RNA - Their religion is Islam and their followers are Muslims. Their clergyperson is an imam and their place of worship is a mosque. Their God is Allah and their holy book is the Koran. They are the Grand Strand Islamic Society and they are expanding in the Carolina Forest area.
“We believe in the oneness of God and there is only one true God,” said Imam Abdou Elhelar. “He has no son and no wife and no partner. We believe in the Day of Judgment and in destiny, and that whatever happens to us is from God.”
Elhelar came to lead the Myrtle Beach group in November 2015 from Egypt where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies from Al-Azhar University. That, he said, is the oldest and largest Islamic university in the world, built around 800.
About 300 of the 1,000 Muslim people in the area are “on the record” at the center, Elhelar said, but only about 100 are regulars at the Friday prayers.
“Our Sunday is Friday,” the clergyman said.
Muslims pray five times a day, he explained, and the local mosque is open for three of them, at 6 a.m. and 5:30 and 7 p.m.
The mosque is closed during the other two prayer times, noon and 3 p.m., because there has been minimal attendance.
“Everyone is working which is one of the difficulties Muslims have in the West,” Elhelar said.
The mosque, at 4328 Waccamaw Blvd. in Myrtle Beach, has been there since July 2013. Before that, Muslims met in a storefront in Surfside Beach.
The existing building is phase one of three the congregation is planning. The next phase, which will be started when the money is available, will be the actual worship area, and the current building will convert to classrooms. The third phase will be for recreation, and the entire unit will be in a U shape.
Elhelar said his is a misunderstood religion, possibly the most misunderstood in the world.
Because of that, he’s available to visit churches and groups where he can answer questions about Islam.
“People think we are terrorists and that we blow ourselves up,” he said. “They have an image of us riding on camels in the desert from 1,000 years ago.”
The imam said “Muslims believe in all the prophets and messengers starting with Adam and including Abraham, Isaac, David, Jesus, and Mohammad who was the last.”
He also explained that Christians have the Bible, Jews have the Torah and Muslims have the Koran.
Apologizing for his broken English, he struggled to sum up the differences between the major religions.
“Christianity is about love and relationships between people and God,” he said. “Judaism is very practical and is about how to do this and not do that. Islam deals with everything from marriage to buying and selling to even what people do in the restroom.”
Muslims are a peaceful people, the iman said, adding, “Allah orders us to be kind and fair. I have to be kind and fair when dealing with someone as long as they are not trying to kill me or evict me. Whoever kills someone who should not be killed will never smell the odor of Paradise.”
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