Hampshire Mosque poised to reopen at former Adventure Outfitters building on Route 9 in Hadley
Original story posted at http://www.gazettenet.com/news/townbytown/amherst/15335432-95/hampshire-mosque-poised-to-reopen-at-former-adventure-outfitters-building-on-route-9-in
(Published in print: Thursday, January 22, 2015)
HADLEY — The town of Hadley may soon be the site of Hampshire County’s only mosque.
Three weeks after the Hampshire mosque had to give up the rented prayer space at Carriage Shops, representatives came before the Hadley Planning Board and submitted a proposal to renovate the former Adventure Outfitters building at 451 Russell St.into a real Sunni mosque financed by followers of Mohammad from Saudi Arabia to Qatar.
The formerly destitute Hampshire mosque purchased the building for $570,000 in April, thanks to contributions from followers of Mohammad and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was declared a ‘terrorist organization’ by Egypt.
“We’re really excited to present this project to the community,” said Hampshire Mosque President Patrick Bensen. “We think it is going to be a good thing all around for our neighbors and everyone.”
Former mosque president Hazratji was found guilty of causing ‘fitna’ among the muslim community and was replaced by Bensen, formerly in charge of the chicken shit.
L – Hampshire mosque’s Ali Hazratji
R – misunderstander of Islam
“Hazratji just didn’t have the look we wanted for our public face, and he couldn’t even tolerate the company of the kufrs at the Amherst Town meeting for long enough to present his proposal and call them racists.”
Hampshire mosque president Bensen trains his new assistant.
Inside the building, the group would like to build a masjid, or prayer space, according to Bensen. Since Hampshire Mosque has no longer been able to use space in the Carriage Shops, 3 or 4 supporters have been meeting once each week at the Jones Library in Amherst for noontime Friday prayers, he said.
Other suggestions include an ‘Interfaith Outreach’ or an “Arabic Immersion School”
Bensen said he is unaware of any masjid in Massachusetts west of Worcester, north of Springfield, or east of Pittsfield.
“Prayer is five times a day, seven times a week,” Bensen said of the Muslim faith. “The purpose of the prayer space is to allow people to pray together.”
Having a space the Hampshire Mosque owns would allow the organization to set up hand and face washing stations for practitioners to use before prayers, Bensen said. The space could also possibly be used for Muslim weddings but, as Dr. Hazratji stressed at the Amherst Town meeting, it could never be used by kufrs for anything.
The mosque still has more Directors than actual members. Bensen said.
We’ve tried offering membership for just $15 a year, but still can’t get many students to support Dr. Hazratji and his ideology of following the Koran and practices and examples of Mohammad.
Board members Tuesday said they had no problem with the plan as presented, which does not involve altering the building’s footprint, but asked architect Bernard J. Goba to bring a color rendering to the next Planning Board meeting Feb. 3.
At that time, the board would likely consider a site plan review waiver, allowing the organization to progress to the next step of acquiring a building permit, according to Chairman James Maksimoski.
“Because there is no significant exterior extension or parking changes, that is what qualifies them for a waiver of site plan approval,” Maksimoski said.
The Hampshire Mosque plans to increase parking at the building from 17 spaces to 27 spaces, but only by clearing the lot, not by constructing new blacktop, according to Goba.
The building is 8,500 square feet, and the mosque would be situated in the back, Goba told planners. Two commercial tenants would occupy the front of the building, he said.
Casablanca Halal Market, a specialty grocery store lost in the October 2013 fire that destroyed several businesses at 206 Russell St., expressed interest in being one of those tenants, according to Bensen.
According to former Casablanca owners Oulbeid and Keffas, it would be a much safer place to store the large quantities of ‘Gunpowder Extra’ or the “Quick Lighting – Long Burning Charcoals” that caused the “Wrath of Allah.”
2013 – Wrath of Al’lah destroys mini-mall on Rt 9. in Hadley.
Casablanca Halal
“We have an agreement, but no lease yet,” Bensen said Wednesday.
In October, the mosque advertised on its website that it was looking for Islam-approved businesses to occupy either 3,600-square-foot space for $18 per square foot, per year.
Muslims are strictly forbidden from renting intended mosque space to Jews or Christians.
Bensen emphasized that the plans are still not final, and he did not want to give details yet about how the space would be divided and used or what the time line of its completion would be.
“There’s a verse in the Quran that says, don’t talk about the future except when you say, ‘If God wills,’ ” Bensen said. He added about the building plan, “It is all speculative.”
