, in London, in Frankfort.
And the days when a Muslim who moved to Lexington might struggle to find others of his or her faith in town are past.
Shalash notes that between 2,000 and 3,000 people now regularly turn out at Heritage Hall in downtown Lexington for Eid ul-Fiter, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.
None of that surprises Ihsan Bagby, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at UK and imam at Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah, a mosque on Russell Cave Road in Lexington. In 2001, Bagby co-wrote a national survey that identified more than 1,200 mosques in the United States. Bagby says he expects that a recount scheduled next year will show a substantial increase.
He estimates that there are at least 22 mosques operating in Kentucky today, although he said there might be some other, smaller ones he's unaware of.
http://www.lexingtonheraldleader.com/158/story/164921.html
