New mosque by square footage
• Men’s Prayer & Multi-purpose Area — 1,836 square feet
• Library, Office, Food Prep — 620 square feet
• Men’s Toilet — 384 square feet
• Men’s Foyer — 830 square feet
• Ladies Prayer & Multi-purpose area — 1,740 square feet
• Ladies Toilet — 350 square feet
• Ladies Foyer, Food Prep — 420 square feet
• Total Area — 6,700 square feet
A new center of worship for Norman’s Muslim community is nearing completion after nearly five years of planning.
When construction comes to a close, the Masjid An-nur Mosque located at 420 E. Lindsey St. will serve as a community center and a location where daily prayer will take place, project manager and founding member of the Islamic Society of Norman Saddiq Karim said.
The mosque is scheduled for completion by the end of February, Karim said.
Construction of the $900,000 mosque began last year with the demolition of the house that had previously housed the congregation, but the Islamic society began fundraising for the project in 2007, Karim said.
Throughout the process, more than 90 percent of funding for the mosque has come from donations, Karim said.
A new place of worship was needed by the society to accommodate Norman’s growing Muslim commmunity, Karim said.
When the society was founded in 1976, there were around 45 members, Karim said. Today an estimated 200 people will use the mosque, 50 to 75 percent of which are OU students depending on the school year.
The Masjid An-nur Mosque will be mainly for prayer, or Salah, Karim said. Muslims pray five times a day and must wash before. The previous mosque did not have a place to wash, and this was an important factor in Karim’s design of the new building.
Masjid An-nur also will be used for fellowship, teaching children the faith as well as teaching those who are interested in Islam more about it,” Karim said. “We have open doors. Anyone can come and see.”
Omar Alamoudi, president of the OU Muslim Student Association, said when he first came to America the old mosque was a relief to find, as it helped him meet new people.
“The previous mosque didn’t feature typical architecture like a dome or minarets but still had the same home-away-from-home atmosphere and community,” Alamoudi said.
Now that the new mosque is almost finished, it may serve to fix a disconnect between Muslims who may not know about the city’s Islamic community, he said.
“More Muslims would recognize it and become more involved because it looks like a mosque,” Alamoudi said.
After construction, students may participate in suggested volunteering opportunities at the mosque, like tutoring middle and high school students, Alamoudi said.
The mosque is not exclusive to Muslims and will be open to everybody, Alamoudi said. People can come and observe if they are interested, without worrying about embarrassment.
He also said he hopes it can serve as a bridge between Muslims and the fear that many people may have from the extremists that are portrayed in the media.
“Muslims are not so much different from anyone else,” Alamoudi said. “There is an identity to them … but at the same time the common things between people are so much more than the differences.”
