Hamdy Abbass and other members of the South Valley Islamic Center currently worship in a converted barn. They have been locked in a 10+ year battle to build a new mosque in the rural outskirts of Silicon Valley.
Author Gabriel Thompson writes this about the contested mosque site: "Through all the raucous debates over real estate and religion that have ensued, this hillside has remained quiet, a blank canvas upon which people can project their dreams and nightmares."
Community leader Hamdy Abbass looks out at the land that he hopes will be the site of his mosque, community center, and burial ground. “It will be beautiful," he says.
