Bayview Islamic Unity Center
Address: 1411 Thomas Ave., San Francisco, CA 94124 Telephone: (415) 822- 6400 |
Brief Overview
Denomination: Sufi Demographics: Predominantly Indian/Pakistani Prayers: All prayers including Friday Jummah Language of services: Urdu Imam: No current Imam Director/President: Tariq Choudhery Maximum Capacity: 100 persons Parking: non-metered street parking |
The Bayview Islamic Unity Center at 1411 Thomas Avenue in the city of San Francisco, California is located in the Bayview-Hunter Point district, 94124 (data). The mosque was previously a church founded by Jehovah's Witnesses. The church was converted into a mosque in 1995 and was given its name by the Imam: Maulana Zubair Naqshbandi. The neighborhood surrounding the mosque is one of the most impoverished in the city of San Francisco and belongs to the most impoverished district: Bayview-Hunter Point district. Due to lack of financial resources and externalities such as the neighborhood, the mosque has not been renovated since the acquisition of the building in 1995.
Expanding the Community
Surrounded by an economically depressed and crime-ridden neighborhood, the mosque steadily works towards increasing involvement in the surrounding Muslim community. Despite the large numbers of Muslims in the area, many Muslims choose not to come to the Bay View Islamic Unity Center. Mr. Choudhery voices his concerns by claiming, “[many Muslims] don’t come here regularly -- people are afraid [of being attacked]”. However, there has still not been any act of discrimination or direct violence targeting the mosque and its Muslim community. Furthermore, Mr. Choudhery emphasizes how he himself has been spending a majority of his time around the neighborhood for years and has yet to experience any sort of direct conflict. The mosque and its members are highly optimistic in growing their community by encouraging ALL muslims, regardless of sects, to attend regularly without a sense of fear.
Mr. Mohammad Ramadan Choudhery was born and raised in India and immigrated to San Francisco in the early 1950’s to pursue a higher-education at UC Berkeley where he majored in agriculture. Mr. Choudhery described that he “couldn’t get enough of America,” which led to him eventually venturing out into new lands, specifically Raleigh in North Carolina. Mr. Choudhery returned to California and helped to found the Bayview Islamic Unity Center in 1995 from a building that was previously used as a church by the Christian denomination, Jehovah’s Witnesses. The neighborhood is located in one of the poorest districts in San Francisco, The Bayview Hunter-Point district. Due to the location, as mentioned earlier, there are not many individuals that utilize the mosque, thus making human and financial resources unavailable. The mosque lacks funding for a full time Imam as well as many other events traditionally held by other masjids. For example, during Ramadan, there are no tahajjud prayers at this mosque, whereas most other mosques in the Bay Area have some sort of suhoor (beginning fast) and night prayers. Furthermore, through our research we found that many other mosques have services such as matrimonial services and counseling services, two vital offerings for any muslim community. However, this mosque is able to only hold daily prayers and the masjid is usually open solely because of Mr. Choudhery's consistent attendance to this place of worship. The Bayview Islamic Unity Center is compelling to any believer or non-believer for a multitude of reasons. Some reasons are, but are not limited to: the ability to financially preserve the mosque by paying the necessary expenses such as mortgages, utility, and much more. Although the mosque’s services are practically non-existent- a feature that ultimately highlights the prestige and the appeal of any mosque- this mosque gave believers and non-believers a new measure for appeal and prestige. The ability to illustrate, beyond historical texts, that Islam is truly a religion accessible to everyone is what ultimately makes this mosque by far the most compelling and interesting. However, Mr. Choudhery knows that the lack of services is also a deterrent to most Muslims- especially because there is a mosque in a much safer community with many more services to offer. The mosque is named The Islamic Center of San Francisco. Mr. Choudhery explains that through his time at the Bayview mosque, the mosque has held high aspirations. The aspiration of having an imam is just one of many. Some other goals that the mosque hopes to achieve are: services and renovation. However, the overall goal is to outreach to the community in which they fulfill their Islamic obligations in. An obligation in Islam is to outreach (dawah) and what makes the mosque particularly beautiful is that it serves to be a representation of peace and justice- a critical representation that is needed in a community in which both factors are lacking. The mosque opens its doors to everyone and anyone, regardless of sect, religion, race, gender, and ethnicity. This is crucial as Mr. Choudhery hopes that individuals in the community may express interest in Islam. The vision of the Bayview Islamic Unity Center is “to provide a welcoming place of worship for all Muslims,” as mentioned by Mr. Choudhery. The reason Mr. Choudhery is mentioned many times in this narrative is mainly due to the fact that he has been the only source fit enough to tell the story of a mosque that has been ignored and dismissed by many muslims and the community surrounding it. Mr. Choudhery, 85, has kept this story alive and it is through projects like this that we in turn can help Mr. Choudhery on his mission to perserve a small gem in a large community. The Bayview Islamic Unity Center is more than a mere mosque in the heart of an economically depressed neighborhood; rather it is a symbol of faith for the Muslim community it serves. In the novel Servants of Allah, Diouf discusses how Muslims went through great lengths to uphold their religion and practice freely. Although Islamaphobia of today is different, the struggle is related. As mentioned earlier, Mr. Choudhery discussed how the danger of attending the mosque is a deterrent to many individuals, however, what is very important to note is that this mosque serves to help those Muslims who aren’t privileged enough to live in a rich neighborhood to still uphold their religion. This spoke volumes when we realized that Islam is truly a faith that is accessible to every individual regardless of wealth, status, and race. |