Asalaam Alaikum (Peace be with you
I had the opportunity last week to drive from Chicago to Urbana, IL to the campus of the University of Illinois. I wanted to meet and hang out with my friend Tim, but also take the time to explore a little bit of the Muslim culture there. Though I didn't have time to visit an exclusively "Muslim" restaurant or discover the halal/zabiha restaurants, I did look up the address for the Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center and I am so happy I went.
The CIMIC masjid is really beautiful, alhamdulillah. It is a huge asset for any college community, but makes sense because U of I is so big. However, even by college standards it is pretty big - at least 6x bigger than the Greater Lafayette Islamic Center at Purdue. This is in some ways the template for the ideal Muslim community center - large areas for brothers and sisters to pray, couches for relaxation, meeting rooms, activity areas, etc. According to IslamicFinder, Urbana-Champaign was the birthplace of the first MSA in America!
May Allah (SWT) continue to put His baraka (blessings) into this masjid and accept the du'a (prayers) of all who worship Him there.
div>If you go ....
Central Illinois Mosque & Islamic Center (CIMIC)
106 S. Lincoln Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
Website: http://www.cimic.org/
Email: cimic@prairienet.org
Services: All five prayers, jumuah prayers, lectures, etc.
