The Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California hosts plays, open mic nights, painting and ceramics classes. PHOTO: ICCNC 

Places of religious significance have long been centers of the community spirit. Moving beyond discourses and rituals, their supreme ability lies in bringing people together on some common ground. And projects like the Islamic Cultural Center in Northern California demonstrate how art and culture can bridge gaps within the space of beliefs.

Many mosques preach against even listening to music, let alone playing it on the premises. But here, in a huge auditorium filled with dozens of people, a Moroccan singer on stage sings the praises of the Prophet Muhammad, playing a stringed instrument called an oud. Next to him, a man plays a North African drum called thedumbek. The people here are white, black, Asian — some in embroidered green Sufi robes, others in black Shiite turbans or flowing white Arab jalabeyas. Some women cover their hair, some don’t. Ask anyone who’s been to a mosque, and they’ll tell you this scene is definitely not a common one — which is precisely why many people feel comfortable here.

The Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California doesn’t look like your average mosque. The towering, majestic building — which used to be a Masonic temple — went up in Oakland around the turn of the 20th century. And it has long accrued a distinctive, cherished history.

“Every inch of this building just has a meaning,” manager Azita Sayyah says.

Since the ICCNC moved in, the group has been adding another layer to that history, attempting something quite a bit different. The mosque is trying to be a model of harmony between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, two groups that have been in conflict for centuries.

When the ICCNC bought the building, Sayyah says, the high painted-glass windows were left as they were, along with the pews and pipe organ — but the group did change some of the decor. Painted on the stained-glass windows now are the names of God in Arabic, and prayers in Farsi. Because the mosque was founded by Iranian immigrants, Persian rugs cover the wooden floors and Persian art adorns the walls.

And the smells are different, too, with the former Masonic dining hall now serving things like saffron rice and lamb kabobs.

“For Muslim people, getting together and eating together is a very holy thing to do!” Sayyah says.

Artistic expression is a focus here for a reason, says mosque leader Ali Sheikhulislami: It fills an important gap in the current conversations about Islam. “I think one missing thing … right now, today, is beauty — really paying attention to the beauty of Islam, and its rich history,” he says.

The ICCNC’s Ahmed Sheikhulislami says that being in the U.S, far away from the violence, gives room for that kind of dialogue. “The unique thing about the American experience is … we are able to come to this country and practice the religion the way we want to, and to do it in a way that we’re tolerant of each other,” he says.

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