Saving mosque is in Richmond's interest
Chip Johnson
Published 5:24 pm, Monday, January 27, 2014
Fifteen years ago, a Bay Area Islamic group purchased a long-vacant building near the Richmond waterfront and made plans to convert it into a mosque and later a regional center.
The former field hospital, which is eligible for registration as a historic building, has been used ever since by the Masjid Noor mosque, but little progress has been made to renovate and repair the structure.
The place, on Cutting Boulevard, is, in fact, a total mess. On Dec. 31, city fire and code officials performed an unannounced inspection of the building and recommended it be red-tagged for closure. They found collapsed floors, sagging ceilings and exposed electrical wiring and plumbing. Most of the building had no Sheetrock, and the inspectors said they were very concerned about fire.
The mosque was shut down, and the owners were given a two-page list of repairs that must be completed before the religious site can be reopened. Muslim leaders have since questioned the city's actions - and its impact on their right to practice their religion.
It's a touchy situation that, in my mind, has a simple solution. There is nothing to stop city officials from helping organize an old-fashioned barn-raising effort to help put the mosque on solid footing. Such an effort would, at the same time, preserve a building the city has identified as worth saving.
There are laws that draw a clear line between religious groups and government. Richmond cannot offer funding or labor to the mosque. Still, city officials recognize the benefits of having a place for Muslims to worship in their city. Such a place helps foster diversity of opinion and culture. It can also bring people together and encourage civic engagement.
The city also has a vested interest in renovating the building.
In its former life, the building served as a field hospital at the Kaiser shipyards, the starting point for the Kaiser-Permanente empire, one of the largest health care organizations in the nation.
The city included the building in its application to Congress to establish Rosie the Riveter national park on the city's waterfront. The designation of the old shipyard as a national park was a key step in the booming redevelopment of the city's waterfront over the past decade.
The mosque owners rejected an offer by the National Park Service to purchase the building, said Richmond City Council member Tom Butt.
The situation has recently improved, with city officials working with mosque leaders to fix up the premises. Meetings with city officials and representatives of the mosque have ramped down the drama and opened a dialogue and a way to resolve the issue. Repairs are now under way in a large prayer room that will soon allow the mosque to continue to hold services, said Richmond City Fire Marshal Terry Harris.
"All the issues have been addressed and they're working diligently to turn in a fire construction plan this week," Harris said. "It's been tough."
It has been 15 years since the new owners acquired the property. City officials should not look past the condition of the building in order to resume religious activities. The building that houses Masjid Noor mosque represents a piece of the city's history, and some who worship there are part of its future.
If the old Kaiser field hospital is important enough for Richmond city officials to designate it a historic building, then it's worth a community effort to make sure the building is restored.
Chip Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column runs on Tuesday and Friday. E-mail: chjohnson@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @chjohnson.

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