Andrew Crighton

Life Editor

Just over one year ago Pocatello became home to one of the seven mosques in Idaho. Located on Fifth Avenue, about two blocks from the ISU campus,  it is run by The Islamic Society of Southeastern Idaho (ISSI).

The ISSI was organized approximately 25 years ago to help Muslims throughout all of Southeast Idaho practice their religion. At the time, members of the community met and prayed in a small rental apartment.

In 2014, they purchased the building and land that was previously an old Mexican restaurant.

According to Ibrahim Mohamed, acting President of the ISSI, there is nothing in particular that makes a building a mosque.

The building was purchased because, “If you have the money it’s better to own your own place, so people know where it is at. You don’t have to send out an email every time.”

The mosque is just as much a place of socialization and education as it is a place of worship. One of the main benefits for Azza Abugharsa, elected vice president of the ISSI, is that, “I get to know a lot of people in the Islamic community. I was in Oklahoma before, and I was working on my Ph.D., so maybe I was just busy and didn’t get a chance to meet the people. But now I have time.”

Another benefit to this building in particular is its location, “being so close to campus students can come for Friday prayer between classes,” said Abugharsa.

Friday prayer is the main prayer in Islam, like Sunday is for most of Christianity, and is compulsory for males to attend the mosque to pray.

Mohamed explains that most of the membership inside of Pocatello is comprised of students, so having a location that is close to campus so they can come pray, meet with friends or study is also important.

Until recently, this mosque served as the congregation point for most of  Southeast Idaho. Individuals from Rexburg, American Falls and Idaho Falls would commute to attend this mosque because it is the only one serving the region, compared to approximately 65 Christian churches in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area alone.

According to Mohamed, in recent months the community in Idaho Falls has begun meeting locally because their numbers have grown large enough, around 28 members. People from American Falls still commute every Friday.

Besides being a place for the Muslim community in the area, the Pocatello Mosque also puts on events for the public as well. Every few months a class is held specifically for senior citizens to come and learn about Islam, and every year during the holy month of Ramadan, the mosque holds a food drive and donates all it receives to charities in town.

Most of the pre-planned events occur during Ramadan, however the mosque is open to the public, and individuals may come to any of the five prayer times throughout the day to watch, listen and talk to people about Islam.

During the planning stage and into the present, Mohamed says that most of the community has been very supportive, and that only three people at the public hearing in 2014 were there in strict opposition. There have also only been two cases of vandalism at the mosque, however neither were seen as being directed towards the members or the religion itself.

“We had one incident before where a homeless man broke into the mosque; he ate, because we usually keep food, he slept and then left in the morning. We saw that on our cameras,” Mohamed said.

The other event was some graffiti drawn on and around the property, but it was also on surrounding buildings and lots, so the members don’t believe it was directed at them in particular.

Mohamed and Abugharsa were interviewed on Nov. 14, 2015, the day after the tragedies in Paris. When asked if they had any fears or worries about people in the surrounding area wanting the ISSI to answer for these actions, Abugharsa responded, “Personally I doubt it, even on the ‘Anti-Islam’ day we thought there was going to be some action at the mosque, but it was just a regular day.”