Interview with Mohammad Ramadan Choudhery
Held at Bayview Islamic Unity Center 11/12/2013 5:15 P.M.
Transcription
We were welcomed by Mohammad Ramadan Choudhery, the founder of the Bayview Islamic Unity Center. Although he is in his early eighties, he was full of energy and optimistic to answer our questions.
Q: What year did you immigrate to San Francisco? Was this mosque built when you arrived here?
A: The mosque was not there at that time. I was a student at UC Berkeley in the early 1950s studying Agriculture.
Q: When was the building established?
A: In 1954. They were just laying down the foundation for the building then.
Q: Who were the people that founded it?
A: Jehovah's Witnesses. The Christians founded it first. it was not a masjid. We came in 1995 and bought this Church and converted it into a masjid.
Q: Who gave the masjid its name?
A: It is named after our Imam Naqshbandi. He comes to prayers on Friday.
Q: How was your transition into converting the Church to a Masjid?
A: My elder son Riaz was with me, he had a Jaanemaaz and asked ‘where is the direction?’ It was the exact direction to ‘Khana Khaba’ [The Ka’baa]. but those people who were here before would face to the other side of the mosque. Since that day in 1995, we are holding our Islamic events in this mosque. They were nice people, they asked us how many Gods we believed in.
Q: What ethnicity are the majority of members of the Bayview Islamic Unity Center?
A: Our mosque members are predominantly Pakistanis/Indians and they do come out to the masjid except for Friday prayer or for any function where there will be food. Normally, people don’t come here regularly... people are afraid [of the surrounding neighborhood]. Not many people come here. They were afraid of going out for prayer and getting attacked. The people in the neighborhood were very tough, they beat you, but this was long before, way before the masjid was established. Still very rough, but it has gotten slightly better. We made this masjid in 1995. The Muslim community is very small, but we are increasing it every year. There are no other mosques in the area, except there is a very old mosque on Crescent avenue.
Q: Do any of the news stations cover this mosque?
A: No. They do not seem interested in our neighborhood.
Q: Does this mosque do any projects or provide any services?
A: According to our budget, yes we do. One of our important members, Akbar Rahim, passed away recently and his children come every day and they bring food to feed the homeless and poor people nearby. If they find some poor people, they come to their home and give them food for 40 days. The old masjid on Crescent avenue is where matrimonial services are offered.
Q: Are you affiliated with any other masjids?
A: We are not directly affiliated with that masjid. We don’t pay them anything, they don’t pay us anything. Before we first came, we stayed there for 40 days. We were staying in their masjid. Islamic center.
Q: Are there any tremendous milestones in this mosque’s history?
A: Nothing as of now. We have kept the mosque as it is, since 1995.
Q: Did the masjid ever publish any material?
A: Not yet, no Imam (Full time). Very first day we got people. Anybody want to pray? Pray. Whoever had the most knowledge of Islam led the prayer, never a specific Imam leading. So far we have never had any Imam in this masjid, that is why we don’t have any literature or anything. People come pray and then leave.
Q: Have you or anyone else affiliated with this mosque ever felt discrimination?
A: I walk around the neighborhood with his hata (traditional scarf) and people know I am Muslim but they never say anything to me or bother me.
Q: Any other problems in your neighborhood?
A: There have been some problems in the neighborhood, fights outside of the mosque down the street. When we bought the masjid, there was a murder down the street corner.
Q: Have you ever been directly involved?
A: Never. They don’t bother us.
We were welcomed by Mohammad Ramadan Choudhery, the founder of the Bayview Islamic Unity Center. Although he is in his early eighties, he was full of energy and optimistic to answer our questions.
Q: What year did you immigrate to San Francisco? Was this mosque built when you arrived here?
A: The mosque was not there at that time. I was a student at UC Berkeley in the early 1950s studying Agriculture.
Q: When was the building established?
A: In 1954. They were just laying down the foundation for the building then.
Q: Who were the people that founded it?
A: Jehovah's Witnesses. The Christians founded it first. it was not a masjid. We came in 1995 and bought this Church and converted it into a masjid.
Q: Who gave the masjid its name?
A: It is named after our Imam Naqshbandi. He comes to prayers on Friday.
Q: How was your transition into converting the Church to a Masjid?
A: My elder son Riaz was with me, he had a Jaanemaaz and asked ‘where is the direction?’ It was the exact direction to ‘Khana Khaba’ [The Ka’baa]. but those people who were here before would face to the other side of the mosque. Since that day in 1995, we are holding our Islamic events in this mosque. They were nice people, they asked us how many Gods we believed in.
Q: What ethnicity are the majority of members of the Bayview Islamic Unity Center?
A: Our mosque members are predominantly Pakistanis/Indians and they do come out to the masjid except for Friday prayer or for any function where there will be food. Normally, people don’t come here regularly... people are afraid [of the surrounding neighborhood]. Not many people come here. They were afraid of going out for prayer and getting attacked. The people in the neighborhood were very tough, they beat you, but this was long before, way before the masjid was established. Still very rough, but it has gotten slightly better. We made this masjid in 1995. The Muslim community is very small, but we are increasing it every year. There are no other mosques in the area, except there is a very old mosque on Crescent avenue.
Q: Do any of the news stations cover this mosque?
A: No. They do not seem interested in our neighborhood.
Q: Does this mosque do any projects or provide any services?
A: According to our budget, yes we do. One of our important members, Akbar Rahim, passed away recently and his children come every day and they bring food to feed the homeless and poor people nearby. If they find some poor people, they come to their home and give them food for 40 days. The old masjid on Crescent avenue is where matrimonial services are offered.
Q: Are you affiliated with any other masjids?
A: We are not directly affiliated with that masjid. We don’t pay them anything, they don’t pay us anything. Before we first came, we stayed there for 40 days. We were staying in their masjid. Islamic center.
Q: Are there any tremendous milestones in this mosque’s history?
A: Nothing as of now. We have kept the mosque as it is, since 1995.
Q: Did the masjid ever publish any material?
A: Not yet, no Imam (Full time). Very first day we got people. Anybody want to pray? Pray. Whoever had the most knowledge of Islam led the prayer, never a specific Imam leading. So far we have never had any Imam in this masjid, that is why we don’t have any literature or anything. People come pray and then leave.
Q: Have you or anyone else affiliated with this mosque ever felt discrimination?
A: I walk around the neighborhood with his hata (traditional scarf) and people know I am Muslim but they never say anything to me or bother me.
Q: Any other problems in your neighborhood?
A: There have been some problems in the neighborhood, fights outside of the mosque down the street. When we bought the masjid, there was a murder down the street corner.
Q: Have you ever been directly involved?
A: Never. They don’t bother us.