A light drizzle falls as a cold breeze sweeps by; the building seems unusually dark and empty on a Sunday afternoon. Once inside, only the echo of careful footsteps reverberates through the holy silence. A few minutes later, the sound of deep chanting slices through the stillness. It goes on for a minute or two before it stops.

Then, as if on cue, the room brightens and erupts with activity. A dozen children bounce up the stairs and race eagerly toward the prayer room, taking their shoes off as they enter.

Meanwhile, a woman and several children huddle quietly on a mat in another prayer room, reciting chants and talking in hushed whispers. Judging from snippets of words that are barely audible, it is apparent that the woman is teaching these children about God.

This captures a typical Sunday at the Islamic Center right here on campus. Located next to DeMattias Hall, the Islamic Center serves as a place of worship and instruction for Muslims in the St. Louis City area.

The Islamic Foundation of St. Louis purchased the Islamic Center in 1976 from a postal services company. Despite SLU’s attempt to acquire the building during its early stages of expansion, the center still remains an independent institution from the University.

Though it may seem quiet from the outside, the Islamic Center always has something going on inside.

Muslims stop by the center for their prayer (salaat) five times a day and hold special prayer gatherings (jum’a) on Fridays.

Occasionally, Muslims from around the world stay there during their visits. The center gets especially busy during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, which began yesterday.

A few SLU students and faculty visit whenever they can. Dr. Joya Uraizee, a professor of English, organizes the Sunday school (madrassa) program with her husband, on a volunteer basis. Dr. Waheed-Uz-Zaman Rana, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology, teaches advanced Koran studies on Sundays as well.

The center used to have a fully functional madrassa, where children could learn to read and understand the Koran.

The madrassa suffered a short lapse since the Daar-Ul-Islam Masjid (mosque) opened in West County a few years ago, where most of the students transferred. It was only re-established during the past summer, with some nine or 10 volunteers currently on staff.

The madrassa offers classes for children of refugee families mostly of African descent, with a smattering of Afghans, Bosnians and Middle Easterns. The curriculum consists of Arabic language classes to supplement a religion class, where students have to read the Koran in its natural language.

Amani Hasian, a volunteer, teaches a class of a dozen students ranging from 7-14 years old.

She discusses the Islamic creed one phrase at a time, occasionally asking a student to read certain passages. The student stumbles in his Arabic, but Hasian reassures him that he gets credit (hasana) for each letter he reads and for doing his best.

The students are bubbling with curious questions regarding rules on prayer, salvation and Ramadan, among other things. They show obvious eagerness to learn about the religion. The madrassa is slowly getting back on its feet–perhaps soon it will be in full swing again.

The Islamic Center–and the St. Louis Islamic community in general–have managed to escape the religious discrimination that came after the Sept. 11 attacks. Rana–SLU professor, second imam (religious leader) of the Islamic Foundation of St. Louis and pioneer of interfaith dialogue in the St. Louis community–stresses the importance of connecting with people from other faiths.

Rana has been actively involved in fostering dialogue between religions for the past 34 years, contributing to a more open, supportive environment for Muslims.

“We have been fortunate in St. Louis because we have extensive interfaith dialogue with other people,” Rana said. “They are so involved with us that they don’t tolerate it when people do anything against us. They stood with us when we really need them.”

The Islamic Center is located at 3843 West Pine. Prayer is held on Friday at 1 p.m., as well as daily Salahat. For more information call 531-2896.