Suntimes News: Ground symbolically broken for Ismaili Center

November 15, 2007

By LYNNE STIEFEL Staff Writer

Pioneerlocal.com (Suntimes News Group)

Illinois’ governor and Glenview’s village president symbolically started construction of an Ismaili Muslim house of worship and community center by pressing bricks into a simulated foundation two miles from the 9.3-acre site that bulldozers have been clearing.

Mahmoud Eboo (right), who heads the Ismaili community’s American organization, chats with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (center) on the dais with Mansoor Virani of Glenview, president of the Ismaili Council for the Midwestern U.S. (Allison Williams/Staff Photographer)

Friday’s “groundbreaking” ceremony for the 26,000-square-foot facility on Shermer Road north of Golf Road, known as a jamatkhana, was attended by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and about 200 guests.

The Village Board cleared the way for the controversial project in May of 2006, after eight months of sometimes contentious review by the Plan Commission.

More than 1,000 residents, mostly those in nearby Park Manor to the east and neighbors to the north, had signed a petition asking the Village Board to reject the facility because they believe it will increase traffic and generate early-morning noise.

“We can recall that there was spirited discussion during the zoning hearings about this particular jamatkhana,” Mahmoud Eboo, president of the Ismaili Council for the U.S., said Friday. “We are grateful to the village staff and to the Plan Commission for their long and frequent deliberations on our application.”

Village President Kerry Cummings also acknowledged neighbor opposition to the project during the ceremony.

“I know that there were challenges along the way but I am pleased there was a commitment to persevere and the result is this beautiful building that will work in harmony with our community,” she said. “This project further enhances this vibrant and diverse community.”

A model of the Ismaili house of worship and community center being built in Glenview was on display at Friday’s foundation ceremony. (Allison Williams/Staff Photographer)

The center will include a prayer hall accommodating up to 900 members, administrative offices and spaces for classrooms and social gatherings.

The Ismaili group has also offered to make available the facility’s social hall to area residents for use.

Mallick Ajani of Glenview, owner of an engineering firm who’s lived in the Chicago area for more than 20 years, is glad his family won’t have to continue to travel to Chicago or west suburban Northlake to worship.

“We will be able to go to the center on a daily basis, rather than staying home and practicing our faith, so this is a dream come true for us.” Ajani said.

Several speakers at Friday’s ceremony hoped the center would present an opportunity for Christians and Jews to learn how Ismaili Muslims live and practice their faith.

The sect, which numbers about 7,000 in the Chicago area, belongs to the Shiite branch of Islam. They live in more than 25 different countries, mainly in central and south Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Their spiritual leader is Prince Karim Aga Khan.

Other jamatkhanas in the U.S. are located in Atlanta, New York and in Houston, Plano and Carrollton, Texas.

The Glenview center is expected to be completed by spring of 2009.

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