There are just a handful of places in Placer County where one can observe and participate in Ramadan besides private residences. In Roseville, California a couple of mosques cater to the growing Islamic community which primarily consists of immigrants, residents of Auburn, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Rocklin, and Roseville itself. Their main place of worship is the Tarbiya Institute on Foothills Blvd which can accommodate close to 2,000 people during their end of Ramadan Eid prayers. But as Tarbiya is large, there is the much smaller Islamic Society of Placer County (ISPC) which is a relatively older congregation. This is the one we visited Friday, Aril 7 th.
To share a little bit of its history, ISPC has been around since the early 2000s when it rented a lunchroom in the local Sikh Temple (Gurdwara) complex to start its activities with Friday prayers (on the Muslim sabbath). It was officially registered as an organization with the State of California in 2005 and shifted to a larger facility in the Gathering Inn complex. According to one of its founders, Imam Mohi, there were no Muslim places of worship in the Placer County area then, and they wanted to create a place where they could perform Friday prayers and give families a place to get together. After a stint at the Gathering Inn complex, ISPC moved to its own place of worship in 2011, located on Church Street, not too far away from the Roseville Amtrak train station. They have been there ever since, and the congregation has grown to include Muslims from other ethnicities.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Roseville, was slated to become “Silicon Valley East” and several large technology companies led by Hewlett Packard (HP) and NEC Electronics along with a few others came here and attracted Muslim engineers and scientists from South Asia (Pakistani and Indian) to jobs in the area. They were later joined by doctors and small businesspersons originally from Pakistan who found the environment at ISPC a good place to gather and bring their families.
At the Friday (Jumah) afternoon prayers Imam Mohi explained the importance of Ramadan during his sermon and shared how and when the Qur’an was later written down and preserved for Muslims. He also explained the importance placed on education in the religion of Islam. The ISPC facility has a mini library to reflect that.
Later in the evening on April 7 th, our family went to the ISPC and participated in the Iftar (breaking of the fast) which occurred just past 7:30 PM that evening. The community was well prepared, and the venue reflected aspects of the common Muslim culture of Pakistan and India. The tables were set with the Ifar menu of fried pakoras (fritters), a single date, and small slice of melon, plus sweet and sour garbanzo beans along with a glass of a pink drink called Rooh Afza, a common Ramadan beverage. People came in and took their seats and waited for the prayer call so they could break their fast. When you have not had anything to eat or drink the whole day, you certainly understand the importance of the food in front of you.
Once the prayer call was heard for sunset (Maghrib) prayers, the consumption of these treats started immediately, since one is supposed to eat quickly, wash up and go to the prayers. As is the custom, men, and women at ISPC offered their prayers separately but in this case together in the same room. There were several kids here too, enjoying Ramadan and a chance to meet their friends.
A buffet dinner was served after sunset prayers. ISPC arranges a Community Iftar on Friday’s and Saturday’s during Ramadan which includes initial appetizers and dinner. These are sponsored by a handful of families who pitch in the funds to help feed everybody present. Menus vary each time, and a variety of ethnic foods are served. This time around, there was aromatic rice, spicy minced beef, meatball curry and cooked vegetables, along with naan and condiments. Each culture has its own special way of serving the Ramadan Iftar meal. This was certainly a Pakistani menu including the great sweet rice (Zarda) dessert.
The month of Ramadan focuses on an enhanced spiritual relationship with God. Depriving oneself of food and drink also creates an appreciation of what we may otherwise take for granted. That devotion was evident here at this Ramadan gathering. The emphasis here at this this congregation is certainly on family and friendship. Plus, ISPC has also done a good job in interacting with the regional community. The management and congregation here strive to work with other organizations in our area, like the Gathering Inn, to make Roseville, California a better place to live.
