Student, area Muslims prep for move to Main Street mosque

By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

Though it stands unoccupied, the new mosque on West Main Street is almost complete. Members of the Islamic Center of South Carolina in Rock Hill are anticipating a move to the new location within three months. Photo by Sarah Auvil • auvils@mytjnow.comMinus the bathroom floor, any clean space will suffice for Abdulaziz Aljanfawi, who without fail kneels to the floor, turns towards the direction of Mecca and prays to Allah for two minutes five times a day.

“We have to do the prayer, anytime anywhere,” said Aljanfawi, who hails from Saudi Arabia and considers himself a devout Muslim.

Pursuing his MBA at Winthrop while taking care of a family consisting of a wife and three kids, Aljanfawi, 36, said he’s never found it difficult balancing his school life with his worship routine. 

In fact, “…it’s encouraging me,” he said. “If you’re doing something, you have to do it perfectly.”

The family and connection Aljanfawi’s made with others at the Islamic Center of South Carolina on Cherry Road doesn’t hurt either.

“We’re a big family,” Aljanfawi said.

As the adage goes, the family that prays together stays together. 

On Oct. 21, about 30 men stayed together bowing and mumbling prayers in sync as they received inspiration and instruction concerning the hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca that comprises the fifth and final pillar of Islam.

Isam Musa, imam—or worship leader—at the center outlined the “don’t’s” for those who were unable to embark on the 2011 hajj:

No haircuts.

No intimate relations with spouses.

No yelling, shouting or cussing.

And, no argument from the center’s adherents, who—whether they’ll be journeying to Mecca or not—will embark on a pilgrimage to a newly built mosque, or masjead, of their own in about three months.

Since 2009, area Muslims have been working on building a mosque on West Main Street so they can move out of the diminishing space they’ve inhabited since 2007.

With a growing number of Muslim converts and more college students joining the center, Musa says larger space is essential.

After a brief delay in 2010, the project is finally coming to fruition and members of the Islamic center hope to congregate their new worship space in about three months, Musa said.

Right now, the project is in its last stages as workers make the interior spic and span, he said. 

“We have to have a mosque,” Musa said. “This [the Islamic center] is not a proper place; we have to have the space.”

Twenty minutes or so after juma prayer began, more and more worshippers entered the green-walled room and crowded on the floor. Standing room nearly became nonexistent. 

For Musa, it’s essential that there be a place “for the community” to worship and engage in many different activities.

“We are part of the city,” Musa said. “We are members of the community.”

The center currently has around 100 members, Musa said, and though they’re small in number, they’re very active.

At the conclusion of juma prayer—an obligatory Friday meeting for Muslims to pray and sit under the imam’s teaching—an announcer petitioned members to support the York County CROP Walk, an upcoming food drive and help supply funds for a partner mosque in Kenya, East Africa.

Though he’ll be unable to enjoy the mosque upon moving back to Saudi Arabia in November, Jehad Al-Subaihin said it does help to come to the house of God

A recent Winthrop graduate, Al-Subaihin said it “lifts the spirits when you see the brothers.”

He did offer one criticism—not of the mosque, but of Winthrop.

“I feel like Winthrop doesn’t give you a lot of time to [pray, worship],” he said. “You can’t retake an exam because you want to pray.”

Fasting during Ramadan can also put Muslim students at a disadvantage if they don’t have fuel to feed their brains when preparing for exams, he said.

Both Al-Subaihin and Aljanfawi remarked about Clemson University, which offers Muslim students a space where they can pray and read the Quran.

Currently, 47 Saudi Arabian students are enrolled at Winthrop, said Lindsey Hill, assistant director for the university’s international center. 

“I know that our Saudi students are Muslim...” Hill said.

Still, the international undergraduate application does not request religious affiliation information, said Virginia Tawse, the international center’s office manager.

“Of course, they’re not the only culture that follows the Muslim faith,” Tawse said.

Even in the face of many requests, rituals and some restrictions, Islam doesn’t offer any pressures, Aljanfawi said.

“Islam is simple and flexible,” he said.

It’s also accepting of Christianity and Judaism, two “Holy Book” faiths requiring the worship of God alone, Aljanfawi said.

To the surprise of many he’s encountered, Aljanfawi said, “…if any Muslim doesn’t believe in Jesus, he’s not Muslim.”