Muslim community in Pittsburgh (Oakland, Monroe: neighborhoods, to live, restaurants)

[Jambalayapa]

Does anyone knows is there Muslim community and halal restorans around Pittsburgh

[Kate88]

The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, in North Oakland, holds prayer services and a lot of community events. As far as halal restaurants,there is the Sphinx Cafe in Central Oakland (on Atwood and Bates streets), and a halal grocery store in Central Oakland (at Bouquet and Pier streets).

[likepgh]

There is also an Islamic center in Monroeville; my understanding is that the Oakland center tends to attract more students/singles and the Monroeville center tends to attract more families with kids (not that there aren't students with families so these are not mutually exclusive categories); I'm also told that the South Asian community gravitates toward Monroeville and the Middle Eastern/Arab community gravitates toward Oakland. But these are generalizations and I'm sure there are exceptions.
I also know that some Muslims shop at the kosher grocery/butcher in Squirrel Hill on Murray Ave.

[Hopes]

Are you more interested in the Pakistani muslim community? They tend to live among the Indian communities in Pittsburgh. I always found it interesting that conflict between their homelands and religious differences don't separate them when they move to the United States. It's fascinating that their regional roots override religion beliefs.

[BrianTH]

Just an aside, but the Sphinx Cafe amuses me for the sole reason that it is a hookah bar in a former church that for a long time was a crack den--somehow that all makes a kind of karmic sense to me (not to add yet another religion to the mix).

[babble]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Are you more interested in the Pakistani muslim community? They tend to live among the Indian communities in Pittsburgh.

Where do they tend to live at?

[kramhorse]

Just an aside, but the Sphinx Cafe amuses me for the sole reason that it is a hookah bar in a former church that for a long time was a crack den--somehow that all makes a kind of karmic sense to me (not to add yet another religion to the mix).

Crack is a religion now?

[Joshbarblahblah]

I believe the poster was referring to Buddhism or Sikhism due to her mention of karma ("karmic sense").

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Joshbarblahblah

I believe the poster was referring to Buddhism or Sikhism due to her mention of karma ("karmic sense").

Yeah, we were talking about the Muslim community, and I noted the Sphinx Cafe was in a former church, and my reference to karma was supposed to be the addition of another religion (or more properly additional religions) to the mix.

That said, to keep compounding the worldview confusion, Marxists believe religion is the opiate of the people, so maybe reversing that and treating crack as a religion is fair game.

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by kramhorse

Crack is a religion now?

Might as well be, compared to the "real" religions. Crack is only a cancer on certain families, or sometimes neighborhoods. Religion is a cancer on society itself.