A non-profit organization geared at helping the growing Latino Muslim community is fundraising for the foundation of a mosque in the Chicago area. The Ojala Foundation, which describes its mission as “bringing Islam to the Midwest’s 6 Million Latinos,” has set up a fundraiser to set up a mosque and community centre to service the needs of the Latino Muslim community as well as provide support and outreach to their wider communities.

Founded in 2018, the Ojala Foundation focuses on outreach and social services along with Islamic outreach (dawa) to the wider community. Already actively involved in social work, the foundation is aiming to set up a mosque and community centre in Berwyn, Illinois. Imam Christopher Abdulkareem Pavcilek explains that the center will aim to build on and amplify the work that the Foundation has been doing for years: “We envision our Islamic Center as serving the entire community, both Muslim and non-Muslim because we are from the community and it only makes sense that we would share our faith with our friends and family in the area.”

“The amount of people finding a home with our community only leads us to believe that this Center will be the first of many because the need is just that great and our communities are thirsty for the positive change, structure and self discipline that Islam provides,” says Pavcilek. The mosque will particularly focus on services for Latino Muslims, who make up over a quarter of a million people in the United States. To date, he says, there has not been a specific focus on this community, leading to “the feeling that we need to give up a piece of our beautiful and vibrant culture in order to become a part of the greater Muslim community.”

Pavcilek feels that such projects can not only provide services for Latino Muslims but also, with Allah’s Guidance, strengthen the outreach of Islam within their ethnic community, which forms about a third of Chicago’s population. “Having our own center would allow anyone and everyone to come and see for themselves what Islam is all about from people that are literally just like them, from the same neighborhoods and of the same culture.  It is a huge game changer and has led to many entire families embracing Islam over time with some having 3-4 generations of Latino Muslim family members after just a few years.”

The imam also emphasizes the project’s attempt at social work. “We are extremely confident that not only will our center be a place for all people to come to but will be one of the few if not the first to have active outreach programs for at-risk youth and those struggling with substance and abuse and mental illness; and I want to be clear, we are not just talking about Latinos here, I am absolutely talking about the Muslim community as well because there is a problem and nobody wants to address it.” The organization has experience in such services as support for homeless people and supplies for schoolchildren. Addressing substance abuse and mental illness will, Pavcilek hopes, serve an even more important role: “We absolutely believe that our Center will be saving lives by Allah’s Decree.”

You can support the project here: https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/to_open_the_first_latino_islamic_center_in_chicago?src=1820283

 – by Ibrahim Moiz for MuslimMatters

Related:

– The Fast and the ¡Fiesta!: How Latino Muslims Celebrate Ramadan

– 25 Things Latino Muslims Want You To Know