Boston, July 05: “It’s a wonderful monument,” said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in his taped remarks played at the opening of a new large mosque at Roxbury Crossing here last week. “I’m so proud to stand with all of you,” said Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
The mosque marks the 68,000 square foot Islamic Cultural Center (ICC), designed by Dr. Sami Angawi, and pioneered by Dr. Walid Fitaihi, member of the board of trustees of ICC and chairman of the board of trustees and CEO of Jeddah-based International Medi-cal Center. Dr. Osama Kandeel and the first Muslim in the US Congress, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, besides hundreds of Muslims were among those present.
Ellison said: “This mosque shows the greatness of our country, where people of all faiths and all backgrounds can make their own little place in the sun, and it shows the rest of the world that religious tolerance is the right way to go,” he said.
Dr. Fitaihi said: “Today, what we see is the birth of the interfaith dialogue approach emphasized by the American administration and presented in the Qur’an.”
The ICC features accommodation for up to 3,000 worshippers and its first phase plan includes a library and an interfaith center, gift shops, halls for cultural and educational activities, conference and office spaces, an underground parking, a 135-ft minaret, a computer lab, and facilities for washing and burial of the dead. Its second phase will include a school with 17 classrooms.
-Agencies