Muslims Seek Ramadan Site

Nearly a week into the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Orange County Muslim leaders are still scrambling to find a site large enough to hold the thousands who will gather at the month’s end to pray on Eid al-Fitr, one of the holiest days of the year.

The frantic search for a location has stretched to Washington, D.C., where Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) and Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) are being lobbied to open the gates of either the El Toro or Tustin Marine bases. Both have hangars large enough to accommodate the crowd.

“There ought to be a way to do this,” said Cox, who hopes to find a way around federal rules that have closed the bases to public use.

Up to 15,000 are expected to attend the celebratory event, which marks the end of Ramadan and the breaking of its monthlong daytime fast. Orange County is home to an estimated 150,000 Muslims.

“It’s always a challenge to find a place that’s big and that’s covered,” said Fareed Farukhi, who is on the board of the Islamic Society of Orange County. “We’re like Amazon.com. They’re looking for a place to put their books. We’re looking for a place to put our people. The search is on.”

Ramadan celebrates the revelation of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, to the prophet Muhammad. It is the holiest of the Islamic holidays.

“This day is very important for us, especially when we live in a community where we’re a minority,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ local chapter. “Our religion and holidays are invisible and marginalized. We want to make sure our children feel proud. It brings about an atmosphere of pride for our children and for their heritage.”

The Anaheim Convention Center, the Arrowhead Pond and the Orange County Fairgrounds, all ideal locales that provide a roof overhead and a flat surface for praying, are booked Jan. 8.

So for the second time in three years, Muslim leaders have turned to Tom Thorkelson--a Mormon and ex-Marine--for last-minute help in tracking down a location.

“As soon as they found themselves in trouble, they called me,” said Thorkelson, president of the Orange County chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice, an interfaith group. “Because I was able to do it before for them, they thought I could do it again.”

In 1998, Thorkelson talked Marine Corps brass into letting the Muslim community use one of the blimp hangars at Tustin Marine Corps air station. This year, about 9,000 Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Muslim leaders say the eleventh-hour rush is caused by the inexact science of determining when Ramadan will begin and end. The precise dates are not known until the new moon is sighted, which means that until the month begins, Eid al-Fitr could fall on one of two days. Reserving a venue as big as the Anaheim Convention Center for two days, Muslim officials say, would cost too much.

Plans fell through last week to use Los Alamitos Army Forces Reserve Center, one of the Muslims’ last hopes, despite efforts by Thorkelson and the base’s chaplain.

The problems were many: Reserve training was scheduled for the same weekend; the hangars are small and full of aircraft; and the runways are the only place to set up a makeshift parking lot.

“If we had more time to work on it . . . “ said Albert Franke, a senior chaplain for the California National Guard.

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Thorkelson still holds out hope for the closed Tustin or El Toro Marine bases but said he would have to get congressional help to gain access. Base officials say they cannot make exceptions.

“The base is closed,” said Lt. Col. Ed Gilhooley, who’s in charge of both Tustin and El Toro. “The taxpayers aren’t paying for an open base.”

Gilhooley said he gets half a dozen requests each week to use the shuttered facilities.

Cox said he believes that one of Tustin’s blimp hangars should be used and that the policy to keep the public off the bases should be reviewed.

“The Marine Corps says no, but I’m seeking to persuade them to take another look,” Cox said. “This is certainly important for Ramadan, but also for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and every community group in Orange County. The bases shouldn’t be run for the convenience of the bureaucracy.”

As a fallback, Thorkelson said he is checking on prices to rent oversized tents that could be put up at Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley or in huge parking lots like those at Edison Field or Arrowhead Pond. In years when Ramadan does not fall in the rainy season, Orange County Muslims usually celebrate Eid al-Fitr at Mile Square Regional Park.

“We feel humbled that this is one of our major concerns while people across the world might not even have food on the table,” Ayloush said. “We try our best, and we put our trust in God. God will find a way out for us.”

Said Farukhi: “We’re not too worried. The whole Earth is a place for prayer.”

William Lobdell, editor of Times Community News, writes a column for The Times’ Orange County religion page on Saturdays. His e-mail address is bill.lobdell@latimes.com.