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Jehron Muhammad: Philly's growing Muslim presence

In the window of a Philadelphia delicatessen are the words:

Halal Foods & Kosher Foods

Organic Healthy Foods

My mind immediately went to the belief that this proprietor is covering all bases of the local special dietary habits -- and that this could only happen in Philadelphia.

With the growing interest in everything organic, the city's ubiquitous Muslim presence – some called parts of West Philadelphia "Muslim Town" -- are very much a part of that growing trend. Just recently, Philadelphia played host to the American Halal Conference & Business Expo.

Islam is part of the very "fabric of Philadelphia, contends Qasim Rashad, the Emir of the South Philadelphia located United Muslim Masjid (UMM). The Emir handles the masjid's day-to-day operations.

"Philadelphia is uniquely Islamic from the perspective that there is a burgeoning and obvious Muslim population," said Rashad, a Philadelphia native who lives in Mt. Airy. "There is no place in Philadelphia you can go and not see the presence, or the signature of Muslims and Islam."

According to several statistics, Philadelphia has become the metropolitan area with the highest proportion of Muslims. The Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History attributes the growth to both immigrants and the large population of African-Americans who are Muslim. Combined they total some 100,000, according to the encyclopedia. Another report, published recently in the local Weekly Press, cites "There are more than 200,000 Muslims in Philadelphia. (At least 85% of them are African-American.)"

The latest contribution to the growth of Islam in Philadelphia is the West Oak Lane-based "Masjidullah." Purchased in May 2013 for $1 million and with nearly another $1 million spent on renovations, it is the largest masjid in the Tri-State (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware) region.

Imam Muhammad Abdul Aleem, who began his Islamic journey in the late 1960's at Mosque #7 in New York City, before moving to Philadelphia and helping establish Masjidullah in the early 1980's, said the opening of the new masjid, with its beehive of activity, represents a stabilizing influence in the community.

But to get a look-see at the origins of Islam in Philadelphia you'd have to go back to March of 1954 when Minister Malcolm X arrived in Philadelphia to help "energize" the Nation of Islam's local Temple #12.

Going even further back you discover the West Philadelphia based Quba Inc. (formally the International Muslim Brotherhood). In the late 1940's no one could have imagined the group's future contribution to the growth of Islam in Philadelphia. But today, according to its website, their humble facility "masks the quality of the educational opportunities that have always marked a Quba experience."

Rashad, who oversees the running of UMM, and Aleem both marvel at the impression Islam has laid on the City of Brotherly Love. But the Imam warns, the religion is only as good as the work of its adherents in the community.

"If you have a religious idea that doesn't address the immediate needs of the people you're making yourself socially irrelevant," he stressed. Bringing his point home Masjidullah's Imam emeritus also said, "If in the house you're praying and doing all of the religious rituals, but you don't have a program that addresses the needs of the surrounding community you're not fulfilling your Islamic obligation" as a follower of the sunnah (the way) of Prophet Muhammad.

Aleem, who is a Quran scholar, points to chapter 107, Al-Ma'un, or Acts of Kindness, in the Muslim holy book for a reference. One of the shortest chapters in the Quran it warms the believer that prayer alone without "feeding the needy" is unacceptable. "

» READ MORE: Read more Jehron Muhammad here.