Only a small portion of area residents regularly make the drive for what is considered to be an obligatory ritual for men. And as local Muslim populations have grown, so has their interest in establishing a more convenient option, said La Cañada resident Mahmoud Nouh, spokesman for the developing Islamic Center of Glendale organization, which started the local prayer service.
The group hopes to make Friday prayers an easy commitment to the growing amount of area Muslims who have given up on the ritual altogether, Nouh said, explaining that organizers plan services lasting just 30 minutes and sell lunches in brown to-go bags that allow workers to get back to their desks quickly.
“It’s convenient,” Nouh said.
The effort started when a group of families met in March and decided there was enough local need to organize at least a Friday prayer service.
Muslims have historically had a presence in the Burbank-Glendale-La Cañada region, said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
“We’ve been there for so long, actually, but just not organized,” he said.
The group of families conducted a study and discovered there were more than 100 Muslim families in the region, many of which don’t attend mosques because there aren’t any within a convenient distance, Nouh said.
Within two months they established the nonprofit Islamic Center of Glendale and began holding Friday prayer services on the second floor of the Pacific Community Center.
The first service was in a room with a 90-person capacity, but more than 100 people attended, with visitors pouring out of the doorway and into the halls, Nouh said.
“It exceeded our expectations,” he said.
Soon after, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino attended a service and voiced his support for the group and its efforts, Nouh said.
