San Francisco’s Muslims Contribute to the City’s Cultural Diversity
The San Francisco Bay Muslim community is one of the largest in the United States.
San Francisco is the cultural, commercial and financial center of Northern California. The city is distinguished by an amazing ethnic diversity. Whites make up about 44% of the total population, Asians about 31%, Hispanics of any race 14%, African Americans less than 8%.
Overall, the San Francisco Bay Muslim community is one of the largest in the United States, with nearly 250,000 Muslims living in the six counties surrounding the city of San Francisco. The Gulf population in general and Muslims in particular have seen significant growth over the past thirty years, driven by the economic transformation in the region and the emergence of the information technology industry, which required massive infusions of educated and skilled labor. This growth has led to an increase in the number of mosques as well as public institutions.
San Francisco has many mosques such as the Islamic Center of San Francisco, Alsabil Masjid Nur al-Islam, al-Jamia, Muhammad Mosque, at-Tawhid, Masjid Darus-Salam and others.
San Francisco Muslim Women Play Bowling / Source: GETTY IMAGES / Justin Sullivan
The oldest Muslim temple in the city is the Islamic Center of San Francisco, created in 1959. It became the first mosque in the San Francisco Bay Area and the second in the state of California.
The Al Jamia Mosque, which is the headquarters of the Islamic American Society of Fiji, has been called one of the most beautiful in the city. Built over 30 years ago by Fijian immigrants, it serves the multicultural Muslim community of South San Francisco.
The Alsabil Masjid Nur al-Islam Mosque was founded in 2002. It serves as a place of worship, school and community center for the city’s Muslims. It hosts religious programs for men, women and children, as well as educational events for young people.
The Bay View Islamic Unity Center is housed in a former church of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It was converted into a Muslim temple in 1995 and got its name from Imam Maulana Zubair Naqshbandi.
San Francisco Islamic Center / Source: Ida Mojadad
The city’s Muslim temples see their mission in cultivating a tolerant attitude towards Islam and educating both Muslims and non-Muslims. To do this, they organize various religious, cultural and recreational activities. However, like other cities in the United States , San Francisco has a problem of Islamophobia. One of the most recent incidents of this kind was a beer bottle thrown at the night of November 12 at the window of the Islamic Center of San Francisco, breaking the glass.
San Francisco has a wide variety of halal restaurants serving Thai, Chinese, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Pakistani or Indian food. Islamic Restaurant “Old Mandarin” (Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant), Moroccan cuisine Aisha (Aicha Moroccan Cuisine), Thai Bang Sao (Bang San Thai), «Classic Karachi» (Karachi Classics), House of the Afghan Kebab (De Afghanan Kabob House) and Shah’s Halal Food are just a few of them.
Contributing to the city’s cultural diversity, Muslims take pride in calling San Francisco their home. The official website of Masjid Darus-Salam says: “Our goal is to create an American Muslim identity based on compassion, respect, dignity and love, as reflected in the Quran and hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).”
Al Jamia Mosque is the headquarters of the Islamic American Society of Fiji / Source: fjia.org
Parishioners of al-Jamia mosque gathered for Iftar / Source: fjia.org
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