Richmond Ismaili community celebrates official opening of Glen Allen Jamatkhana

Members of the Richmond Ismaili community joined Henrico County officials and other community members May 6 to celebrate the official opening of the group's new Jamatkhana in Glen Allen. The Ismaili religion is an interpretation of Shia Islam, and Jamatkhana is a term meaning "the house of the community" used by the Shia Muslim community to describe their places of gathering.

There are nearly 1,000 members of the Richmond Ismaili organization, which moved from its previous location on East Parham Road to its new 12,780-square-foot home on three acres at 11529 Nuckols Road in Glen Allen. The organization, originally populated mostly by immigrants from Africa, Pakistan and Syria, has grown in recent years with the influx of refugees from Afghanistan to the region.

"They've come here, just as many of you have, to lay down new roots in the hopes of opportunities of success for their families," said Rayhan Daudani, a member of the community and a vice president with public relations firm Edelman, during last week's event. "Through this Ismaili community, they've been able to add to the diverse mosaic that we see here in the Richmond area.

"Our faith plays a central role in our daily lives. Whether we're at work, or at school, or with our family or with our friends, we are all grounded in our faith and guided by our values and beliefs. . . such as a commitment to pursue knowledge, to improve ourselves and improve society as a whole, building bridges of peace and understanding, and sharing our times, talents and resources to improve the quality of life of those around us."

The building formerly was the home of the Virginia Press Association, which bought the site in 1997 for $336,000 and built the facility in 2002. It sold the site to Richmond Nuckols Group LLC for $2.325 million in late 2020.

Thanks to an extensive months-long makeover, the building now reflects traditional Islamic geometric designs, including hexagonal patterns meant to depict the unity of various cultures joining together. It houses a room for prayer, as well as classrooms, meeting rooms and an interfaith room for family members who are not Ismailis.

Aga Khan Ismaili Council for the Northeast President Ali Alibhai told those gathered at the event that the organization hopes to build upon its nearly four decades of presence in the region through the new center by working to improve the caliber of life for all people in the region, especially the marginalized.

"Jamatkhana is very important to us as Ismailis," Alibhai said. "This is not only a place where we gather for prayer, it is also one of the ways in which we express our identity. The Jamatkhana plays a significant role in enabling our intellectual and social development and reinforcing our ethic of service. And of course, this is a place where we like to have a lot of fun – where our families come to celebrate, couples get married, kids pursue religious education, and the community engages in traditions of arts and cultural expression, and sports.

"With this center, we aspire to engage the greater Richmond civic, cultural, educational, business and philanthropic communities. Our hope is to establish a space that invites people of all backgrounds, no matter what religion, race or creed."

The Ismaili community has since 1957 been led the Imām Aga Khan IV Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini. All Aga Khans claim descent from Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam.

"This is a very special moment for our county," Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas told those assembled for the event, a group that included Henrico Delegates Schuyler VanValkenburg and Rodney Willett; state Senator Siobhan Dunnavant; representatives from the offices of U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner; Henrico Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell; and a number of directors of Henrico government departments.

Vithoulkas, who as a young child immigrated from Greece with his parents, recalled feeling hesitant to speak Greek to his mother in the grocery store during his early years in Henrico because he was afraid of standing out as being different.

"Fast forward all of the years that have passed, and now my kids go to the grocery store with their grandmother, and it is good, it is home – that is who we are. Henrico has become a masterpiece of diversity, as the Ismaili religion openly espouses. We are peoples of all faiths, ethnicities, creeds, that become part of this community – and the richness is in the 'we,' not the 'I.'"

Daudani told the story of Chef Hamidullah Noori of The Mantu, an Afghan restaurant in Carytown that catered last week's event. When Noori was just eight years old in Afghanistan, the Taliban killed his father, uncles and brother.

"And he had to support a family," Daudani said. "So he did what he could, selling boiled potatoes and balloons from a push cart, and surviving."

Noori arrived in the region seven years ago, fleeing Afghanistan with 16,000 others who resettled in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Today, he employs nine other Afghan refugees at his restaurant – "and he is thriving," Daudani said.

"Faith played a central role in his life, as it does for all Ismailis, and this Jamatkhana that you see here is that key focus in physical form. This building will be the center of this community, from prayers to social gatherings to support systems and volunteerism. It marks the permanence of our jamaat [or congregation] as citizens in Central Virginia and the United States and demonstrates our commitment to partner with our neighbors and organizations to build a better community."

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Learn more about the Ismaili Muslim religion in the United States at https://the.ismaili/usa.