Mosque No. 12 Explained

Building Name:Mosque No. 12
Location:1319-21 West Susquehanna Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Religious Affiliation:Islam
Architect:Jacob Naschold
Minaret Quantity:0

Mosque No. 12, also known as Masjid Makkah, is a mosque in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It came to prominence in the early 1960s when a building was leased by the Nation of Islam, converted for use as a mosque, and placed under the direction of Malcolm X, who was a minister there and at Mosque No. 7 until he left the organization for Sunni Islam in 1964.

History

Originally built over a century ago for a trade school, it was leased as Mosque No. 12 of the Nation of Islam in 1962 (all Nation of Islam sites were initially called Temples; the NOI switched to the term mosque as a move to add to the Nation's legitimacy by adding elements from mainstream Islam). The mosque was later moved to 2508 North Broad Street.

Malcolm X was named minister of Temple No. 12 by Elijah Muhammad.[1] When Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, he started a Sunni Muslim mosque named Muslim Mosque Inc.

In 1974, four members of Mosque No. 12 were charged with killing the family of Hamaas Abdul Khaalis[2] at the Hanafi American Mussulman's Rifle and Pistol Club. Khaalis was a leader of the Hanafis, a Sunni Muslim school of jurisprudence (fiqh), and the killers were upset by letters he had written that attacked Elijah Muhammad.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=0JVmnJdqKYoC&dq=mosque+%22102+west+116th+street%22&pg=RA1-PA136 "From Abyssinia to Zion," by David Dunlap (p. 136)
  2. Web site: Black Muslims The Faces Belie the Aura of Menace . Smothers . David . July 21, 1974 . Chicago Tribune . March 12, 2017.