Hosting community

Mohamed Murci, director of the Islamic Cultural Center, is quick to say that anywhere in the city would be a good place for an Islamic center. But, he adds, the Upper East Side has been a particularly welcoming community for the roughly 1,500 people who use the center, whether for prayers, school or activities. “[The neighbors] call and ask if we need anything,” he said. “[They say], ‘Do you want us to come and stand with you?’ And ‘don’t worry.’”

Murci was born in Sudan, where he taught math until coming to New York City in the 1980s. “During that time it was easy, coming and staying,” he said. “Not easy now. The time has changed.”

He attended Long Island University to study computer science, but dropped out for financial reasons. He worked in construction and retail before getting a job at the Kuwait Mission to the United Nations.

He became director of the Islamic Cultural Center fairly recently, in 2015, but has already seen the organization through turbulent times. In August, someone vandalized the plaque above the center’s gate, and the mosque’s sign has been spray-painted and stolen.

Since the presidential election, the center has not been exempt from the increase in bomb threats. Murci credited the New York City Police Department’s 19th precinct with providing vigilant protection, and expressed a belief that the incidents were the cause of troubled individuals rather than being evidence of a wider mindset.

The center teaches classes to about 170 students, provides services like meals for the homeless and makes its imams available to the public every day. “That’s what the center stands for,” Murci said.

He called New York City “a small continent,” and said he loved that there are so many opportunities here. “It’s all people from all over the world,” he said. “Here, you can find anything.”