Al Sunnah Islamic Center in St. Petersburg, Fla.
BY ABDUL SAHLY
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Al Sunnah Islamic Center this year hosted its first Islamic studies and Arabic classes for the Islamic community at St. Petersburg, which began last Sunday.
The Islamic center, located at 2400 S. 6th St., St. Petersburg, Fla., provides Islamic studies, Quran studies, and Arabic language classes for about 60 students from different ages.
Mohammed Khalid, Imam of Al Sunnah Islamic Center in St. Petersburg, said that most families were born here in the U.S. “The parents know how to speak Arabic and are educated about rules and teachings of Islam but their children don’t know as much about Arabic culture and language.”
The Islamic center administration discussed this problem and started to think about establishing an Islamic school.
The administration decided to organize an education program including three classes this year as the kernel for starting an integrated Islamic school that will begin in the coming years.
“We are working hard in cooperation with Islamic organizations and Islamic schools in the Tampa Bay area to help us to establish an integrated Islamic school in St. Petersburg and we try to get their experience,” he said.
Khalid explained that the school funding comes from the efforts of members of the Islamic society in the city to teach their children about their religion, which is not usually offered in public schools.
“Through generous donations, we were able to offer the basic facilities for classrooms and we are working to finish the entire school by the end of this year,” he said.
Seven volunteer teachers teach the classes that starts at 10:30 a.m. and last until 1:30 p.m every Sunday.
Before 2009, the Islamic Center was originally a church, few Muslim families in St. Petersburg area felt the desire for a mosque to serve the needs of the community.
To this cause, the church was leased for one year to be a mosque with fees paid in advance in goals that funds could be raised from the local Muslim community to purchase the mosque.
In March, 2009, the Muslim community was able to purchase the church.
Nowadays the Islamic center contains mosque, classrooms, restaurant and kitchen, and day care. The Islamic Center serves about 90 families in St. Petersburg.
The students are from different backgrounds and races. They are from Egypt, Morocco, India, Bangladesh, Jordan, Spain, and Native Americans.
Badiah Benuor, an Arabic class teacher, said that most students have difficulty in speaking Arabic because they have not done any Arabic classes in their regular school.
Benuor said that students don’t speak Arabic at home and with friends before they began attending these classes.
“They are excited and quick learners in speaking Arabic. I love their accent,” she said.
Khalid said the curriculum of Islamic studies is still taught in English because it is hard for students to understand the subject in Arabic.
He said that classes accept students from 3 years old to 16, boys and girls divided into classes regarding to their ages.
“I want to communicate with my friends in Jordan. I usually don’t understand them because I don’t speak Arabic very well,” said Ahmed Omer, a 12 -year-old student whose parents are originally from Jordan.
“Now, I’m excited about enhancing my Arabic and learning how to read the Quran. Also, I enjoy meeting with my friends every Sunday.”