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<\/a>SOME IMAGES OF rooms under renovation at 3091 Decatur Avenue in the Norwood section of The Bronx, in preparation for the upcoming opening of a new Mosque in the neighborhood.Photo courtesy of Imam Darul Ahnaf New York via GoFundMe.org.<\/p>\n
Imam Darul Ahnaf of New York recently shared details of a GoFundMe campaign through which the Bronx Muslim community is fundraising to build a new, second mosque in the Norwood section of The Bronx, to be located at a newly purchased building at 3091 Decatur Avenue. A nearby location at 3041 Hull Avenue is currently being used by the community until such time as the new building is ready, Ahnaf told the Norwood News. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cAlhamdulillah, with the help of generous donors,\u00a0Darul Ahnaf New York\u00a0has taken a major step forward by securing a permanent space to serve our community,\u201d an extract from the GoFundMe page post reads. \u201cWhat was once a dream is now a reality, a home for salah [worship], Qur\u2019an education, and future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The post went on to describe how there is still critical work left to be done, and that the funding was needed to carry out essential renovations so the space \u201cbecomes safe, functional, and welcoming for daily prayers, classes, and community programs.\u201d Ahnaf said final steps include installing a \u201cproper prayer hall carpet, a sound system, wudu facilities, washrooms, and air conditioning.\u201d A total of $55,000 is needed according to the post.<\/p>\n
He said the Masjid is more than a building. It is a place where Salah is established, children learn the Qur\u2019an, families gather, and faith is strengthened. \u201cWithout these basic facilities, the space cannot properly serve the community, especially with Ramadan and busy prayer times approaching,\u201d Ahnaf wrote. During large Islamic feast days in recent years, local Bronx Muslims have been seen praying outdoors<\/a>\u00a0in the Williamsbridge Oval park, as it seems to be the only space large enough to facilitate communal prayer for the community. The founder of the new mosque is Muhammad Hamidur Rahman Ashraf.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Norwood, home to a substantial Bengali Muslim community<\/a>, is already the location of the four-story, 15,000 square-foot North Bronx Islamic Center<\/a>, located at 261 East 206th Street, completed in 2018. Meanwhile, Bengali women\u2019s empowerment group, Laal<\/a>, was founded<\/a> in 2019, becoming<\/a> a crucial network for the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It offers five daily prayers, Jummah prayer on Friday, and funeral and other Islamic services. We reached out to the Ahnaf to ask how many Muslims it serves, and he estimates it at around one thousand. We also reached out to Laal, a local Bengali, women\u2019s empowerment association to ask if they had estimates on demographics for local Muslim women as according to Laal\u2019s website, no clear local, numbers are available. We will share any feedback we receive.<\/p>\n The Census does not collate religious data and the latest estimates for the Muslim population in New York City (NYC) vary. Recent figures by advocates and local analysts suggest\u00a0around one million residents, with significant populations in Queens and Brooklyn.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n New York Gov. Kathy\u00a0Hochul\u00a0issued the first ever proclamation declaring January as\u00a0Muslim\u00a0American Heritage\u00a0Month\u00a0across New York State on Jan. 2, directing that 16 state landmarks be illuminated green that evening in observance and celebration.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHome to the largest\u00a0Muslim\u00a0American population in the nation, New York is proud to join in this\u00a0month-long celebration, recognizing the values, faith,\u00a0and traditions of our\u00a0Muslim\u00a0American communities,\u201d\u00a0Hochul\u00a0said. \u201cNew York remains committed to being a beacon of hope, tolerance, and inclusivity that celebrates the diversity of its\u00a0Muslim\u00a0American population and protects them from Islamophobia, hate, bias, and harm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s office said the designation recognizes the significant contributions\u00a0Muslim\u00a0Americans have contributed to society throughout history including in the arts, sciences, mathematics, technology, literature, music, medicine, and philosophy, and encourages the people of New York to take the opportunity to better\u00a0appreciate, recognize, and understand the rich cultures, histories, and principles of the\u00a0Muslim\u00a0American community.<\/p>\n A special ceremony hosted by the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) to celebrate the city\u2019s\u00a0first public observance of\u00a0Muslim\u00a0American\u00a0Heritage\u00a0Month was held on Jan. 28, in partnership with the Muslim\u00a0Community Network\u00a0(MCN)<\/a>,<\/a> at the Rotunda of New York County Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street in Manhattan. Various Muslims and allies were honored at the event.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Many were from Brooklyn, Queens, or other boroughs but seemingly none were from The Bronx. They included Marwa Janini, execuctive director of the Arab American Association of New York, Imam Safraz Bacchus, chaplain and community builder, Imam Muhammad Shahidullah, peace ambassador and multifaith scholar, the Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York, and Husein Yatabarry, executive director of the Muslim Community Network.<\/p>\n Muslim American Heritage Month is celebrated at New York County Supreme Court, Manhattan 1\/28\/26 Video 2 Video by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n Speakers at the event highlighted NYC OPHC\u2019s \u201cHeARTwork Against Hate Contest,\u201d which involves young New York City voices spreading \u201clove through art that unites and heals.\u201d\u00a0 Visit https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/site\/stophate\/initiatives\/heartwork-form.page<\/a> for more information about the contest, and to enter.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Norwood News arrived after the event had started but was informed that neither the governor nor New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the City\u2019s first Muslim mayor<\/a>, attended. The same evening, the mayor had joined Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to update the public on an apparent attack<\/a> at the Jewish Chabad World HQ in Brooklyn, as reported.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Police said the man arrested for ramming his car against the building several times denies the hate crime charge and told police he lost control of the car as he was wearing \u201cclumpy boots.\u201d Police said the man knew the building was a synagogue as he had attended it for a social gathering 10 days prior to the attack. They said he has no criminal history in New York City. The investigation continues. The mayor joined Tisch in condemning the attack.<\/p>\n Muslim American Heritage Month is celebrated at New York County Supreme Court, Manhattan 1\/28\/26 Video 1<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, Bronx Muslims previously shared with Norwood News their thoughts on how they believed Islamophobia impacted the recent mayoral race.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n For some related stories on this topic, click here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By S\u00cdLE MOLONEY SOME IMAGES OF rooms under renovation at 3091 Decatur Avenue in the Norwood section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130329,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-130328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-bronx","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-nyc","12":"tag-the-bronx","13":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","14":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>IMAM DARUL AHNAF New York recently shared details of a GoFundMe campaign through which the Bronx Muslim community is fundraising to build a new, second mosque in the Norwood section of The Bronx, to be located at a newly purchased building at 3091 Decatur Avenue (pictured). \u00a0\u00a0
Photo by Miriam Qui\u00f1ones<\/p>\n<\/a>IMAM DARUL AHNAF New York recently shared details of a GoFundMe campaign through which the Bronx Muslim community is fundraising to build a new, second mosque in the Norwood section of The Bronx, to be located at a newly purchased building at 3091 Decatur Avenue (pictured). \u00a0\u00a0
Photo by Miriam Qui\u00f1ones<\/p>\n<\/a>VARIOUS MUSLIMS AND allies are honored at a celebration hosted by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 28, 2026, at New York County Supreme Court\u2019s Rotunda. January 2026 marked New York State\u2019s first Muslim American Heritage Month.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n