Comment on New Beaumont mosque expected to open in summer 2016

With membership at an all-time high, the Beaumont-based Islamic Society of Triplex expects to finish construction of its new mosque by next summer, with hopes of completing a years-long, $3 million expansion project in time for the worldwide Muslim month of fasting, a society official said. The religious group two years ago finished a $1 million community center on its West Cardinal Drive property, said Shahid Rafiq, who sits on the society's board of directors. The month-long observance requires that people of Islamic faith forgo food and drink between sunrise and sunset out of devotion to God and self-reflection. A covered walkway will connect the mosque to the community center. Because the society's current prayer space is too small, special prayer services including the most-attended Friday prayers are held in the center. Some Islamic worshippers remember the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service in November as a key moment in the Islamic Society of Triplex's continuing effort to push engagement with the community without hang-ups on religious beliefs.