When the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ended last week, Mohammad Mehboob expected his Manassas mosque and community center, Dar al Noor (House of Light), to fill four services. Instead, nearly 6,000 people showed up and they had to add a fifth, as well as provide a shuttle service from overflow parking at the nearest shopping mall. In 10 years, Mehboob’s community has expanded from 100 Muslims meeting at a small home to nearly 1,000 at weekly Friday prayers. The 55-year-old president of Dar al Noor and Dale City business owner sat down with The Examiner to discuss his faith and what it has inspired.
Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I am a Muslim. The best thing — what attracted me to the religion — is its simplicity. There is one creator, and he sent his guidance to us, and we are all going to be accountable to him. Those three things — they make up the basic core of Islam. Our religion is very simple. I tell people, “Don’t make it complicated. Don’t make it burdensome.”
Did anyone or any event especially influence your faith?
I was born into a Muslim household, but we were never very religious. Sometimes I would pray, sometimes I would not. So for my childhood, there is nothing I could tell you. But about 11 years ago, my daughter traveled to Pakistan. Soon after she returned, I saw a book in her room. I said, “Where did this come from?” She told me she bought it in Pakistan. I said, “OK, I’ll read it.” And that book — since that day — yes. It’s called “Muhammad,” by an Englishman named Martin Lings, who converted to Islam. He wrote it in such a beautiful manner — simple, just like a story. From that day on, that was it. And I started to spend a lot of time reading the Quran — for about seven years of my life, I didn’t read anything else.
In the 10 years since Dar al Noor opened, it has seen exponential growth. To what extent is expanding the faith important to your community?
Much of the growth has been a result of the economic migration to this area. But we do have a role in that if anyone wants to know more, then it’s our job to make that possible, to make the faith relevant to them, to make sure they have the authoritative knowledge. I can make time for them, and I can put them in contact with the imam. According to the Quran, it is the responsibility of every Muslim to extend the message of Muhammad — peace be upon him — extend it to humanity. But I’ve never knocked on doors, I’ve never handed out pamphlets. If I go about my life and people like what is in me — “Where did you learn this? Why are you like this? Why do you keep your promises? Why are you always on time?” That’s how our prophet began. That is more important than passing out pamphlets.
Your native Pakistan is in turmoil. Watching from afar, what went wrong?
It is like a philosopher said: When a person makes a mistake, he can get away with it. When a nation makes a mistake, it cannot get away with it. According to the Quran, there are two types of knowledge — religious knowledge and worldly knowledge. And in order to be balanced, you need both. To be missing one is like missing one eye. This is from the Quran. But the leaders of Pakistan have not provided opportunities for people who have this balance. There are people who know only of worldly knowledge — doctors and lawyers who never bothered to learn the Quran. And there are people who learned only the Quran, and nothing about society. There are so many people in Pakistan who bash Americans, and they don’t even know what America is. They don’t know at all what America is. When you have this tunnel vision — that’s when extremism pops up.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
I believe that we have been created for a purpose, and we have been created to serve Allah the almighty God our creator, and we can only serve him by serving humanity. And I’ve started here, with this community.
