Work nearly complete on new Muslim Mosque & Islamic Center
It's taken more than five years, but work on Woodland's Mosque & Islamic Center is nearly complete. A "Heritage Tree Planting" was held at the brightly colored mosque earlier this week with about 45 community representatives in attendance.…
It's taken more than five years, but work on Woodland's Mosque & Islamic Center is nearly complete.
A "Heritage Tree Planting" was held at the brightly colored mosque earlier this week with about 45 community representatives in attendance. The tree planting honors the founders of the Mosque for future generations.
Located at the northeast side of East Street and Oak Avenue, the pastel-colored Mosque is highlighted by a three-story minaret and blue dome. The color scheme features a sandy stucco exterior with green, pink, and gold highlights, along with gold-colored pillars supporting the outdoor, open-air entry foyers.
The current Mosque is located on North Street and is basically an old house and one-time barn that has been used for religious services for at least 30 years. The new facility was needed to accommodate the city's growing Muslim population. The formal application was made for the project in August 2018 with groundbreaking taking place in May 2019.
Fundraising and other work on the new Islamic Center had been taking place for more than five years before ground was broken.
According to design specifications, the new Center will be a single-story structure of 16,206 square feet and include a children's play area on the east side of the building with a small garden on the west side, which fronts East Street.
While the Mosque may be single-story, the dome and minaret tower over the building. Beneath the dome is the main prayer room, topped by an Islamic crescent, and a green minaret or prayer tower on the northern side. The building also contains a women's prayer room, kitchen and dining area, multi-purpose room, library, conference room, office and three interior foyers.
It's hoped that landscaping will be completed in coming weeks and that carpeting and other amenities will be finished in between five and six weeks.
Located off East Street at Oak Avenue, the new Woodland Muslim Mosque and Islamic Center features vibrant colors in the main prayer room beneath a bluish dome. The Mosque also showcases Islamic scriptures and prayers. (Jim Smith/Courtesy)
Two guests at a 'Heritage Tree Planting 'earlier this week look over the designs of the new Woodland Muslim Mosque and Islamic Center in the main prayer room. It's hoped the Mosque will be open in another five weeks. (Jim Smith/Courtesy)
Visitors on Tuesday included City Manager Ken Hiatt, 5th District Supervisor Angel Barajas, a number of Woodland firefighters and former Woodland city council members as well as others in the faith community.
All gathered in the main prayer room, which still has its concrete floor but beneath what could best be described as a breathtaking display of natural lighting coming from large windows coupled with bright colors of gold, green, blue, red and white.
Blessings and verses from the Koran are inscribed throughout the Mosque in intricate designs of gold, brown and black.
City officials and other religious leaders have long felt the mosque would be a welcome addition to the community and accentuate changes being made on East Street. The area in which the Mosque is located off Oak Avenue leads to a series of small warehouses and outbuildings, apartments and single-family homes.
During a short series of speeches delivered by representatives of the Mosque and religious leaders, Khalid Saeed, who has long been involved in Woodland Ecumenical Ministries, expressed his gratitude for all the local support.
He said the new Mosque was a legacy to all the children of Woodland and that it represented part of the tenets of the Muslim faith, which states "that being a good human being is being a great Muslim."
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