- First Masajid (Mosques) in America
Masjid's (Mosques) are places of worship and matter a lot to a Muslim community. It may surprise you that Masjids have a long history on American soil.
United States
The first recorded Masjid was built in 1915 by Albanian Muslims in Biddeford, Maine. Although the Masjid doesn't exist there anymore, there is a Muslim cemetry there. Evidence of the Muslim community in Biddeford in the early twentieth century. If you were to visit the cemetery today, it is noticeable that the tombstones of the cemetery face a different direction than other sections of the cemetery. The Muslim burial ground has headstones facing Mecca. Some of the headstones have an engraving of the star and crescent. There are writing in the tombstone that say “Albanian Muhamedan (an old term used by europeans in the past to refer to Muslims)”.
There are many mosques that were built in the early 20th century, but did not stand the test of time unfortunately.
There are many mosques that were built in the early 20th century, but did not stand the test of time unfortunately.
It is the Oldest standing Masjid in the Americas. It was called "The Ross Masjid" and was started in North Dakota by Muslims from Syria and Lebanon who stayed there due to the new Homestead Act. The Masjid was completed in 1929. The Masjid was torn down in the 1970's and later rebuilt in 2005 by one of the last Muslims remaining in that area. Although it coincidently has a Muslim cemetry near the Masjid.
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The Masjid was originally built to stand against the tough wheather. It was contructed as a subbasement to protect people from the wind and cold wheater, it even has stove as well as rugs in it. It is roughly more than 111 square meters in volume. Many Imams (leaders for prayers) would actually come from all the way from Canada or Minneapolis for a few weeks to teach and have classes.
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The 2nd oldest standing Masjid that still fortunately exists was completely build on February 15, 1934 by local immigrants from Syria and Lebanon. It was used by Muslims for more than 40 years, but it was a very small building, but than a new local Masjid that was larger than previous one was built in 1971 was called “Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids”. So unfortunately the owners had to sell it. The owners who bought it kept it for 20 years until in 1991 The Islamic Council of Iowa bought it back from them.
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When the masjid was rebought the owners unfortunately didn't keep good care of the building and it was in very bad condition. So they had to refurbish and restore it. The Mother Mosque was listed on 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."
In 2008 the basement was flooded which destroyed many historical artifacts such as books, documents, photos and even filmed recordes. It destroyed nearly a century's presence of Islamic History in the Americas. |
Canada
The first Masjid of Canada opended on December 12, 1938 in Edmonton, Alberta. The Masjid was named Al-Rashid Mosque, it was built by Ukranian Muslims. At the time there were about roughly 700 Muslims in Canada and funds for the Masjid were collected from Muslims, Christians, and Jews. It was then inauhurated by Yusuf Ali, the famous Quran Translator in English.
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In the 1940's the Masjid was relocated a few blocks down from the original place due to making room for a school expansion. By the 1980's the Masjid had outgrown the population of the Muslim Community and had been dammaged severely. Due to this it was demolished and a hospital was placed there instead. But in 1991 it was then moved to Fort Edmonton Park and reopended in 1982.
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Greenland
Although there are no Masjids there is an important fact:
The first reported Muslim in Greenland was Wassam Azaqeer he made headlines around the world when he fasted Ramadan in Nuuk, he fasted for 21 hours at a time.
The first reported Muslim in Greenland was Wassam Azaqeer he made headlines around the world when he fasted Ramadan in Nuuk, he fasted for 21 hours at a time.
Bibliography
- "Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." Wikipedia. Web. 5 Aug. 2015.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBe4n_knVq8