This is an alphabetical listing of notable mosques in the United States (Arabic: Masjid, Spanish: Mezquita), including Islamic places of worship that do not qualify as traditional mosques.
A mosque, also called "masjid" in Arabic, is defined as any place where Muslims pray facing Mecca, not necessarily a building. By that meaning, there were mosques in the United States by 1731 or earlier. Job ben Solomon (1701–1773), an African-American Muslim kidnapped into slavery, was documented by his slave narrative memoir to have prayed in the forest of Kent Island, Maryland, where he was brought during 1731–33.[1]
Some sources assert that what is likely the first American mosque building was a mosque in Biddeford, Maine that was founded in 1915 by Albanian Muslims. A Muslim cemetery still existed there in 1996.[2] [3]
However, the first purpose-built mosque building was most likely the Highland Park Mosque in Detroit, Michigan, which opened in 1921. The mosque was located near the famous Highland Park Ford Plant, which employed "hundreds of Arab American men". This mosque, which included Sunni, Shia and Ahmadi Muslims, was funded by Muhammad Karoub, a real estate developer.[1] [4]
The earliest mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslims Community is the Al-Sadiq Mosque, a two story building purchased by Mufti Muhammad Sadiq in 1922 in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, the original building was torn down and a purpose built mosque was constructed at the site in the 1990s. However, the first "purpose-built" mosque, the Mother Mosque of America, was built in 1934 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[5]
In 1994, the Islamic Center of Yuba City, in California, was destroyed by a fire set in a hate-crime, the first mosque destroyed by a hate crime in U.S. history. It had just been completed at the cost of $1.8 million plus sweat equity of the Muslims of its rural community, including descendants of Pakistan who immigrated to the area 1902. Its story, including its rebuilding, is told in David Washburn's 2012 documentary An American Mosque.[6]
It has been estimated that there were somewhat more than 100 mosques in the U.S. in 1970, but immigration of more than a million Muslims since then led to hundreds more being built.[1] By 2000, there were 1,209 U.S. mosques, which rose to 2,106 in 2010, an increase of 74%.[7] Also, the number of mosques in America has grown to 2,769 in 2020.[8]
A 2011 study, The American Mosque 2011, sponsored by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, as well as the nation's largest Islamic civic and religious groups, including the Islamic Society of North America and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, found that the U.S. states with the most mosques were New York with 257, California with 246, and Texas with 166.
Since 2014, there has been a building boom for mosques.[9]
Name | Image | Location | State | Year | Group[10] | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Homewood Masjid | Homewood | Alabama | 1996 | Established in a former segregated high school for African American students. A dedicated mosque, community center, and private PK-12 Islamic school.[11] | |||
Islamic Community Center of Anchorage Alaska | Anchorage | Alaska | 2010 | S | First masjid and Islamic school in Alaska.[12] | ||
Islamic Community Center of Phoenix | Phoenix | Arizona | 1982 | S | |||
Islamic Center of Tucson | Arizona | 1991 | ? | ||||
Tucson Yousef Mosque | Arizona | A | |||||
Islamic Center of Little Rock | Little Rock | Arkansas | 1996 | First purpose built mosque in Little Rock. A new larger mosque, community center, and Islamic school are currently under construction northwest of the original mosque.[13] | |||
Baitul Hameed | Chino | California | 1989 | A | Largest Ahmadiyya mosque in the western United States with a floor space of 19000square feet. | ||
Islamic Center of San Francisco | San Francisco | California | 1959 | ? | Oldest mosque in the San Francisco Bay Area and the second oldest mosque in California.[14] [15] | ||
King Fahad Mosque | Culver City | California | 1998 | S | |||
Islamic Center of Orange County | Garden Grove | California | 1976 | S | Asserted to be one of the largest Muslim centers in the Western Hemisphere, with almost 7,000 worshipers. | ||
Islamic Center of Irvine | Irvine | California | 2004 | S | |||
Islamic Center of Southern California | Los Angeles | California | 1970s | ND | The congregation was founded in 1952. The current mosque dates to the late 1970s.[16] One of the largest mosques in the United States. | ||
Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California | Oakland | California | 1995 | ND | Occupies a former Masonic temple. Founded by Shia Iranians but is open to Muslims of any denomination.[17] [18] | ||
Masjid Annur Islamic Center | Sacramento | California | 1982 | S | Largest mosque in Greater Sacramento. The organization moved into a larger property in 1994.[19] | ||
SALAM Islamic Center | Sacramento | California | 2010 | ? | Established in a residential building and a pair of trailers in 1987. A dedicated mosque, community center, and Islamic school were constructed on the site between 2001 and 2010.[20] | ||
Muslim Mosque Association | Sacramento | California | 1947 | ? | Oldest mosque in the western United States. Established in a residential building in 1947. Features a minaret.[21] | ||
Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami | San Diego | California | S | [22] | |||
Islamic Center of Yuba City | Yuba City | California | 1994 | Completed in 1994 at cost of $1.8 million and thousands of hours of sweat equity, including community members descended from Pakistani who immigrated to the area in 1902. It was then burnt by arson, in the first hate-crime destroying a mosque in the United States. The case received little attention at the time, but is subject of 2015 documentary An American Mosque produced by David Washburn. | |||
Women’s Mosque of America | Los Angeles | California | 2015 | ND | First women-led Muslim house of worship. Offers monthly khutbas (sermons) to women and children (including boys 12 and under) of any Islamic denomination.[23] [24] | ||
Islamic Center of Greater Hartford | Hartford and Berlin | Connecticut | Its president, Dr. M. Reza Mansoor is a Hartford Hospital cardiologist and "a long-time Trustee of the Hartford Seminary, the country's oldest center for the study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations".[25] [26] Berlin, CT, new mosque is also part of IAGH.[27] Mansoor was also founding president of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut.[28] [29] [30] | ||||
Masjid An-Noor, Bridgeport, a.k.a. Bridgeport Islamic Society-Masjid An-Noor | Bridgeport | Connecticut | Its building purchased in 1991 was formerly a bank.[31] As the largest mosque in Bridgeport area, it was subject of questions in 2010 regarding any possible association of Faisal Shahzad, the May 1, 2010 Times Square bomber who lived in Bridgeport). Demonstrators from as far away as Texas confronted the mosque in protests in August 2010.[32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] | ||||
Bridgeport Islamic Community Center | Bridgeport | Connecticut | 2017 | The mosque occupies a former congregational church. Includes a community center and educational facilities.[39] | |||
Madina Masjid | Windsor | Connecticut | 1993 | ||||
Assalam Center | Boca Raton | Florida | |||||
Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam | Atlanta | Georgia | Established when Elijah Muhammad purchased a property on Bankhead Hwy. Later moved to its present location.[40] | ||||
Al-Farooq Masjid | Atlanta | Georgia | 1980 | The Al-Farooq Masjid was established in 1980 as The Atlanta Mosque, a nonprofit, non-political, religious organization. Later due to a name conflict with another organization, its name was changed to Al-Farooq Masjid of Atlanta. | |||
Masjid Al-Muminun | Atlanta | Georgia | Masjid Al-Mu’minun is one of the most recognized religious buildings in the city of Atlanta, and a vast number of people from different cultures and backgrounds visit the Masjid on a daily basis. Al-Mu’minun is nationally known for advocacy of Muslims and Islamic Issues. The Masjid congregation and staff have been the subject of numerous religious programs and news features in recent years | ||||
Islamic Community Center of Augusta | Augusta | Georgia | 2012 | S | |||
Masjid Al-Quba | Buford | Georgia | 2010 | S | Established first Masjid in vicinity of Mall of Georgia area. | ||
An-Noor Mosque | Mangilao | Guam | 2000 | First mosque established in Guam.[41] [42] | |||
Honolulu Mosque | Honolulu, Oahu | Hawaii | Established by the Muslim Association of Hawaii. | ||||
Mosque Foundation | Bridgeview | Illinois | 1980 | [43] | |||
Mosque Maryam | Illinois | 1972 | NOI | Also known as Muslim Temple No. 2. Originally a Greek Orthodox church, purchased in 1972 by the Nation of Islam. Headquarters of the Nation of Islam and of Louis Farrakhan. | |||
Baitul Jamay | Illinois | ||||||
Al-Sadiq Mosque | Illinois | 1922 | A | Asserted to be the oldest extant mosque in the United States. | |||
Islamic Foundation | Villa Park | Illinois | 1974 | [44] | |||
Islamic Foundation North | Libertyville | Illinois | 2004 | [45] | |||
Masjid Darussalam | Lombard | Illinois | 2013 | S | [46] | ||
Muslim Community Center | Illinois | 1969 | [47] | ||||
Muslim Association of Greater Rockford | Rockford | Illinois | 1984 | [48] | |||
Masjid Al-Huda | Schaumburg | Illinois | 1992 | [49] | |||
Masjid Noor ul-Islam, Burmese Muslim Education and Community Center | Fort Wayne | Indiana | 2015 | The first masjid built by the Burmese Muslim community outside their nation.[50] BMECC website | |||
Darul Arqum Islamic Centre | Ames | Iowa | ? | Darul Arqum Islamic Centre website | |||
Mother Mosque of America | Cedar Rapids | Iowa | 1934 | ? | |||
Masjid Omar Bin Khattab | Louisiana | ||||||
Baitur Rahman | Silver Spring | Maryland | 1994 | A | |||
Baitus Samad | Baltimore | Maryland | 2017 | A | [51] | ||
Diyanet Center of America | Lanham | Maryland | 1993 | S | Mosque complex built with support from the Turkish government. | ||
Imam Mahdi Islamic Education Center of Baltimore | Parkville | Maryland | 2003 | ||||
Islamic Society of Western Maryland | Hagerstown | Maryland | 1994 | ||||
Islamic Society of Baltimore | Catonsville | Maryland | 1969 | Visited by former US president Barack Obama in 2016. | |||
Allston Congregational Church | Boston | Massachusetts | A mosque meets in former Congregational church. | ||||
Islamic Center of Boston (Wayland) (ICB Wayland) | Wayland | Massachusetts | 1979 | ||||
Islamic Society of Boston | Cambridge | Massachusetts | 1981 | ||||
Islamic Society of Greater Lowell | Chelmsford | Massachusetts | 1993 | ||||
Quincy Mosque | Quincy | Massachusetts | 1963 | ||||
Sharon Mosque | Sharon | Massachusetts | 1993 | Established by Lebanese American immigrants. | |||
Worcester Mosque | Worcester | Massachusetts | 2005 | ||||
Al-Islah Mosque | Hamtramck | Michigan | 2000 | S | Established by Bangladeshi American immigrants. | ||
Dearborn Mosque | Michigan | 1937 | S | ||||
First Albanian Bektashi Tekke in America | Taylor, Michigan | Michigan | 1954 | SH | Adheres to the Bektashi Sufi branch of Shia Islam. | ||
Islamic Center and Mosque of Grand Rapids | Grand Rapids | Michigan | 1986 | Adheres to Sufism. | |||
Islamic Center of America | Michigan | 2005 | SH | Largest mosque in the United States. | |||
Muslim Temple No. 1 | Michigan | 1931 | NOI | First mosque of the Nation of Islam. | |||
Islamic Center of Mississippi-Starkville | Starkville | Mississippi | |||||
Ballwin | Missouri | One of two mosques of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis. | |||||
Islamic Center of Central Missouri | Columbia | Missouri | 1983 | First Islamic center established in Missouri. | |||
Masjid Bilal | St. Louis | Missouri | One of two mosques of the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis. | ||||
St. Louis Islamic Center | St. Louis | Missouri | 2010 | A Bosnian mosque. | |||
Masjid As-Sabur (As-Sabur Mosque) | Las Vegas | Nevada | 1975 | S | |||
Masjid Ibrahim | Las Vegas | Nevada | 2015 | First mosque in North America whose construction was funded entirely by one woman (Sharaf Haseebullah) | |||
Islamic Center of Passaic County | Paterson | New Jersey | 1990 | One of the largest Muslim communities in New Jersey, in South Paterson which is the largest Muslim community in the United States. | |||
The Muslim Center of Greater Princeton | Princeton, New Jersey | New Jersey | |||||
Islamic Society of Central New Jersey | South Brunswick, New Jersey | New Jersey | Includes a K-12 school, Mosque, and facilities for weddings and funerals | ||||
Dar al-Islam | near Abiquiú | New Mexico | 1979 | ||||
Islamic Awareness Center | Binghamton | New York | 2001 | Also known as Masjid Al-Tahweed. | |||
Islamic Association of Long Island | Selden | New York | 1974 | Also known as the Selden Masjid. | |||
Islamic Society of Central New York | Syracuse | New York | 1981 | S | A mosque and community center. | ||
Masjid Al-Mamoor | Jamaica | New York | 1976 | Also known as the Jamaica Muslim Center, includes a Mosque, a school, a place for religious gathering, and eating facilities, and is one of the largest multi-purpose Muslim establishments in the U.S. Located in a Bangladeshi-American neighborhood. | |||
Valley Stream | New York | 1990s | |||||
Mid-Hudson Islamic Association | Wappingers Falls | New York | 1990 | Also known as Masjid Al-Noor (Arabic: مسجد النور) | |||
Masjid Malcolm Shabazz | New York City | New York | 1946 (Original); 1960s (Current) | S | Formerly known as Mosque No. 7 where Malcolm X preached in a storefront until he split from Elijah Muhammad and left the Nation of Islam in 1964. Destroyed in a bombing in 1965, after Malcolm X's assassination. Successor to the Sunni Muslim mosque that was named Muslim Mosque, Inc., which was started by Malcolm X after Malcolm X split from Elijah Muhammad in 1964. The mosque is located at 102 West 116th Street. | ||
Hazrati Abu Bakr Siddique | New York City | New York | 1986 | ||||
Newburgh | New York | 1992 | |||||
Islamic Cultural Center of New York | New York City | New York | 1991 | Also known as "96th Street Mosque". | |||
Park51 | New York City | New York | 2011 | ND | Proposed mosque, also known as the "Ground Zero mosque", a plan that became subject of controversy in 2010. Currently a museum, not a mosque, is planned. But in September 2011, a temporary 4000square feet Islamic center opened in renovated space at the site.[52] | ||
Beit El-Maqdis Islamic Center | New York City | New York | |||||
Noor Islamic Cultural Center | Ohio | 2006 | ? | ||||
Imam Khoei Islamic Center (New York) | New York City | New York (state) | 1988 | Islamic center; charity institution; One of the largest Shia Islamic centers in America[53] | |||
Masjid King Khalid | Raleigh | North Carolina | 1982 | Masjid King Khalid was the first and only Masjid in the US that was built from a donation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to a private baptist University.[54] | |||
Assyrian Muslim Cemetery mosque | Mountrail County | North Dakota | 1929, rebuilt 2004 | The original mosque at the site was built in 1929 by immigrants from what is now Lebanon and Syria. A modest replacement mosque was built in 2005, although it was built for historical purposes and is rarely used.[55] | |||
Islamic Society of Greater Dayton | Josie Street, Dayton | Ohio | 1985 | S | |||
Islamic Society of Greater Toledo | Toledo | Ohio | 1983 | ||||
Islamic Association of Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Ohio | 1970 | Community members donated their funds and skills to design and build a new facility. The new mosque officially opened in 2003. | |||
Toledo Masjid of Al-Islam | Toledo | Ohio | 1953 | Building built by the Syrian Lebanese immigrants in 1953. First Masjid (Mosque) built from the ground up in the State of Ohio and City of Toledo. Formerly the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo. Purchased in 2010 by Toledo Masjid of Al-Islam under the leadership of Imam Ibrahim S. Abdul-Rahim. Masjid Al-Islam is the name of many Masajid established by followers of Imam W.D. Mohammed of the Mosque Cares Ministry. Once called The American Muslim Mission. | |||
Islamic Society of Tulsa | Tulsa | Oklahoma | ? | [56] | |||
Bilal Masjid | Beaverton | Oregon | 1987 | S | Oldest Masjid in Washington County. | ||
Islamic Center of Portland | Portland | Oregon | S | Also known by Masjid As-Saber. Largest Mosque located in Oregon. | |||
Portland Rizwan Mosque | Portland | Oregon | A | [57] | |||
Islamic Education Center of Pennsylvania | Allentown | Pennsylvania | 2005 | Also known as Jesus Son of Mary Mosque (Masjid Eisa bin Maryam) | |||
Islamic Center of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 1989 | Largest mosque in Pittsburgh, with 600–750 attendees at Friday prayers[58] | |||
Masjid Al-Jamia of Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1988 | S | Founded in 1988, originally by Muslim students from the University of Pennsylvania; now independent; located in the building of the former Commodore Theatre, a cinema built in the Moorish (Spanish colonial) architectural style in 1928 | ||
Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1984 | ? | Established by the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, which honors the Sufi teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. | |||
Masjid Muquil bin Haadee | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | |||||
Centro Islamico de Puerto Rico | San Juan | Puerto Rico | 1981 | First mosque established in Puerto Rico. The mosque has a capacity of 200 men and 40 women and is located next to the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.[59] | |||
Masjid Vega Alta | Vega Alta | Puerto Rico | 1992 | Largest mosque in Puerto Rico, with a capacity of 1,200 men and 120 women. | |||
Masjid Montehiedra | San Juan | Puerto Rico | 2007 | The mosque has a capacity of 400 men and 50 women. Features an Islamic weekend school. | |||
Al-Islam Mosque | North Smithfield | Rhode Island | |||||
Islamic Center of Murfreesboro | Murfreesboro | Tennessee | 2012 | S | |||
Al-Noor | Houston | Texas | |||||
Baitus Samee Mosque | Houston | Texas | 2002 | A | Visited by Mirza Masroor Ahmad in 2018.[60] | ||
East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC Masjid) | Plano | Texas | 2015 | S | |||
Islamic Association of North Texas | Richardson, Texas | Texas | 1969 | S | |||
Austin | Texas | 1977 | S | ||||
Islamic Center of Irving | Irving | Texas | 1991 | S | One of the largest mosques in the United States established in 1991 with 3,000 weekly worshippers. The mosque holds an event every Sunday for those wanting to learn more about Islam. [61] | ||
Islamic Society of Denton | Denton | Texas | 1981 | S | The Islamic Society of Denton (ISD) is a non-profit religious organization founded to serve the Greater Denton area community. The Masjid (Mosque) was built, primarily, by residents and students attending both the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University. ISD opened in 15 August 1981, making it the first Masjid built in Texas. | ||
Nur Mosque | Charlotte Amalie | Virgin Islands | 1978 | First mosque established in the U.S. Virgin Islands.[62] [63] | |||
Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center (Arabic: مركز دار الهجرة الاسلامي, English: Land of Migration) | Virginia | 1991 | |||||
Sterling, Virginia | Virginia | 1983 | All Dulles Area Muslim Society is a mosque in the United States, located in Sterling, VA and serving 5000 Muslim families. ADAMS offers a wide variety of services. | ||||
Islamic Center of Washington | Washington, D.C. | 1957 | ? | ||||
Fazl Mosque | Washington, D.C. | Washington, D.C. | 1950 | A | Also known as the American Fazl Mosque. Served as the American headquarters of the Ahmaddiya movement in the United States until 1994. | ||
Islamic Society of Northern Wisconsin | Altoona | Wisconsin | |||||