Mosque Foundation

Last updated
Mosque Foundation
Mosque Foundation 1.jpg
Religion
Affiliation Islam
Ecclesiastical or organizational status non-profit religious organization
LeadershipImam(s):
Jamal Said
Location
Location7360 W. 93rd St., Bridgeview, Illinois, United States
Architecture
TypeMosque
Style Modern
Date established1954
Specifications
Capacity10,000+
Dome(s)3
Minaret(s)1
Website
Official Website

The Mosque Foundation is located in Bridgeview, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Contents

History

In 1954 a handful of Palestinians from Beitunia émigrés on Chicago's famous Southside formed the Mosque Foundation of Chicago with the dream of one day building a structure to house the religious and cultural activities of their growing young families. One of the mosques most notable founders is Suraya Shalabi. The foundation's first prayer leader, Khalil Zayid, was a poor salesman who could neither read nor write in English, but who recognized the need for a place to practice his religion. Unable to drive, Zayid asked his daughter Miriam to take him from door to door to ask for money to build a mosque. Everyone in the early foundation chipped in to help raise funds including the women of the foundation who held bake sales in an effort to raise funds. [1] Today, that dream has become one of the busiest mosques in America, serving a community of more than 50,000 Muslims.

By the 1970s all Zayid and the other Palestinian immigrants could afford was an empty lot in Bridgeview situated between railroad tracks and a trailer park, But the 1970s ushered in a new wave of immigrants who were both political and educated. By appealing to their wealthy charities in Saudi Arabia, on the grounds that their children were in danger of being lost to an “unIslamic society,” the newcomers to Bridgeview were able to raise $1.2 million. [1] Built in 1981 on a few acres of swampy land in the middle of mostly abandoned prairie in Bridgeview, the new mosque was composed of a prayer hall with a capacity of 300 worshippers. No one could foresee that the mosque's establishment would inspire a Muslim neighborhood of hundreds of beautiful new homes around the mosque, two full-time Islamic schools at its edges, a Community Center down the road, and dozens of thriving businesses.

The new mosque leaders stripped Zayid from his post and replaced him with Masoud Ali Masoud, a conservative Islamic scholar and member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Changes were made in the community whereby women were asked to cover their hair and separated from men. [1] In November, 1981 protests broke out among mosque members who objected to being affiliated with the Brotherhood and the foundation's decision to turn the deed of the mosque over to the North American Atlantic Trust. Eventually, the dispute was settled in a 1983 Chicago hearing by a judge who deemed that no one had acted unlawfully. [1] The community has steadily diversified to include Muslims of many languages and experiences—all praying side-by-side, with their children, in a brimming mosque that cannot contain them.

By 1985 Sheikh Jamal Said, inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, became the religious leader at the foundation where he now remains. Known for his fiery sermons, and his efforts to help oppressed Muslims, Jamal is a well-respected imam and member of the community. Under Jamal's leadership, and with Saudi Arabia partially financing his salary, the mosque offers a politically conservative version of Islam, though moderate Muslims are also allowed to pray at the mosque. Several former leaders claim that the mosque's conservative teachings come from the proliferation of Brotherhood members. [1] Today, imams of the foundation are active in counseling, education, spiritual guidance, and arbitration. Community members work with local and national Islamic, interfaith, and civic organizations on numerous initiatives. These include protecting American civil liberties, empowering Muslims locally and nationally, improving the quality of urban life across America, and helping the poor, immigrants, and the oppressed by advocating for justice and peace.

Timeline

1954: Official Registration

1963: Interim Location Purchased

1976: Tax-exempt Status Approved

1977: Mosque Architectural Plan Completed

1978: Construction Began

1981: Mosque Opened

1986: Aqsa School for Girls Opened in Mosque*

1996: Youth Center Opened

1998: Interim Expansion Completed

2002: Lot for Additional Parking Purchased and Developed

2004: Reopened Youth Center after Major Remodeling

2005: Muslim Community Donated Lakeshore Chicago Garden to the City of Chicago

2005: Food Pantry Opened

2006: Expanded Youth Center to Community Center

2007: Started Mosque Foundation Community Pulse Newsletter

2007: New Website Launched

2008: Second major expansion completed

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warith Deen Mohammed</span> African-American Muslim leader (1933–2008)

Warith Deen Mohammed, also known as W. Deen Mohammed, Imam W. Deen Muhammad and Imam Warith Deen, was an African-American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revivalist, and Islamic thinker.

The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. MAS describes itself as a grassroots Islamic movement. It has more than 50 chapters across the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Chile</span>

Chile is a predominantly Christian country, with adherents of Islam being a minuscule minority. Due to the secular nature of Chile's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. The statistics for Islam in Chile estimate a total Muslim population of approximately 5,000, representing less than 0.02% of the population. There are a number of Islamic organizations in Chile, including the Muslim Society of Chile and As-Salam Mosque in Santiago, Bilal Mosque in Iquique, the Mohammed VI Cultural Center in Coquimbo, and Islamic Foundation of Chile in Santiago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Nicaragua</span>

According to 2007 statistics released by the United States Department of State concerning Islam in Nicaragua, there are approximately 1,200 to 1,500 Muslims, mostly Sunnis who are resident aliens or naturalized citizens from Palestine, Libya, and Iran or natural-born Nicaraguan citizens born to both of the two groups. The Islamic Cultural Center in Managua serves as the primary salaat (prayer) center for Muslims in the city, with approximately 320 men attending on a regular basis. Muslims from Granada, Masaya, Leon, and Chinandega also travel to the Managua center for Friday prayers. Granada, Masaya, and Leon have smaller prayer centers in the homes of prominent local Muslims. In May 2007 the Sunni leader of the Managua prayer center was dismissed, due to the increase in Iranian influence in the Muslim community and was to be replaced by a Shi'a religious leader. By the end of the reporting period the Shi'a leader had not been identified.

Sayyid Hassan al-Musawi al-Qazwini is an Iraqi-American Shia Imam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abd Al Aziz Awda</span> Palestinian militant leader

Abd Al Aziz Awda, also known as Sheik Awda, is a Palestinian cleric who, along with Fathi Shaqaqi, founded the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, also known as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an Islamist paramilitary organization based in Damascus, Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal School</span> School in Bridgeview, Illinois

Universal School is an Islamic, religious, K-12 private school, that is located in Bridgeview, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Students take Islamic Studies, Arabic language, and Quran classes. The school motto is "Where Islam and Education come together." Universal School was officially founded in 1989, and opened on September 4, 1990, to 140 students and 11 faculty members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dar Al-Hijrah</span> Mosque in Northern Virginia, U.S.

Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is a mosque in Northern Virginia. It is located in the Seven Corners area of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moez Masoud</span> Egyptian scholar

Moez Masoud is an Egyptian scholar, public intellectual and international producer who focuses on the fields of existential questions, challenges to global co-existence, and identity in the modern world.

The American Society of Muslims was a predominantly African-American association of Muslims which was the direct descendant of the original Nation of Islam. It was created by Warith Deen Mohammed after he assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father Elijah Muhammad. Warith Deen Mohammed changed the name of the Nation of Islam to the "World Community of Islam in the West" in 1976, then the "American Muslim Mission" in 1981, and finally the "American Society of Muslims" in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hassan al-Banna</span> Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (1906–1949)

Hassan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Muhammed al-Banna, known as Hassan al-Banna, was an Egyptian schoolteacher and Imam, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential Islamic revivalist organizations.

Mohammed Adam El-Sheikh was the Sudanese American executive director of the Fiqh Council of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosnians in Chicago</span>

The city of Chicago, Illinois, is tied with St. Louis for the largest Bosnian-American population and the largest number of Bosnians outside of Europe, The largest concentration of Bosnians in Chicago live on the North Side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Society of Greater Houston</span> System of mosques in Greater Houston

The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) is a system of mosques in Greater Houston. It is headquartered at the Eastside Main Center in Upper Kirby in Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Society of Baltimore</span> Muslim mosque and religious community center in Baltimore County, Maryland

The Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) is a Muslim community center located in Catonsville, Baltimore County, Maryland, consisting of Masjid Al-Rahmah, Al-Rahmah School, and several other services. The society was founded in 1969 by three Muslim physicians and is known for then-President Barack Obama's visit on February 3, 2016. As of 2019, the society serves around 3,000 people.

There is a notable population of American Muslims in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Dallas-Fort Worth is home to sixty-two Sunni mosques and five Shia mosques. According to Abdel Rahman Murphy, a Chicago-born, Irving-based Islamic teacher and Muslim community leader, other U.S.-based Muslims now refer to Dallas as the "Medina of America". Not only is Dallas Masjid Al Islam the oldest Muslim community in the DFW area, it established the first mosque in the city of Dallas and established the first Muslim school in the DFW area. As of 2021, many major Muslim organizations and charities have headquarters or operations in DFW, mostly located in Richardson, Texas such as: ICNA Dallas, Muslim American Society, Muslim Legal Fund of America, Helping Hands for Relief & Development, Sabrina Memorial Foundation, Islamic Relief USA, CAIR-Texas, and MA’RUF. There are also several institutions of research and higher education such as: Qalam Institute (Carrollton), ISRA Foundation (Plano), Bayyina Academy (Euless), and The Islamic Seminary of America (Richardson). -

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powers Street Mosque</span> Sunni mosque in New York, New York, United States

The Powers Street Mosque in Brooklyn, New York City is one of the oldest mosques in the United States. It was founded by a small group of Lipka Tatars, originating from the Białystok region of Poland. This was the first Muslim organization in New York State and the first official mosque for New York City's Muslim population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in New York City</span>

Islam is the third most widely professed religion in New York City, after Christianity and Judaism. A 2018 study estimated that there are over 750,000 Muslims living in New York City, the largest population of Muslims by city in the United States. Approximately 9% of New York City residents are Muslim, constituting 22.3% of American Muslims, with 1.5 million Muslims in the greater New York metropolitan area, representing the largest metropolitan Muslim population in the Americas.—and the most ethnically diverse Muslim population of any city in the world.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque". Chicago Tribune . 8 February 2004.

41°43′22.2″N87°48′10.6″W / 41.722833°N 87.802944°W / 41.722833; -87.802944