Board Member: Zabi Azizpor
October, 25th, 2013
1. When was your site found?
1- Site was found around the year 2000 in Larch Road, Tracy, CA.
2. Who was/were the founder(s)?
2- Main founders of the mosque were Zabi Zaca, Moheb Arghandiwal and Habib Mohammadi.
3. Any people of importance?
3- Community people that are always helping out and the three founders, Zaca, Arghandiwal and Mohammadi.
4. How did the mosque derive its name?
4- First name was Shahida Sham Shera – It was named after an afghan where he was a king with two swords and he became famous against the battle in Islam and there’s a name like that in Afghanistan. We changed it because since the name was an afghan name, it looked as if the mosque were only for Afghans. But, its not. So, we changed it to the Islamic Society of Tracy for everyone.
5. What demographic does the mosque serve? (A mix of different backgrounds, primarily ethnic such as Arab/Pakistani/Fijian, African-American, convert, youth?)
5- All different groups. Majority are Afghans and Pakistanis, but we also have Fijians, African Americans, Americans as well as Asians.
6. What size is the community, how active is it? What is unique about the community? (Is it immigrant, new, established, refugee, alternative?)
6- Community that is actively involved is about 400 people that are mostly Afghan immigrants. There is a quiet a few, about, 10-15 African Americans and 10 Asians, but mainly, Afghans and Pakistanis.
7. Is your site affiliated or partners with any other mosques?
7- Yes we are. There is also another mosque names Tracy Islamic Center, TIC, which consists of more Pakistanis but they are also mixed.
8. What kind of structure is your mosque (a storefront, converted house or building, corporate space, strip mall, former church, built from the ground up)? Is their any information they can offer about the location and prior occupants? Is their historical information you can research on the address? What is the area like (residential, commercial. etc?)?
8- The structure of the mosque used to be a house. It was demolished and rebuilt from ground up for the masjid. No information of the prior occupants.
9. Has the mosque done any projects? (Feeding the homeless, literacy, women's shelter, voting poll site etc)
9- We are a non-profit, a program we do is sending money to the organization called Children of War in Afghanistan. Muslim brothers in prison, we help them out. We help out other mosques and the needy. We do food drives for the homeless.
10. What events do they you have in the mosque or have participated in?
10- I have participated in the Grand Opening of the masjid where they had the ground breaking. Also, I have been with the mosque from building process to now, which took almost 2 and half years.
11. What services does the mosque offer? (Is their an onsite Islamic school, do they offer health, legal, marriage, death, services, counseling, Boy Scouts, youth programs etc?)
11- We are open 24 hours a day. We provide an imam for the five prayers throughout the day. We also have Friday prayers service that we serve 300 people to. We also have conducted marriage and graveyard service. We don’t have any youth counseling program but we do have an educational program to teach the Quran for the youth of the community during the weekends.
12. Have their been any significant milestones (purchase of a bigger building, zoning permit anything else?)
12- Yes, that has passed us throughout the past 7 years. We went to the city council in Tracy to approve building the mosque. It was an empty lot but we converted it to a beautiful mosque. The total process took about 6 to 7 years to build the mosque.
13. Has the mosque published any materials? Find out title, obtain some.
13- We do have materials that are for public. We print out the people’s contributions to let them know where their money goes.
14. Do you have a document to share about the mosque? Maybe like proposed building plans, or architectural works, photos of construction from beginning to end, any historical items that you can scan, copy or photograph as part of your community narrative)
14- In the beginning it was a little difficult, the neighbors became alarmed because of the way Muslims were portrayed by the media but fortunately we were able to talk to each of the family and get their consent on the place.
15. Have you been involved in any important legal cases relating to the mosque?
15- We have an outreach program and invited the neighbors to come to the mosque and provided them food. This is an open place for the community. Doesn’t belong to any organization or anyone, it belongs to the community of Tracy. The deed of trust is for the community. There are 11 board members that get elected every two years and those are the ones that run about the mosque equally.
16. Have they as mosque/community experience discrimination? Hate crimes?
16- Just in the beginning when we first started, but alhamdillah, everything is good now.
17. What kind of community engagement does the mosque have? (Interfaith, community outreach, open house?)
17- We have an outreach program and invited the neighbors to come to the mosque and provided them food. This is an open place for the community. Doesn’t belong to any organization or anyone, it belongs to the community of Tracy. The deed of trust is for the community. There are 11 board members that get elected every two years and those are the ones that run the mosque equally.
18. Do you have any website for people to go on? Twitter, Facebook or any other networking websites?
18- Unfortunately, we only have a website and that is isotracy.org
October, 25th, 2013
1. When was your site found?
1- Site was found around the year 2000 in Larch Road, Tracy, CA.
2. Who was/were the founder(s)?
2- Main founders of the mosque were Zabi Zaca, Moheb Arghandiwal and Habib Mohammadi.
3. Any people of importance?
3- Community people that are always helping out and the three founders, Zaca, Arghandiwal and Mohammadi.
4. How did the mosque derive its name?
4- First name was Shahida Sham Shera – It was named after an afghan where he was a king with two swords and he became famous against the battle in Islam and there’s a name like that in Afghanistan. We changed it because since the name was an afghan name, it looked as if the mosque were only for Afghans. But, its not. So, we changed it to the Islamic Society of Tracy for everyone.
5. What demographic does the mosque serve? (A mix of different backgrounds, primarily ethnic such as Arab/Pakistani/Fijian, African-American, convert, youth?)
5- All different groups. Majority are Afghans and Pakistanis, but we also have Fijians, African Americans, Americans as well as Asians.
6. What size is the community, how active is it? What is unique about the community? (Is it immigrant, new, established, refugee, alternative?)
6- Community that is actively involved is about 400 people that are mostly Afghan immigrants. There is a quiet a few, about, 10-15 African Americans and 10 Asians, but mainly, Afghans and Pakistanis.
7. Is your site affiliated or partners with any other mosques?
7- Yes we are. There is also another mosque names Tracy Islamic Center, TIC, which consists of more Pakistanis but they are also mixed.
8. What kind of structure is your mosque (a storefront, converted house or building, corporate space, strip mall, former church, built from the ground up)? Is their any information they can offer about the location and prior occupants? Is their historical information you can research on the address? What is the area like (residential, commercial. etc?)?
8- The structure of the mosque used to be a house. It was demolished and rebuilt from ground up for the masjid. No information of the prior occupants.
9. Has the mosque done any projects? (Feeding the homeless, literacy, women's shelter, voting poll site etc)
9- We are a non-profit, a program we do is sending money to the organization called Children of War in Afghanistan. Muslim brothers in prison, we help them out. We help out other mosques and the needy. We do food drives for the homeless.
10. What events do they you have in the mosque or have participated in?
10- I have participated in the Grand Opening of the masjid where they had the ground breaking. Also, I have been with the mosque from building process to now, which took almost 2 and half years.
11. What services does the mosque offer? (Is their an onsite Islamic school, do they offer health, legal, marriage, death, services, counseling, Boy Scouts, youth programs etc?)
11- We are open 24 hours a day. We provide an imam for the five prayers throughout the day. We also have Friday prayers service that we serve 300 people to. We also have conducted marriage and graveyard service. We don’t have any youth counseling program but we do have an educational program to teach the Quran for the youth of the community during the weekends.
12. Have their been any significant milestones (purchase of a bigger building, zoning permit anything else?)
12- Yes, that has passed us throughout the past 7 years. We went to the city council in Tracy to approve building the mosque. It was an empty lot but we converted it to a beautiful mosque. The total process took about 6 to 7 years to build the mosque.
13. Has the mosque published any materials? Find out title, obtain some.
13- We do have materials that are for public. We print out the people’s contributions to let them know where their money goes.
14. Do you have a document to share about the mosque? Maybe like proposed building plans, or architectural works, photos of construction from beginning to end, any historical items that you can scan, copy or photograph as part of your community narrative)
14- In the beginning it was a little difficult, the neighbors became alarmed because of the way Muslims were portrayed by the media but fortunately we were able to talk to each of the family and get their consent on the place.
15. Have you been involved in any important legal cases relating to the mosque?
15- We have an outreach program and invited the neighbors to come to the mosque and provided them food. This is an open place for the community. Doesn’t belong to any organization or anyone, it belongs to the community of Tracy. The deed of trust is for the community. There are 11 board members that get elected every two years and those are the ones that run about the mosque equally.
16. Have they as mosque/community experience discrimination? Hate crimes?
16- Just in the beginning when we first started, but alhamdillah, everything is good now.
17. What kind of community engagement does the mosque have? (Interfaith, community outreach, open house?)
17- We have an outreach program and invited the neighbors to come to the mosque and provided them food. This is an open place for the community. Doesn’t belong to any organization or anyone, it belongs to the community of Tracy. The deed of trust is for the community. There are 11 board members that get elected every two years and those are the ones that run the mosque equally.
18. Do you have any website for people to go on? Twitter, Facebook or any other networking websites?
18- Unfortunately, we only have a website and that is isotracy.org
Additional Interview
Bibi Noory
1. How long have you been a member of the Islamic Society of Tracy?
1. I have been a member of this mosque since 2005.
2. Where are you from?
2. I am from Afghanistan.
3. What do you like best about the mosque?
3. I like that the mosque runs 24 hours a day everyday. I can come anytime of the week during any time of the day, which is perfect for my hectic schedule of work.
4. What is your involvement in the mosque?
4. I am currently a student and volunteer. I am a student in the advanced class, and volunteer little kids in the beginners class.
5. Hopes for the future of the mosque
5. I would like for the mosque to get bigger. Our size right now is good, but as time is passing, our muslim community is getting better and it would be perfect if we had the Eid Prayer once for everyone, instead of three different times.
Bibi Noory
1. How long have you been a member of the Islamic Society of Tracy?
1. I have been a member of this mosque since 2005.
2. Where are you from?
2. I am from Afghanistan.
3. What do you like best about the mosque?
3. I like that the mosque runs 24 hours a day everyday. I can come anytime of the week during any time of the day, which is perfect for my hectic schedule of work.
4. What is your involvement in the mosque?
4. I am currently a student and volunteer. I am a student in the advanced class, and volunteer little kids in the beginners class.
5. Hopes for the future of the mosque
5. I would like for the mosque to get bigger. Our size right now is good, but as time is passing, our muslim community is getting better and it would be perfect if we had the Eid Prayer once for everyone, instead of three different times.