As many of the local masajid in our area are getting older and their founders are returning to their Creator, there is a dire need to document the history of the masajid that serve the Muslim community.
Many of the well known masajid and Islamic Centers in our area have been around for decades, some of which include: Dar Al-Hijrah (DAH) in Falls Church, VA, Muslim Community Center (MCC) in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB), which is approaching its 50-year anniversary next year. As the founders of these masajid are passing away-many now in their 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s, the stories of how these Islamic centers first came together, as well as their hopes, struggles, accomplishments, and community history are passing with them.
ISB is just one of the many masajid in our area providing numerous services to thousands of Muslims weekly. It was first established as an organization in 1969, and its three original founders are no longer with us. ISB is currently undertaking a multi-million dollar expansion project that they hope will be complete in time for their 50-year anniversary in the summer of 2019. The expansion project and anniversary were embedded into a campaign ISB titled “The 50 Strong.” As part of this campaign, ISB has embarked on an initiative to collect old artifacts, photos, and documents from ISB’s early establishment. The hope is to incorporate the old images and historical timeline into a multimedia project which will be presented to the public at the 50-year anniversary next year.
Two years ago, MCC in Silver Spring Maryland, observed their 40th anniversary and shared historical artifacts with the public. In June of 2017 an exhibit at the Museum of American History in Washington D.C. titled “Many Voices One Nation” also featured some of those artifacts. As part of this exhibit they revealed the historical importance of religious organizations and places of worship in integrating new communities; how churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, and religious-affiliated organizations are incorporating new communities into established communities. MCC was featured in this exhibit as an organization that provides services to the community at large, including through the MCC Medical Clinic which opened in 2003.
Arshad Qureshi is a retired actuary and one of the founders of MCC. He believes that knowing our history is important. “Efforts and sacrifices by the pioneers should be remembered by future generations so that they may be guided, inspired and build on these efforts in the future,” said Qureshi. Sajjad Durrani, a retired electrical engineer, was the founding President of MCC in 1976. Durrani says that one of the most notable features of MCC today is “its emphasis on youth activities and open arms approach to members and their suggestions.”
Lubna Ejaz, a volunteer for MCC that currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees believes that the community and masjid have grown tremendously since its foundation 40-years ago. The MCC founding members, about 10 families including Durrani and Qureshi, established MCC with a few standing committees; today the center provides an abundance of services to the public. Ejaz says that these founding members “deserve to be recognized and thanked for establishing a masjid that will continue to provide services to our community and the community-at-large, and that will continue developing our youth to be the leaders of tomorrow.”
Maqbool Patel was one of the Baltimore area Muslims who helped initiate the construction of Masjid Al-Rahmah at ISB from 1982-1983. He agrees that history is very important, and that it’s only natural for the human mind to wonder about where we came from, or how we came to exist. Patel says “much like Al Seerah Al Nabawiyya serves to teach us about the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and guide us on the right path, we can learn a great deal from our masjid’s history.”
Before the construction of the first masjid at ISB, many community members in Baltimore, including Patel, would pray the daily prayers at nearby masajid like Masjid Al-Haqq and Masjid As-Saffat in Baltimore City, and gather at John Hopkins University for Quran Tafseer classes and Friday prayer. ISB members like current president Edmund Tori often credit these Baltimore masajid for the success of ISB and recognize the services they provided to Muslims in Baltimore before ISB came into existence. Knowing this history is crucial to understanding ISB’s roots. These Baltimore masajid provided the support for ISB to develop. In addition, they provided a path for the ISB community to follow and learn from.
The Muslim community has been a part of Baltimore since 1943. Masjid Al-Haqq was established in 1947 and moved from Ensor Street MD to 1000 Pennsylvania Avenue almost a decade later in order to accommodate a growing community. At the time it was called Mosque Six, and its members adhered to the practices of the Nation of Islam, a community organization that had little to do with Islam as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad Sallallaahu ‘alyhi wa sallam. Mosque Six later moved to 514 Wilson Street. After the death in 1975 of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad, thousands of Nation followers began converting to Sunni Orthodox Islam and Mosque Six was renamed the Masjid Muhammad and then again to Masjid Al-Haqq. The masjid’s early contributions to the community, including being a center for Islamic knowledge in Baltimore, opening a school, redeveloping houses, and creating a soup kitchen, got Baltimore City Muslims recognized in 1989 by Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, who proclaimed May 7, 1989 as “Islamic Community Day” and Wilson Street as “Islamic Way.”
Masjid As-Saffat, established in 1971, is home to the Islamic Community School, first opened on Myrtle Avenue, MD in 1977 by a group of Muslim women who were looking to provide Islamic education for their children. Public school was not an option, so they decided to create their own Islamic school that would teach their children the values of an Islamic upbringing. The school, originally named Madrassah Al-Saffat, was later renamed to Islamic Community School when it moved to its current location on North Avenue in 1982. In its early days, it began with a preschool and had just 9 students. The founding sisters went to the library and researched how to be educators, enrolled themselves in school, took classes on education, and got degrees. They later added a middle school and high school to the masjid. According to the founders of the school, it is the longest continuous running Islamic school in America.
These older Baltimore masajid forged a path for ISB to exist and also provided a model for newer masajid to follow. The founders of the newer masajid could learn from the elders that came before them and build upon the standards that they created. It was in 1969 at John Hopkins University that the idea to establish ISB was first discussed. Many of these community members prayed at Masjid Al-Haqq and Masjid Al-Saffat, and a number of them decided to create ISB for the growing Muslim community. Maqbool Patel of ISB remembers a time when the masjid was the only building at that location and they would gather as many as 300 people on Fridays. Today, an estimated 2,000 people attend the two Jummah prayer services, and over 10,000 people attend their Eid Salah.
Four years later, while Patel was serving as President of ISB, the community established Al-Rahmah School fulltime Islamic school. Then came Al-Rahmah Sunday School, Al-Rahmah Quran Academy and the Hifz program. Today ISB provides several services and programs, including a full-time nursery, a free health clinic for insured and uninsured Muslim and non-Muslims, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and athletic programs for the youth. Once the current expansion project is complete, they also hope to provide a community learning center and night classes on various subjects.
Patel, who has served as President at ISB at least five times, says he has seen continuous growth since its inception. Patel says the Quran Academy “had just one student when they first opened, and now has over 250 students.”
Saif Rahman, Director of Public & Government Affairs at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, has been a part of DAH since 1989. Rahman, like Qureshi and Patel, believes that it’s important to understand the history and evolution of our masajid. Understanding that trajectory, he believes, will help us build models for future masajid. He thinks that DAH has come a long way regarding the services it provides, and is now a community center serving all, regardless of faith. According to Rahman, this wasn’t always the case. “Our weekly food bank,” Rahman says, “serves 450 families a week, 80% of whom are not Muslim.” He also says that there are numerous programs for the youth. Some of the programs include weekend Islamic School, youth mentorship, outings, movie nights, soccer leagues, book club, and career fairs.
“Our masajid,” Rahman says, “are transitioning from simple prayer spaces to all around community centers, which is what the masjid of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was, and should be the goal of all.” Rahman’s earliest memory of DAH is of praying in the house next door to the current masjid. This house served as the original masjid for approximately eight years and remains on site today, over three decades later. Rahman also recalls the struggle over county regulations and the numerous public hearings they endured in order to get the masjid approved and operating. Today, those hearings are a thing of the past, and he hopes that the history of DAH will remind everyone of how far they have come and to pray for the founding members. Rahman says DAH has attracted Muslims from various socioeconomic levels and is one of the most diverse in the area, with 53 languages spoken.
As the Muslim community in DC, Maryland and Virginia continues to grow, more masajid will be developed to accommodate those community members. In the last 10-15 years there has been an increase of new masajid in the DMV, including: Shirley Gate Mosque in Fairfax, VA, Mclean Islamic Center in Mclean, VA, and Diyanat Center of America in Lanham, Maryland. Each new masjid has a story to tell-why they were built and the hurdles that they endured to simply exist today. Establishing and maintaining the day-to-day functions of those masajid requires the help of the entire community-whether in the form of volunteering time, providing services, or simply donating money to help keep the masajid operating. Several masajid in the area are currently embarking on small and large projects to expand their centers and make them more functional for the growing Muslim community. Some of those masajid include All Dulles Area Muslims Center (ADAMS), Islamic Center of Maryland (ICM), and ISB.
As generations of people come and go, the stories of these masajid will be all that remains. Documenting the history of these masajid will help newer generations learn from the past and plan for the future. The hard work and efforts of the elders who built the framework for our Islamic centers must not be forgotten. In the end, after all, it is what is left behind that matters. May Allah accept the sacrifices and efforts of everyone who has contributed to establishing and running our masajid, and may He guide the coming generations as they take the keys to the houses of Allah in the DMV region, ameen!
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