Masjid as-Salaam

'For sisters: entry and exit will be through the women BACK door for BOTH Jumaa prayers.' They should be ashamed of themselves. I went to this masjid several years ago, and apparently they continue to treat women as second-class citizens. To enter the women's section, it was necessary to travel a long distance around the building, and then through a long, dark hallway. The women's section was significantly smaller and less well-lit than the men's section, and there was no maintenance (cleaning).

It is a nice masjid and not too far from the freeway. Parking is only available on the street and there is halal grocery store nearby.

As I walked through the ghetto to get there,I wasnt sure what to expect. I read in advance that the sisters entrance was in the back....sure is! The only way I could tell its backdoor from all the others was that someone had tacked a little sticker on the backdoor with the bismillah in arabic. Its too bad that sisters have to deal with such things even at the most wealthy mosques. Anyhow, despite the run-down musalla where the TV kept turning off and needing to be turned on again....if you can believe it I enjoyed myself there. It had a humble air about it that reminded me how the Prophet's masjid might have been. It helped that the imam that day was Djafer Sebkhaoui, I don know if he's regular now but our MSA had brought him to syracuse years back so I was touched when he appeared on the TV screen. Go for the sisterhood and the good khutba, and donate generously.

Masjid As-Salaam is a simple storefront mosque, with a relatively large musallah that holds large amounts of people for Jummah. It's clean and holds a large collection of Islamic books. Also, it's adjacent and across from 2 Halal food stores. The community is friendly, and while it's multicultural, I think it has a higher African-American population.