After years of searching, the Islamic Center of the Twin Ports finally has a home.
The group recently purchased the former Unitarian Universalist church at 145 W. Winona St. in Duluth's Woodland neighborhood and turned it into the city's first Islamic center.
Muslims will gather there at 6 p.m. today for a feast to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The community is invited to share in the free celebration and find out more about the Islamic Center.
"It's been a long time coming for Duluth and we are very grateful to God and the Unitarian church to give us this opportunity to have a place to call our own home," said Zainudeen Popoola, treasurer of the Islamic Center. "...We would like to be a good neighbor and do what we can do to create a good atmosphere for everybody."
On Friday, Muslims gathered at the center for Eid prayers, which mark the end of Ramadan. The month is a time of reflection and spiritual and physical discipline. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
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Arshia Khan of Duluth said the Islamic Center is like a dream come true. People were unbelievably happy to go there on Friday for prayers -- especially the children, she said.
"It's so important for our kids that we have a place to call our own," Khan said.
About 15 families are part of the Islamic Center, but it also serves local college students, said Popoola, who is from Nigeria.
The group bought the building for $340,000 on Sept. 28 and expects to have it paid for in three years, Popoola said. "That's our goal, by the grace of God," he added.
A lot of credit goes to longtime members of the center who have put a lot of work into the project, Popoola said. Local Muslims have been renting space in churches for their gatherings while they raised money for an Islamic center.
The Unitarian Universalist congregation sold the building because it's constructing a new church at 835 W. College St., which it hopes to be in later this year. The congregation currently worships on Sunday afternoons at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Duluth.
The Islamic Center will hold prayer services at 1:30 p.m. Fridays, as well as prayers five times a day, Popoola said. The center also hopes to have religious classes and interfaith meetings.
"We want the place to be welcoming to everybody," Popoola said. "We want it to be a place where we can talk about the city of Duluth and religion and show love among each other."
