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Mother Mosque of America

Coordinates: 41°59′10.69″N 91°41′2.2″W / 41.9863028°N 91.683944°W / 41.9863028; -91.683944
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Moslem Temple
The mosque in 2016
Mother Mosque of America is located in Iowa
Mother Mosque of America
Location1335 9th Street N.W.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Coordinates41°59′10.69″N 91°41′2.2″W / 41.9863028°N 91.683944°W / 41.9863028; -91.683944
Built1934
NRHP reference No.96000516
Added to NRHPMay 15, 1996[1]

The Mother Mosque of America, once known as The Rose of Fraternity Lodge and also known as Moslem Temple, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, is the longest standing mosque in North America. Built in 1934, it is the second oldest after the mosque built in tiny Ross, North Dakota, which was built in 1929.[2] However, that mosque was torn down in the 1970s[2] and later rebuilt[2] in 2005,[3] leaving the Mother Mosque as the oldest standing. It is also slightly older than the Al-Rashid Mosque in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

History

The mosque was built by a local community of immigrants and their descendants from what is now Lebanon and Syria.[4] Construction was completed February 15, 1934. The small structure served as a place of worship for Muslims for nearly 40 years. When a larger local mosque, the “Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids”, was built in 1971, the building was sold. Successive owners over the next 20 years allowed it to fall into disrepair.

The mosque seen from the northwest

In 1991 the Islamic Council of Iowa purchased the building, refurbished it and restored its status as a Muslim cultural center. The effort was mainly organized by the local Muslim community led by Imam Taha Tawil and Dr. Thomas B. Irving.

The Mother Mosque stands in a quiet neighborhood, flanked by houses on both sides, with a small marker off of First Avenue pointing the way to this historical site. Due to its small size, the majority of the Muslim population in Eastern Iowa and the Cedar Rapids area worship at other mosques, but the Mother Mosque remains a prominent center for information, prayer and community.

The Mother Mosque is listed on both the Iowa State Historical Register and the National Register of Historic Places as an "essential piece of American religious history, which symbolizes tolerance and acceptance of Islam and Muslims in the United States." It was listed on the National Register in 1996 as Moslem Temple.[1]

Floods in June 2008 filled the mosque's basement, destroying the extensive collection of books and archival records stored therein.[5]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mother Mosque of America.

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "North Dakota Is Home to First U.S. Mosque". Voice of America. October 30, 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Day 22: Ross, North Dakota – A Leap in Time - 30 Mosques". Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  4. ^ "In Iowa, a lasting symbol of American Islam" by Ryan Schuessler. Al Jeezera America. February 13, 2014[1]
  5. ^ Molly Rossiter (June 17, 2008). "Historic Mother Mosque records likely destroyed". GazetteOnline article. The Gazette (Iowa).

Further reading

  • Dannin, Robert. Black Pilgrimage to Islam. New York: Oxford UP, 2002.
  • Nash, Michael. Islam Among Urban Blacks. Lanham: University Press of America, 2008.
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