“This new center will be our arena for social activities, religious programs and community outreach. We have been part of the New Orleans area since 1924 and today, we have approximately 200 members.”
Source/Credit: The Advocate
By Eva Jacob Barkoff | 27 Nov 2013
‘House of peace’ opens in Kenner
High above the entrance to the new Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center are the words “Darul Aman.”
“Translated, it means house of peace,” said Mobashir Ahmed, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Greater New Orleans. “This center is what we are about, it is what our community is about and that is peace, harmony, goodwill and brotherhood.”
More than 200 members of local and national Muslim communities along with several local, state and federal dignitaries attended a special dedication ceremony Nov. 16 of the new community center, 2113 38th St., Kenner.
Ahmed said the renovation to the two-story, 8,000-square-foot center began a year ago. The first floor includes an office and library, two prayer halls and two conference rooms — one each for men and women — a dining room, kitchen, restrooms and a recreation room.
Ahmed said the cost was approximately $1.2 million.
“The caring hearts which helped to renovate this building gave not only financially but also gave their time,” Ahmed said. “This whole project was done with passion, keeping in mind our motto which is love for all, hatred for none.”
Ahmed added that the second floor of the center is not yet complete but once it is, it will be used for special events and meetings.
“This new center will be our arena for social activities, religious programs and community outreach,” Ahmed said. “We have been part of the New Orleans area since 1924 and today, we have approximately 200 members.”
According to Ahmed, throughout the year, the center holds programs to bring together religious leaders of all faiths.
“It is an opportunity for all of us to talk about the things we share in common and to find ways to eradicate hate and prejudice.”
The keynote address was given by Sen. David Vitter, R-La.
“I came here today to honor your can-do spirit and resiliency,” Vitter said. “And I also came here to celebrate and honor your tradition of tolerance and peace.”
Other elected officials attending were Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni and Jefferson Parish President John Young, both of whom presented proclamations to Ahmad commemorating the opening of the new center, and Kenner Councilman Keith Reynaud and Kenner Councilwoman Maria Defrancesch.
Also in attendance were former Lt. Gov. Jimmy Fitzmorris; U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite; former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten; FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Anderson; Amjad Mahmood Khan, the national director of public affairs for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; Iman Naseem Mahdi, the national vice president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community; and Iman Azhar Haneef.
“I have worked with and gotten to know many of the men and women in our Muslim community when I was in the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Letten said. “It was important to me to be here today to show my support.”
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in 1889 and its membership includes millions of people in 200 countries. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA was established in 1920 as the first American Muslim organization.
The New Orleans chapter was founded in 1924 and includes members throughout Louisiana as well as Mississippi and Alabama.
Khan, who is an attorney in Los Angeles and served as the event’s moderator, said he first visited the New Orleans area in 2006, just a few months after Hurricane Katrina.
“I went throughout the city, to the 9th Ward, to the area around the Superdome and my heart sank when I saw the decimation, the houses that were wrecked,” said Kahn, who provided free legal assistance and helped in the rebuilding effort. “So when my plane touched down today, I was overcome with emotion, remembering what I saw after the storm and what I see now. And what I see is an incredible spirit of humanity that permeates this region.”
Read original post here: New Muslim center to offer space for recreation, prayer
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