Masjid al-Fatiha started as a Thai Muslim house of worship, and has grown to incorporate worshippers from around the globe. The Los Angeles Times featured the masjid–started by the family of CRCC’s Napah Phyakul Quach—during Ramadan and then followed up with the story of its origin. The Ramadan story quotes CRCC Executive Director Brie Loskota:
The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations estimates there are around 500,000 Muslims in the region. In 2010, there were 59 mosques serving about 69,000 Muslims in Los Angeles County, according to USC’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture.
Some of the most established mosques in Southern California still tend to reflect the country of origin of its founders, according to Brie Loskota, executive director of the USC center.“Other people from that country know people at the mosque so they become worshipers there,” Loskota said. “So that mosque becomes more known to the larger community and develops its own character.”
Congregants at the Thai mosque are not only from Southeast Asia, but also first- and second-generation immigrants from Bangladesh, Niger, Pakistan, India and Morocco, as well as white and African American converts.
CRCC also included Masjid al-Fatiha in its “Reimagining Religion” series of videos:
Click here to read the LA Times’ Ramadan story
Click here to read the LA Times’ origin story
Click here to watch CRCC’s video about Masjid al-Fatiha
