Mosque Grand Opening Brings Woodland Community together
By Ras H. Siddiqui
It has been reported that Muslims from Pakistan first came and settled in Woodland, California, in 1957. That may be true for Woodland, but the first South Asian Muslims (from British India) came and settled in inland California over a hundred years ago. And some of their descendants were here on Friday, February 28, 2025, at the opening of one of the largest and most beautiful mosques built in the region. The Woodland Mosque, as it is now known, was opened in grand style in this small city of just over 60,000 people. The festivities included freshly made Pakistani and Indian food, and some very American pizza (Halal of course), and a lot more. The inauguration started earlier in the morning and included a formal American flag-raising ceremony.
This writer could only attend the afternoon festivities for a short while, which included the official ribbon cutting (it was divided into two, as the sisters had their own) with hundreds of people watching, including many distinguished guests. The diversity within California was noticeable here. There were the Pakistanis, Punjabi Sikhs, local members of churches and many public officials seated by the time event emcee Mohammad Shafi Sialvi called everyone to attention and invited a young man, Hafiz Qari Raza Ur Rehman, to perform the invocation. Rehman presented a fine recitation from the Holy Qur’an.
The proceedings which followed were conducted in Arabic, English, Punjabi, and Urdu languages (talk about diversity) as the stage was commanded by Mosque Board President Muhammad Ahad Parvez, Board Member Ali Khadim, Project Manager and designing engineer Mohammad Usman Sadiq, and Imam Riaz Ahmad Qadri, along with emcee Sialvi.
Woodland Mosque Board President Muhammad Ahad Parvez presented plaques to some very deserving individuals from the community: 1) Mohammad Usman Sadiq for his engineering and project management contribution. 2) City Manager of Woodland Ken Hiatt, and 3) Senior Planner with the City, Erika Bumgardner. All three deserved the honor and appreciation accorded to them for assisting in making this Mosque a reality. Also appreciated on stage and invited to speak were Woodland’s Chief Building Official Joel Luevano, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, Woodland Police Chief Ryan L. Kinnan and Fire Chief Eric Zane. Woodland City and Yolo County provide an inclusive living environment, and the Muslim community here has found it easy to reciprocate in kind. Muslims have cooperated fully with city officials, public safety, and law enforcement officials over many decades. The bottom line is that it takes good neighbors to make a great community.
A closing prayer (Dua) for this new Mosque addition to Woodland was led by Imam Qadri followed by the ribbon cutting, after which the attendees got a chance to go inside the Mosque and see it for the first time. This writer had to leave at that point after picking up some of the lunch provided. I had visited here the weekend before and was lucky enough to get in. It is a very impressive and large structure, profoundly appealing both inside and outside. Not only the local Muslim community that built this facility, but the entire City of Woodland can now be proud of this prepossessing structure.
A little more history. This Mosque had a groundbreaking ceremony in the year 2019. It took about six years to complete and was somewhat delayed due to the COVID pandemic. And from a post by area luminary American Muslim Voice Foundation President Khalid Saeed earlier in February this year “As a powerful gesture of solidarity, a large banner displaying the names of all the supporting churches and faith communities, alongside a message of unity, was erected at the corner of the new mosque plot—visible to all who passed by. This remarkable act of love and acceptance reminded us that even in a world often divided, the bonds of humanity can shine brightly.”
The Woodland Mosque is located at 613 East Street. Local non-Muslims who could not make it to the opening event might want to get a tour. There are no shoes allowed inside and please dress appropriately as in any other place of worship.
