My move to New Orleans has been completed, and I'm back home after 6 years of exile in Texas. On the ride back home, I got to enjoy my first rainfall in 4 months. It's a very different place to be from Texas, and a very different culture to have been brought up in. When I last visited roughly 6 months back, I went to jum'ah twice at two different masajid (mosques) in the city. As much of my readership is native to New Orleans, it might be interesting to get some of their input on the masajid, as well perhaps some advice on where to meet friendly Muslims.
The first, Masjid Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, is a small free standing building that housed well over 500 men when I sat in for the khutbah. It was conducted entirely in Arabic, and I was the only non-Arab or non-South Asian present. The feeling was quite conservative, though that didn't make me feel especially out of place. No one greeted me, though they did return my greetings. The other was the Islamic Center of New Orleans, which is a run down two story building in a bad part of town. Curiously though, it borders the French Quarter. I doubt there are many attendees who go out for cocktails after, but who knows? This was a much more mixed and "American" crowd with a large number of black converts as well as a few other (cab driving) nationalities thrown in. Despite the humble appearance, I felt much more at home here and the khutbah was in a language I have fluency in. People actually greeted me with the salaam here, and helped direct me to the washroom.
In the coming weeks, I may document my experiences at these and perhaps some other masajid in New Orleans. There aren't many here, unlike Houston, and the facilities are nowhere near as well maintained. Still, I'm optimistic I'll find a place I feel comfortable going to on Fridays.
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