Last week’s Highlands Current profiled Abdullah Wajid, an Imam with the Masjid Ar Rashid Islamic Teaching Center in Beacon on Main Street near the Beacon Natural Market and across from the Post Office. The profile was in the paper’s weekly Q&A section. The interview was excerpted from the original episode interview by Zach Rogers, host and creator of the podcast “Beaconites!”

He recalls how the center has been in Beacon for more than 30 years. “The composition of the mosque was mostly African American, with a couple of Egyptian and maybe one Pakistani family. Today there’s a wide range of people who come. The number of families is anywhere from 150 to 200. You won’t see them at one time unless it’s a celebration like what we call Eid — we have two every year — or Ramadan.”

He encourages people to come to the mosque, and learn about their events, like this one last month on Women’s Health. He said during the interview: “We have made a very strong effort to let the people know that our mosque is approachable. You can come in; there are no rules that say you have to be a Muslim. We want to let the people know that we are supportive of the community. We try to demonstrate the best of character and try to be sensitive, especially to our neighbors. In Islam, neighbors are very important.”

There is a Family Day at the mosque today (Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 1pm. Details are here, and people are encouraged to bring a dish. Read the excerpted interview at Highlands Current, and listen to it in full at Beaconites!.