Muslims find Amityville accepting of different faiths

Salaam Bhatti, 26, of Islip, reached out to us on Twitter to invite us to observe a Friday prayer at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mosque on Union Avenue in Amityville. The mosque is this sect's only place of worship on Long Island.

Give me some history on this mosque.
The mosque has been here since 2005. We had a mosque in Queens, and everyone would come from all over here to go there, so we said, OK, it's time for a mosque on Long Island.
This building used to be a Knights of Columbus and it has worked out really well for us.

How are you connected with the Amityville community?
We participate in the parades. We keep in touch with Rep. Peter King.
We give out gifts to neighbors during the holidays, we adopted a road in town.

Do you find Amityville accepting of different faiths?
Yes. We participated in our first parade three years ago and we carried a big banner that said 'Muslims for Loyalty' and an American flag, and everybody was clapping for us and cheering and taking pictures. We have a great relationship with our neighbors.
We're happy to be here and we hope they're happy to have us.