Wednesday, March 4, 2026

They Laid Carpet and Called It Home

By THERESE EDU

Masjid Al-Taqwa’s congregation observes its second Ramadan without a permanent mosque, in a Pasadena church space they have made their own

On the third night of Ramadan, the congregation of Masjid Al-Taqwa broke its fast in a leased space where members had laid carpet and done their own construction. Board member Kameelah Wilkerson does not call the space borrowed. 

“We don’t like to think of it as a borrowed space because we’ve taken ‘ownership’ of the space,” Wilkerson said. “We have done construction to the space, we’ve laid carpet in the space. We have really made the space our own. It is leased space. We have made it our home.”

The congregation’s mosque, at 2183 Lake Avenue in Altadena, burned in the Eaton Fire; all that remained was a sign bearing its name.

This Ramadan — their second without a permanent mosque — the congregation has leased a prayer space from Pasadena Covenant Church and a second space across the street for nightly iftars, the evening meals at which members break the fast together. The lease, Wilkerson said, is for one to two years. 

The schedule is the same one the congregation kept at the mosque that burned. Wilkerson said the way the congregation celebrates Ramadan has not changed.

“Historically, we are not changing at all how we are celebrating Ramadan this year,” she said. “We just needed to find space to do it in.” The congregation has held nightly iftars during Ramadan “every year for as long as I can remember,” she said. 

During Ramadan, the congregation gathers at the leased masjid every day for prayer and iftar from sunset through the evening prayer. At the time of the interview, dawn prayer was at 5:23 a.m., with congregational prayers at 6 a.m. Members break the fast at sunset — around 5:45 p.m. — and evening prayer begins at 7:30 p.m. The times shift with the season. 

The space, however,  is not the same. At the mosque before the fire, adults prayed inside and children gathered in the backyard.

“In our mosque that burned down, in the backyard, we had a beautiful open space that we were able to put a tent up, and light, and really make it cozy and comfortable and lovely,” Wilkerson said. 

In the new, smaller space, the congregation does not have as much room. Finding an area for children during evening prayers is a challenge the congregation is looking into and working on, Wilkerson said.

“We have always been proud of making sure that children feel welcome in the space, that it belongs to them as well, not just the grownups,” she said. 

“One of the things that I have found to be the most uplifting during this time is the sense of community within the different faith organizations,” Wilkerson said.

After the fire, First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Pasadena hosted the congregation’s first Juma — the Friday congregational prayer — and was conducting fire relief activities. New Horizon School hosted the nightly prayers and iftars last year. The school became a gathering place for fire-displaced Muslim community members during that period. Pasadena Covenant Church is the current lessor. As of January, the congregation was occupying temporary space at Pasadena Covenant Church while navigating the rebuilding process. 

Wilkerson said other congregations of different faiths found themselves in similar predicaments after the fire, and have crafted similar arrangements. 

Beyond the congregation’s Ramadan observance, the fire’s toll on the Masjid Al-Taqwa community was broad.

Interfaith America reported that around 30 households from the congregation, including the Abdus-Shakoor family, lost homes and businesses, and that one founding member’s daughter was killed.

Wilkerson said rebuilding, for the congregation, is not only a matter of a building. 

The congregation will gather again at sunset. The carpet is down. The space, Wilkerson said, is theirs. “I think that being able to rebuild means being able to maintain the bonds of community,” she said.