Humanizing American Muslims

In November 2015, Samer Shalaby stood before a packed room in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was at a public planning meeting, representing the Islamic Center of Fredericksburg, whose members were seeking to build a new mosque to replace one that had served area Muslims for over thirty years. When we enter the scene, things are more or less moving along as you might expect at this kind of meeting. Storm drains. Sewage removal. Traffic. Parking spots. And then things quickly change. One member of the audience asks a question about parking spots. Would forty be enough to accommodate all the worshippers?