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Fox Valley Islamic Society, Neenah

Members of the Fox Valley Islamic Society gather for the Friday afternoon prayer at the Neenah mosque which was built in 1984 and was the first mosque in the area at the time. Mamadou Coulibaly, president of the Fox Valley Islamic Society, estimates there are about 250 Muslim families living in the Fox Cities.

Muslims typically pray five times each day. The prayer times are dictated according to the sun’s position. At this Friday prayer, Muslims listen to a sermon and perform two cycles of prayer movements called “rakats.” The movements include standing quietly, bowing with hands on knees, bowing forehead to floor and sitting with feet under the body. In the photo above, Coulibaly recites the call to worship that is done before each prayer.

“People are strongly encouraged to pray at the mosque as often as they can, but Friday is kind of the required prayer at the mosque,” Coulibaly says. On a typical Friday, Coulibaly says about 25 people attend. “The virtue is in meeting people and praying together. Two people praying together [offers] more reward than two people praying separately,” says Younis Zaidan, who is a volunteer imam at the mosque.

Inside the mosque, men and women sit separately out of respect for women’s privacy, says Coulibaly who encourages guests to visit the mosque so they can learn more about Muslims in the Valley. “The mosque is very much open to people coming to visit and learning about who we are and what we do,” Coulibaly says.

Addressing religious prejudice:

“I feel it’s more of an opportunity than anything else. If you see a place with no beggars, who will we give charity to? If we are here to do good things, we need the opportunity to do those things. We try to diversify as much as possible and be inclusive so we can all learn. The more we know about one another, the lower the barrier between us and the better the community. Soon we will not be here and we want our kids to live in harmony. I think that’s what God wants.” — Mamadou Coulibaly, president of the Fox Valley Islamic Society

Educating the community:

“We can’t just blame others who think one way because that’s what they’ve been told. It’s partly my fault because as a Muslim I’m supposed to show them that what they hear on the news has nothing to do with Islam and Muslims. It’s about what we can do to correct the misconception. It is a challenge. But we keep trying.” — Younis Zaidan, volunteer imam