Germantown Muslim Community in Philly
A friend of mine pointed directed me to this interactive guide to Germantown’s Islamic Comunity done by a group of students at Temple University on the Muslims in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. I figured given their reputation amongst the Muslims, it would be fair to show the other side.
Germantown currently gentrifying and the property values are going up rapidly. Germantown is a historic neighborhood as well as several notable people used to live there, the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Germantown took place there, the Quakers held the first protest against slavery there and the first kidnapping was there.
Video: Non-Muslim resident speaks about the Muslims
Video: Germantown residents speak about the neighborhood in general
Link: Audio Clip
Link: Photo Gallery
Link: Germantown Muslim Businesses
Link: Plans for new Germantown Masjid and School Complex
Link: Historic Germantown
Filed under: Black American Muslims, Convert Issues
[...] entry was motivated by Br. Tariq Nelson’s great find on Temple’s Germantown project. The “Philly Salafis” have been much maligned (and rightfully so in many cases) for [...]
Germantown Muslim Community in Philly
Tariq Nelson posts a positive interactive guide to one of the notorious Muslim communities in Philadelphia
This was well deserved recognition for the growth of Islam in the city of Philadelphia and the nation, as a whole. For non-Muslims to openly pay homage to Muslims, in today’s political climate, is testimony of how Allah raises up the believers.
Philadelphia is a city with many social ills, especially amongst African-Americans of low socioeconomic dispositions. And Germantown itself is a low socioeconomic neighborhood. However, over the past decade or so, we have seen a dilapidated building be converted into a place dedicated to the worship of Allah and subsequently become the nucleus of a community, whose efforts have permeated throughout the neighborhood, city, and nation. The Muslims in Germantown, as well as the rest of Philadelphia, have set their own mark in terms of establishing families, building sustainable enterprises, influencing the community at large, and most importantly, making the name of Allah uppermost. All this has been done in spite of living in substandard conditions and having substandard resources, as well simultaneously dealing with psychosocial maladies of the indigenous people (Muslim & non-Muslim).
Often times, many people criticize the Muslims of Philadelphia, for a myriad of reasons. “Their too harsh”, “Their too extreme”, “They have bad manners”… Rarely do we see acknowledgment of the progress of these people. Firstly it must realize many of these people entered into Islam from inadequate dispositions: illegitimate births, single family homes, poverty, drug abuse, inadequate education (in house and in school), crime… And thru the mercy of Allah they have come to Islam, with the intention of being upon tawheed and being steadfast upon the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (salalahu alaihi was salam). If we reflect, we can see where a person can be (i.e. jahiliya) and thru the belief in Allah, where they can be raised to. We have numerous examples of individuals who could barely read their native tongue learn to recite the book of Allah; people who were reared in single family homes, with no father, take the task of marrying a woman and raising his own family; individuals giving up haraam means and turning towards halaal. And on and on.
Islam in Philadelphia should be looked at as how Allah can bless a group of people, no matter what their circumstance. And although Philadelphia may be viewed as an epicenter of the dawah in the U.S., ishaAllah, it is by no means the final frontier and nor has it reached its zenith. We must realize that true Islam and the sunnah, in the west, are less than fifteen years olds. In conjunction with the impurities that we must rid ourselves of, this means that the Muslims are still in an infantile state of development. Therefore we should continue to acknowledge our accomplishments and work on our shortcomings as we grow.
As salaamu alaikum,
Well stated Ali!
Shaheed