Mosque coming to Chapel Hill

A place to call their own.

Sunday school classes.

Somewhere they can celebrate religious holidays.

Muslim students throughout the area said they are looking forward to this and more as they anticipate the opening of Chapel Hill’s first mosque, which will open its doors in coming months.

“Speaking as a Muslim student, we want a place that’s always there where spirituality is manifested,” said Muslim Students Association member Relwan Onikoyi.

Onikoyi said UNC students are participating in the process by attending Chapel Hill Islamic Society meetings and giving feedback on what they want in a mosque.

The society purchased a building on Stateside Drive, off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, in late summer with money the group receives from member dues and fundraising, said society member and Chapel Hill resident Abdullah Antepli. Antepli is also a Muslim chaplain at Duke University.

The society, which has been working to secure a mosque in the area for 12 years, is collaborating with town government and other local religious institutions to go through the necessary procedures, he said.

According to the five pillars of Islam, active Muslims must pray five times each day.

The Muslim Students Association has a room in the Student Union that members can pray in, but it’s only open on weekdays from noon to 5 p.m.

“Right now, we kind of just pray whenever and wherever we can,” Onikoyi said. “If I’m in the library, I pray in the library. If I’m in the Union, I pray there.

“It’s totally fine most of the time to just end up praying wherever I am, but it would be nice to have a place to go to be with a congregation.”

Onikoyi said the new mosque will be open every day for students, and it will be especially important for the Friday and congregational prayer.

Association President Sana Khan said the mosque will provide a place for Muslim students to gather.

“(A mosque) establishes a sense of community,” she said. “Right now the closest mosque is in Durham or even farther out would be in Raleigh.”

“It would be a uniting factor for the community.”

Antepli said he thinks the mosque will be a blessing to the whole community.

“We really look forward to being able to have classes on the weekend, Sunday school class for children,” he said. “That’s a huge need.”

Onikoyi said that while opening a worship center requires going through a lot of red tape, it will be worth the effort.

“Chapel Hill residents want a place to go for religious support,” he said. “They want to develop a community for themselves, to be able to have discussion circles and to learn and worship together.

“Muslims and even non-Muslims could come together in this place to discuss and learn.”

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