USA: A look inside Philadelphia’s thriving Muslim culture

“There were a lot of Muslims in Philadelphia, so I thought: ‘Maybe I should see if it’s something I could use, … Maybe I should see if there is something there for me.'”

File photo: Philadelphia's new under construction Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Washington Post
By Abigail Hauslohner | July 21, 2017

[Excerpt]

Once dubbed “Muslim Town” in a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial, Philadelphia is a city that appears uniquely — or at least relatively — at ease with its long-standing Muslim community and identity, even as the United States grapples with a wave of anti-Muslim rhetoric and harassment.

“It so happens that even the Christian people are giving their kids Arabic names like Ayesha, Khadija, Khalil,” said Ahmad Nuruddin, a native-born black Philadelphian who converted to Islam in his 20s and now serves as a leader within the city’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community, part of a predominantly South Asian sect.

Nuruddin described his own conversion experience like this: “There were a lot of Muslims in Philadelphia, so I thought: ‘Maybe I should see if it’s something I could use. … Maybe I should see if there is something there for me.'” So one day, he picked up a Koran.
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