The First US Mosque

I know in the latest ‘Weekly Update’ I mentioned today’s post was to be titled ‘Schoolboy Bomber,’ but I also said the plan might change ;) A few issues have cropped up in my life currently that need immediate attention, so rather than not posting anything today, I decided to change the topic to something quick and easy – but interesting at the same time. Oh, and Thursday’s post will be different too…just an FYI!

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Where is the United State’s first mosque located?

This is not a question I had ever thought about asking. At least not prior to reading a news article that mentioned the first ever established mosque in the US. And what I learned was rather surprising.

But before I tell you where the first American mosque is located, I want you to make a guess. Where do you think the first US mosque is located? The answer might surprise you!

Got your guess?

Well, the first US mosque was located in Ross, North Dakota.

Yes, in North Dakota. The state with the third smallest population (behind Wyoming and Vermont). The state with the fourth smallest population density (beat out by Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana). The state with an estimated Muslim population of 920. Yes, that North Dakota.

But what’s most surprising? The population of Ross, ND, is 48. Yes, you read that right. A town (or at that number I think it’s correctly termed a village or hamlet) of less than 50 people is home to the first established mosque in the US.

Ross, ND, is located about an hour drive west of Minot, ND, in the middle of nowhere. According to 30mosques.com, in the late 1800’s a Syrian man by the name of Hassan Juma immigrated to the US, choosing to settle in the small town of Ross. It was not long before other immigrants followed him thanks to the Homestead Act. The community built the first mosque in 1929. Later, in 1970, the first mosque was destroyed and it was 25 years before another was constructed in its place in 2005.

The mosque is a small, simple building made of stone. There’s a tiny dome atop the cube with four mini-minarets at each of the four corners. Perhaps what is most striking about this particular mosque is that it sits in the middle of a field, with nothing but a small cemetery near it. To arrive at the mosque, one first has to travel down an empty dirt road, only trees filling the skyline. A quarter of a mile on this road brings one to the lonely building that is the first established American mosque.

I could only imagine the pure beauty and emotion of this place. I mean, this is history! The first ever mosque in the US, located in a place so distant from large cities or even mid-sized cities. These immigrants came so far, settled in a place so remote and brutal, yet they upheld their religion and managed to construct a mosque despite the fact that there were so few of them.

I would love to get the chance to visit this place one day insha’Allah and see for myself the first established mosque of the United States.

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Read more about the Ross, ND, Muslims and their mosque here: http://30mosques.com/2010/09/day-22-ross-north-dakota-a-leap-in-time/