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Mosques (or masjids for Arabic) are places of worship
for followers of Islam. These places of worship for muslims around the
world have existed. There are 1,900 mosques in the United States,
representing many different cultures and traditions.
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Dar al Islam - Abiquiu, New Mexico
Near the small town of Abiquiu, New Mexico, is a dramatic North
African-style mosque made from adobe. Built in 1981, it is part of an
educational center run by Dar al Islam, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping non-Muslims understand Islam and to deepening the
practice of Islam among Muslims. The 1,300-acre (526-hectare) property
sits on a juniper-studded mesa framed by hills, arroyos and distant
mountains. It is used for conferences and camps, including a summer
Muslim youth camp and a retreat for young Muslim women. |
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Al-Farooq Masjid - Atlanta, Georgia
When the Al-Farooq Masjid was established in 1980 in Atlanta, it was one
of only a few mosques in the southeastern United States. Today, in a new
building that opened in 2008, it is the largest mosque in the Atlanta
area. Al-Farooq Masjid has prayer spaces that can accommodate 1,100 men
and 700 women. It attracts worshippers who represent at least 39
different ethnicities and includes students and teachers from the nearby
Georgia Institute of Technology. The mosque has one of the largest
education programs in the United States in Quran and Hadith (sayings of
the Prophet Muhammad) and an active community outreach program. Atlanta,
the capital of the state of Georgia, is home to some 80,000 Muslims and
three dozen mosques. |
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Islamic Center of America - Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn hosts the largest Arab-American community in the United States,
with a significant population of Lebanese and Iraqi Shiite Muslims. It
is home to the Islamic Center of America, which encompasses 120,000
square feet (11,148 square meters) and is the largest mosque in North
America. The building was dedicated in 2005 after the congregation moved
from a smaller mosque. It includes a prayer room, an auditorium, banquet
facilities and the Muslim American Youth Academy. The prayer space can
accommodate 1,000 worshippers. Women pray in the main space behind the
men, but there is also a balcony area for women who want to pray
separately. The congregation includes more than 3,000 members, mainly
Shiite Muslims, although all Muslims are welcome. |
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Islamic Society of Orange County - Garden Grove, California
The Islamic Society of Orange County was one of the first Muslim centers
in southern California. It is also one of the largest, attracting up to
3,000 worshippers at Friday prayers. The center, established in 1976, is
a leader in community and interfaith outreach. It recently started a
food pantry and offered a course on world religions. The center includes
a mosque —- Masjid Al-Rahman — a school and community rooms. Orange
County’s Muslim population is highly diverse and is one of the largest
in the United States. |
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Nueces Mosque - Austin, Texas
In 1977, the Muslim Student Association at the University of Texas
established the first mosque in Austin, the state capital. Located in a
house on Nueces Street, the Nueces Mosque serves as a satellite to the
much larger Islamic Center of Greater Austin. It continues to welcome
Muslim students and also hosts events for the larger community, such as
an annual open house. Early in 2011, it held the first “bring a buddy to
the mosque” event, to which Muslim students brought their non-Muslim
friends. Nueces Mosque members volunteer at the food bank, hold
fundraisers and do community projects with other groups. There are at
least 150 local Muslim student associations affiliated with the National
Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada.
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Mother Mosque of America - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
The longest-standing purpose-built mosque in the United States is the
Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, constructed in 1934 and
still used for Muslim celebrations in its original building. Arab
Muslims who arrived in the late 1880s received encouragement and help
from earlier Arab Christian immigrants. They built the Mother Mosque and
worshipped there for nearly 40 years until a larger mosque was built.
The old mosque was used for other purposes until it was restored by the
Islamic Council of Iowa and rededicated in 1992. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places as an "essential piece of American
religious history.” The building is an Islamic heritage and cultural
center, used for meetings, iftars, religious discussions and other
special events.
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First Constructed Mosque in the United States - Ross, North Dakota
Many historians believe the first mosque constructed in the United
States was located on the North Dakota prairie. Earlier U.S. mosques
were in converted buildings. The North Dakota mosque was built from the
ground up around 1929 by Syrian-Lebanese immigrants near the tiny town
of Ross. Over time, many Muslims in Ross moved elsewhere, and others
died and were buried in a Muslim cemetery near the mosque. The building
fell into disrepair and finally was dismantled, but Sarah Allie (Omar)
Shupe, a Muslim, wanted to see it rebuilt. She died in 2004, but her
family fulfilled her wish the next year. The new mosque is on the same
land as the original. It is about 300 square feet (27.8 square meters)
and serves as a memorial to Ross’ Muslim pioneers. A few people
occasionally use it as a personal prayer space.
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