Since 1934
Our history
The oldest standing mosque built as a mosque in North America. Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
A building of their own
Syrian and Lebanese immigrants finished the Mother Mosque in 1934. Before that, people prayed in rented rooms, store basements, and homes. A building of their own was a big step for Muslim life in the Midwest.
Left behind, then fought for
The congregation outgrew the building and moved to a larger center in 1971. The old mosque was sold. It sat empty and fell apart.
In 1990, Imam Taha Tawil and the Islamic Council of Iowa moved to buy it back. Not everyone agreed. Some people in the old community said to leave the past alone. They thought the building was too far gone. At one point it was close to being torn down.
Imam Taha would not let that happen. He and the people who stood with him bought the building, repaired it, and opened it again on February 15, 1992. That work is why the mosque is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Still here
The Mother Mosque is a house of worship and a place people visit to learn. It is still standing because the first families built it, and because Imam Taha and others refused to let it be demolished.
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