Islamic Foundation of Lincoln

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Jenn Ortegren, Researcher

Brief History and Demographics

The Sunni Muslim community has been active in Lincoln since the early 1990’s when it was founded by students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). The original members rented a building near campus to worship together, and as they worked with refugees and immigrants, the community expanded beyond college students. Currently 70% of the members of this community are students at UNL. This large percentage of students, who continually move in and out as the begin and finish their education, creates large turnover rates in the community. Of the 100-150 members present at Friday prayers, the countries of Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt are represented.

Description of the Center

The mosque used by the Sunni community in Lincoln was originally a Jehovah’s Witness church, but the community bought the house and refurnished it to fit their needs. A large room, with an altar in the northeast corner, facing Mecca, exists for prayer and meetings for the men. A one-way mirror separates the large worship room from the smaller room reserved for women’s prayers.

On Saturdays, after evening prayers, the men meet in the large prayer room while one brother presents a topic of discussion. The women may sit in the room reserved for their prayer purposes, watching the meeting and listening through speakers, or they may relocate in the house next door, which is also owned by the Sunni community, for their own discussion group. The house next door is reserved for use by women, either during discussion groups or Ramadan feasts, and also serves as a home to any number of refugee families needing a place to live while they establish themselves in Lincoln.

Center Activitiies

All prayer activities take place in the mosque including the dawn prayer, the noon prayer, late afternoon prayer, early evening prayer, and night prayer. The early evening and night prayers bring the most members as it is the most convenient time for members to travel to the mosque. Each Saturday, a “Saturday Circle” discussion is held in which one man prepares a subject and lectures to the other members of the community present. The audience usually consists of 25-30 men.

Cooperative Relationships

The leader of the Islamic Foundation of Lincoln, Nizar Zhairya, has been asked to speak about Islam to a number of other communities in Lincoln, both religious and secular, including Jewish congregations and public high schools. Recently, a number of Islamic leaders in Lincoln gathered to address the community at large and to represent all of the Muslim communities in Lincoln. Often, members of other religious communities visit the mosque to observe prayer services or Saturday Circle.

As a religious minority, what kind of obstacles or problems has the community encountered in Lincoln?

According to Nizar Zhairya, most struggles faced the members of the Sunni community have been related to differences in appearance (such as clothing like the veil worn by women), as opposed to differences in religious beliefs. Some women of the community have reported experiences of harrassment, apparently due to their head covering, which they wear as a sign of their Muslim beliefs, but these are isolated cases.

Perhaps one of the most telling aspects of this community is the large percentage of college students with its great emphasis on education and knowledge for both women and men. Also, because the international students are from many different countries, this allows for a range of ethnic diversity within the Sunni community, while retaining a strong support system. As Nizhar reports, “people from everywhere unite to worship the same prophet and the same God." This ethnic diversity is especially apparent during Ramadan as families from diferent countries prepare traditional foods of their country each evening for the entire communitiy.

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