Mother Mosque of America
Mother Mosque of America
- The Mother Mosque of America, once called The Rose of Fraternity Lodge, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the oldest standing purpose-built Musjid in the United States. It was completed in 1934. While the Al-Sadiq Mosque in Chicago and the Powers Street Mosque are older, they were converted from existing buildings to be used as Muslim houses of worship.
- The Musjid was built by a local community of immigrants and their descendants from the Ottoman Empire, in what is now Lebanon and Syria. Construction finished on February 15, 1934. The small building served as a place of worship for Muslims for nearly 40 years. When a larger local Musjid, the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids, was built in 1971, the original building was sold. Over the next 20 years, it fell into disrepair.
- In 1991, the Islamic Council of Iowa bought the building, fixed it up, and restored it as a Muslim cultural center. This 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, with houses on both sides, and a small marker off First Avenue pointing the way to the site. Because of its small size, most Muslims in Eastern Iowa and the Cedar Rapids area worship at other mosques, but the Mother Mosque remains an important 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.
- In June 2008, floods filled the Musjid’s basement with 10 feet of water, destroying the extensive collection of books, archival records, and artifacts stored there.
