Bay Area Muslim Communities
This website is a part of a Muslim community project of Dr. Hatem Bazian at the University of California, Berkeley.
Islamic Society of Tracy
Address: Corral Hollow Rd, Tracy, CA
Telephone: (209) 814-5691
Website: http://www.isotracy.org
Address: Corral Hollow Rd, Tracy, CA
Telephone: (209) 814-5691
Website: http://www.isotracy.org
A decade in the making
After 7 years, Muslim community of Tracy built their dream mosque
Taking close to a decade, the Muslim community of Tracy, CA, and the board members of the mosque were able to build the mosque they have been yearning for. Three men that were the founders of the mosque was: Zabi Zaca, Moheb Arghandiwal and Habib Mohammadi in the year 2000. Starting from just three small rooms and an office in the corner of the street Larch Rd in Tracy, CA, the mosque has improved a lot. Since the three men are Afghan, they decided to name the mosque Shahida Sham Shera which was a name of a famous king during the battle of Islam in Afghanistan. However, noticing that their community might expect the mosque to be just for Afghans, they changed it into something that’s more common to everyone – Islamic society of Tracy (ISOT).
In the beginning, the Muslim population in Tracy was not that big. However, the community started to grow and expand quickly. They started having different ethnic groups that started attending the local mosque, since in the beginning it was Afghans immigrants. They have about 420 active members that are involved and they are not the only mosque in Tracy. There is another one called Tracy Islamic Center that consists of Pakistanis.
Building this mosque was not easy as I mentioned in the beginning. The community and staff went through a lot of work and hassle to be where they are now. They had to go through the neighborhood and ask them if it was okay to build the mosque where it is now because during that time Muslims were portrayed as bad in the media and luckily they didn’t mind. Furthermore, they had to process the site with the Tracy council, taking them about 7 years to build the mosque. The location of the mosque was a house at first, and was later demolished to create the mosque the way they wanted to.
ISOT does many donations and projects such as sending money to the Children of War in Afghanistan Organization, helping other mosques and the needy, Muslims in prison and food drives for the homeless. They have weekly class from children ages four and up all the way to seniors. It is open 24 hours a day for anyone and they provide an imam for the five prayers daily.
Going through all of this, it is unbelieving to see the Muslim community of Tracy rising. For a small community, they had a lot of dedication and patience to their mosque by constantly helping out when the mosque needed it. They are now content with what they have and are willing to expand but only in the future. This only shows how much love they have for their mosque. Seeing this made me realize that no matter how long it takes, if there is something that one is passionate about, they will find a way to accomplish it.
After 7 years, Muslim community of Tracy built their dream mosque
Taking close to a decade, the Muslim community of Tracy, CA, and the board members of the mosque were able to build the mosque they have been yearning for. Three men that were the founders of the mosque was: Zabi Zaca, Moheb Arghandiwal and Habib Mohammadi in the year 2000. Starting from just three small rooms and an office in the corner of the street Larch Rd in Tracy, CA, the mosque has improved a lot. Since the three men are Afghan, they decided to name the mosque Shahida Sham Shera which was a name of a famous king during the battle of Islam in Afghanistan. However, noticing that their community might expect the mosque to be just for Afghans, they changed it into something that’s more common to everyone – Islamic society of Tracy (ISOT).
In the beginning, the Muslim population in Tracy was not that big. However, the community started to grow and expand quickly. They started having different ethnic groups that started attending the local mosque, since in the beginning it was Afghans immigrants. They have about 420 active members that are involved and they are not the only mosque in Tracy. There is another one called Tracy Islamic Center that consists of Pakistanis.
Building this mosque was not easy as I mentioned in the beginning. The community and staff went through a lot of work and hassle to be where they are now. They had to go through the neighborhood and ask them if it was okay to build the mosque where it is now because during that time Muslims were portrayed as bad in the media and luckily they didn’t mind. Furthermore, they had to process the site with the Tracy council, taking them about 7 years to build the mosque. The location of the mosque was a house at first, and was later demolished to create the mosque the way they wanted to.
ISOT does many donations and projects such as sending money to the Children of War in Afghanistan Organization, helping other mosques and the needy, Muslims in prison and food drives for the homeless. They have weekly class from children ages four and up all the way to seniors. It is open 24 hours a day for anyone and they provide an imam for the five prayers daily.
Going through all of this, it is unbelieving to see the Muslim community of Tracy rising. For a small community, they had a lot of dedication and patience to their mosque by constantly helping out when the mosque needed it. They are now content with what they have and are willing to expand but only in the future. This only shows how much love they have for their mosque. Seeing this made me realize that no matter how long it takes, if there is something that one is passionate about, they will find a way to accomplish it.