BLACKSBURG — For 25 years, the Islamic Society of the New River Valley has been the only permanent place of worship for Muslims in the area.
It’s about to get its first major makeover.
Society President Idris Adjerid (with megaphone) rallies the crowd for a group photo during the groundbreaking celebration for a large expansion of the Islamic Society of the New River Valley’s facilities on Saturday.
Payton Williams
The groundbreaking ceremony for the center’s expansion was held on Saturday, and it’s been four years in the making, according to Idris Adjerid, the president of the society.
“Many people in the community have been asking me over and over and over again, ‘When are we going to break ground,’ Adjerid said. “Today is the day we finally begin, Alhamdulillah [praise be to God].”
Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, gives a speech during the groundbreaking celebration at the Islamic Society of the New River Valley Saturday. The facility will expand to include a gym, lounge space and a coffee shop.
Payton Williams
The ceremony drew some 200 people from across the region, most of them Muslims who travel to the center for prayer when possible. The ceremony was also attended by special guests, including Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, the first Muslim ever elected to the Virginia General Assembly and Liam Watson, a town council member.
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The expansion is set to include a gym, lounge space, a coffee shop and other community spaces outside the existing worship space. Adjerid said that the expansion is geared specifically toward college students, who make up a majority of the center’s membership.
“Our community is probably about 80 to 90% Virginia Tech students, or students from Radford,” Adjerid said. “We want to create a comfortable, safe space for them to hang out and build community.”
The process of raising money to build the expansion took a very long time, but Adjerid said that many donors approached him out-of-the-blue, something to which he ties a lot of spiritual significance.
A crowd lines up for food Saturday during the groundbreaking celebration for a large expansion at the Islamic Society of the New River Valley.
Payton Williams
“We had one woman call from Upstate New York, and pledge to donate $100,000,” Adjerid said. “Someone who has never been down here, and likely never will, but she came to us. Allah literally brought people to our community.”
The speeches given during the celebration also touched on the ongoing encampment at Virginia Tech, to protest the treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Rasoul, during his remarks, spoke about his feeling of pride, seeing the way young people have responded to the ongoing conflict.
“Gen Z is standing up, and showing that you can’t sneak a genocide by them,” Rasoul said. “These communities that are coming together, not only Muslims but Jewish people and other people who are standing up, are showing that we share these common values.”
A pile of donated bedding, water and other supplies is shown on the second day of the Virginia Tech protest encampment Saturday, where students say they intend to stay until the university meets their demands, namely that the school divest from entities enabling Israel’s war effort.
Payton Williams
Adjerid, in closing remarks, invited members of the audience to visit the ongoing encampment at the Graduate Life Center lawn at Virginia Tech, and to donate blankets and other bedding.
“Don’t be afraid to go out there, it’s very peaceful,” Adjerid said. “I was there yesterday, and they were playing soccer.”
Rasoul visited the encampment shortly after the speeches ended. Others visited while he spoke to protesters, bringing food, water and various bedding, adding to a growing pile of goods at the center of the lawn.
Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, gives a speech at the Virginia Tech pro-Palestinian protest encampment. “Since November, I’ve felt a change,” Rasoul said. “I’ve been scrolling through TikTok, seeing all these images of dead children, and I don’t usually get very emotional, but I find myself crying all the time, and I realize I’ve never given myself time to mourn.” Rasoul is of Palestinian descent, and is the first Muslim elected to Virginia House of Delegates.
Payton Williams
Meanwhile, the mosque’s groundbreaking ceremony concluded with a group picture, and photographers standing by to take pictures of attendees, who donned hard hats and shovels. Bounce houses were set up on the lawn, to provide entertainment for children in attendance.
Payton Williams (540) 981-3126
payton.williams@roanoke.com
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