Masjid Ar-Razaq, Muslim Community Center of Rhode Island

Information about this center is no longer updated. This data was last updated on 29 October 2006.

Phone: 401-467-0011
Email: mccri@mccri.org
Website: http://www.mccri.org
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Activities and Schedule

Five daily prayers Friday: Jum’ah prayer and khutba: 1:00 P.M. Saturday: children’s school 12:00 noon-2:00 P.M. Adult classes and lectures after maghrib (dusk) prayer Sunday: children’s school and communal meeting 2:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M.; Adult classes and lectures Tuesday: Adult classes and lectures after maghrib (dusk) prayer.

History

Originally a house purchased by African-American Muslim followers of Warith Deen Muhammad around 1980 and converted into a masjid, Al-Razzaq is now mostly maintained by immigrant Nigerians. The history of this community began when four immigrants in the mid 1970’s started the Nigerian Muslim Students Association of Rhode Island. This community previously attended Masjid Al-Karim on Cranston Street, Providence. Finally, when the Nigerian community had grown substantially, they felt that the best way to address the specific needs of immigrant Nigerian Muslims was to establish their own centralized location. Thus, in the early 1990’s, the Muslim Community Center of RI, on Pavilion Avenue in Providence, was adopted to fill this need. Although anyone is welcome to attend prayers, this masjid addresses the specific cultural needs of Nigerians and their families. The masjid’s greatest concern is to ensure that new immigrants have a community from which they can maintain and strengthen their faith amid the challenges encountered in the first few years of establishment in a new country.

Description

The leadership is comprised of an executive board that deals with the administrative and financial matters of the day-to-day running of the mosque. Also, in concert with Imam Mudathir Alli-Oweh, a missions board of seven members attends to planning and providing for the spiritual needs of the congregation. The main sources of authority for this group are the Qur’an and Sunnah. This primarily Nigerian community comes from all over Providence and surrounding cities to meet and worship together. Nigerian, English and Arabic are used in services. All are welcome here, as they stress the importance of an “all encompassing Islam” regardless of theological differences. The community hopes to teach others about Islam, while at the same time addressing their own cultural needs, such as helping Nigerian immigrants settle into the Unites States, educating their children, or confronting and addressing what they see as negative stereotypes that exist against Nigerians and Nigerian Muslims. With approximately 180 members, Masjid Al-Razzaq tries to represent the needs and goals of its community through its activities. Imam Shode and his congregation provide a variety of activities in addition to the daily and weekly prayers. The community has a weekend school for the children, and is hoping to establish a full-time academic school. They administer adult classes and lectures, social gatherings, marriage, death and naming ceremonies, and special dhikr sessions for the remembrance of God that include chanting and singing. The masjid distributes a monthly calendar as well.

Community/Outreach

The congregants do not emphasize interfaith relationships as much as other communities; rather they have a strong intra-faith educational and motivational vision. They had a Census2000 registration drive, and every Thursday they go to other Muslim houses to visit those who are sick or could not attend the masjid. Additionally they belong to the greater Islamic Council of New England and celebrate the major holidays with the greater Rhode Island Muslim community. An issue the community is trying to resolve is the proximity of a liquor store to the masjid. They hope to one day buy it and transform it for the usage of their larger congregation. As the current masjid building is well over 30 years old, a present aim is to rebuild it to increase the communal morale and pride in their mosque. At present, they engage the community by visiting local prisons and hospitals to talk about Islam, providing census awareness forums, and putting on car wash fundraisers for the community at large.

Location and Directions

From Route 95, take exit 22 (Memorial Blvd.) and continue downtown with the river on your right. Cross over Point Street and continue on Eddy Street. Pass Rhode Island Hospital on your right. After approximately 3 miles, take a right onto Pavilion Avenue.