Framingham, Massachusetts: How a Former Friendly's on Union Avenue Became Masjid-e-Basheer

In downtown Framingham, Massachusetts, there is a small brick building at 234 Union Avenue. There is no dome and no minaret. Years ago, families stopped there for ice cream. Today it is Masjid-e-Basheer, home of the Islamic Society of Framingham, and it is open for all five daily prayers.

The building is modest, and that was the plan. As one of the founders put it when the community bought it: "Our religion tries to make things simple."

From a condominium on Gordon Street

Like many masjids in Massachusetts, this one started in someone's home. Accounts differ on the year. In 2016, The MetroWest Daily News reported that the community's roots go back to 1985, when Mohammed Siddiqui invited local Muslims to pray together in a small condominium on Gordon Street. The Islamic Society of Framingham's own history says that in the early 1990s "a visionary brother" set out to establish a masjid in the area, and that the "humble beginning" in an apartment on Gordon Street came in 1996.

Both accounts agree on how small it was. The society's history says weekly Jumu'ah drew no more than 15 to 20 people, and daily prayers drew 5 to 10. From Gordon Street, the congregation moved to rented space at 66 South Street.

A Friendly's becomes a masjid

In June 2006, The MetroWest Daily News reported that the Islamic Society of Framingham had bought the former Friendly's Ice Cream shop on Union Avenue on May 31. The paper said the society paid $615,000 for the building, which was assessed at $541,400, and planned about $75,000 in renovations. Much of the old industrial equipment would come out, and the booths would be replaced by a carpeted prayer floor.

The new home was about 2,000 square feet, with parking for 25 cars. At the time, the society had between 50 and 75 active members, and it had spent its early years in rented space.

"We're growing so there's a need for a bigger place," Fareed Siddiqui, a founding member, told the paper. "The only thing we need is a nice, clean place where we can congregate and worship."

The paper noted that the society would likely need Planning Board site plan review under the Dover Amendment, the state law that limits how towns can regulate land used for religious and educational purposes. It also said that if approved, the masjid would be the second one in MetroWest, and the only one between Wayland and Worcester.

"Meet Your Muslim Neighbors"

Ten years later, in 2016, the masjid's young people organized an open house called "Meet Your Muslim Neighbors." The MetroWest Daily News described balloons outside, information booths in the parking lot run by youth, and Saim Saboor reciting the call to prayer for guests inside. Girls from the masjid handed each visitor a white rose. Attached to each stem was a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him: "You will not enter paradise until you have faith; and you will not complete your faith till you love one another."

The paper said the masjid then served about 50 families from Framingham, Natick, Ashland, Milford, Southborough and nearby towns. A profile by Harvard's Pluralism Project describes the congregation as mostly Sunni Muslims with roots in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Fareed Siddiqui, then president of the board, said the open house became more urgent because of the heated rhetoric of that year's presidential campaign. "We want to bring to the people that we are part of the fabric over here," he said. "We are not any strangers. We are part of the community."

Shabira Khalid, a teacher from Ashland, said she wanted to speak for herself: "I don't want some politician coming and telling me what Islam is."

Framingham itself has changed since then. On January 1, 2018, the old town officially became a city, and Yvonne Spicer was sworn in as its first mayor.

What the masjid offers today

According to the Islamic Society of Framingham's website, Masjid-e-Basheer holds all five daily prayers, plus Jumu'ah and, in Ramadan, Taraweeh. Prayer times are posted on the society's website and in the Athan+ app by Masjidal (search "Islamic Society of Framingham").

Al-Falah Maktab. The masjid's after-school program, run by the Al-Falah Institute, meets Monday to Friday from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. Children start with Qaidah (the Arabic letters), move on to reading the full Quran, and can go on to a hifz track. The website names Imam Zubair as the program's director. It lists yearly fees of $900 for Qaidah and Quran reading students and $1,800 for hifz students, with a 20% discount for a second and third child. There is no fee from the fourth child on, and the society lists a fee waiver program. Boys 8 and older study in the masjid. Girls 5 and older, and boys under 8, study in the community center. Every July, Al-Falah also runs a summer program that mixes Quran, Islamic history and sports like basketball, soccer and hiking.

For adults. There are weekend tajweed classes for all levels, and an "Islamic Essentials" course for ages 16 and up that covers belief, Quran and hadith studies, the fiqh of purity and prayer, and the Seerah. Sisters' halaqas meet in the community center, which has a furnished babysitting room.

Nikah. The masjid hosts nikah ceremonies. Its guidelines tell couples to first get a marriage license from the City Clerk at 150 Concord Street. They note a three-day waiting period and that the license is good for 60 days, so the nikah must happen within that time.

Janazah and help. Anyone may hold a janazah prayer at the masjid. The society says its imam once worked as a funeral director. It does not yet have a room to prepare the deceased, which it lists as a future expansion goal, and for now it points families to Al-Marhama Funeral Services. Its social services team collects and distributes zakat and Qurbani meat, and runs food and clothing drives. Families who need help can email services@islamicsocietyframingham.org.

Visiting

Masjid-e-Basheer is at 234 Union Avenue, Framingham, Massachusetts 01702. The society's contact number is (561) 344-3484, and its email is info@isframingham.org. Check the website for iqama times before you go, especially with clocks falling back on Sunday, Nov. 1, which shifts the prayer times an hour earlier on the clock.

From a condominium with a handful of worshippers to an old ice cream shop full of children reading the Quran on a weeknight, Framingham's Muslims built their masjid the way that founder described it: simple and clean, a place to gather and pray.