Only a week into Ramadan, a month-long time of fasting and prayer for Muslims around the world, East Lansing's mosque will be closed until further notice because of a problem with the building’s electrical system.
According to the Islamic Center of East Lansing’s Facebook page, crews have been working to identify the source of a water leak that has affected the mosque’s electrical system. Because of that, power to the building has been shut off, meaning the center is closed for prayers and services.
Until it can reopen, the Best Furniture Outlet on West Saginaw Highway in Lansing has offered to hold prayer services for worshippers.
“They didn’t have a place to hold out the prayers, and we do have a big space in here,” said manager Adam Awad. “We offered it to them, because that’s pretty much, you know, our thing: helping out the community.”
The Islamic Center of East Lansing had planned to hold a community iftar, a meal that Muslims eat to break their fast during Ramadan, on Thursday. That event has been postponed because of the power issue.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.