ALABAMA HERITAGE
  • Online Store
    • Customer Service
  • About Us
    • Awards
    • Meet Our Team
    • News
    • Writer's Guidelines and Submissions
  • Search
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues >
      • Back Issues 141-150 >
        • Issue 148, Spring 2023
        • Issue 147, Winter 2023
        • Issue 146, Fall 2022
        • Issue 145, Summer 2022
        • Issue 144, Spring 2022
        • Issue 143, Winter 2022
        • Issue 142, Fall 2021
        • Issue 141, Summer 2021
      • Back Issues 131-140 >
        • Issue 140, Spring 2021
        • Issue 139, Winter 2021
        • Issue 138, Fall 2020
        • Issue 137, Summer 2020
        • Issue 136, Spring 2020
        • Issue 135, Winter 2020
        • Issue 134, Fall 2019
        • Issue 133, Summer 2019
        • Issue 132 Spring 2019
        • Issue 131, Winter 2019
      • Back Issues 121-130 >
        • Issue 130, Fall 2018
        • Issue 129, Summer 2018
        • Issue 128, Spring 2018
        • Issue 127, Winter 2018
        • Issue 126, Fall 2017
        • Issue 125 Summer 2017
        • Issue 124, Spring 2017
        • Issue 123, Winter 2017
        • Issue 122, Fall 2016
        • Issue 121, Summer 2016
      • Back Issues 111-120 >
        • Issue 120, Spring 2016
        • Issue 119, Winter 2016
        • Issue 118, Fall 2015
        • Issue 117, Summer 2015
        • Issue 116, Spring 2015
        • Issue 115, Winter 2015
        • Issue 114, Fall 2014
        • Issue 113, Summer 2014
        • Issue 112, Spring 2014
        • Issue 111, Winter 2014
      • Back Issues 101-110 >
        • Issue 110, Fall 2013
        • Issue 109, Summer 2013
        • Issue 108, Spring 2013
        • Issue 107, Winter 2013
        • Issue 106, Fall 2012
        • Issue 105, Summer 2012
        • Issue 104, Spring 2012
        • Issue 103, Winter 2012
        • Issue 102, Fall 2011
        • Issue 101, Summer 2011
      • Back Issues 91-100 >
        • Issue 100, Spring 2011
        • Issue 99, Winter 2011
        • Issue 98, Fall 2010
        • Issue 97, Summer 2010
        • Issue 96, Spring 2010
        • Issue 95, Winter 2010
        • Issue 94, Fall 2009
        • Issue 93, Summer 2009
        • Issue 92, Spring 2009
        • Issue 91, Winter 2009
      • Back Issues 81-90 >
        • Issue 90, Fall 2008
        • Issue 89, Summer 2008
        • Issue 88, Spring 2008
        • Issue 87, Winter 2008
        • Issue 86, Fall 2007
        • Issue 85, Summer 2007
        • Issue 84, Spring 2007
        • Issue 83, Winter 2007
        • Issue 82, Fall 2006
        • Issue 81, Summer 2006
      • Back Issues 71-80 >
        • Issue 80, Spring 2006
        • Issue 79, Winter 2006
        • Issue 78, Fall 2005
        • Issue 77, Summer 2005
        • Issue 76, Spring 2005
        • Issue 75, Winter 2005
        • Issue 74, Fall 2004
        • Issue 73, Summer 2004
        • Issue 72, Spring 2004
        • Issue 71, Winter 2004
      • Back Issues 61-70 >
        • Issue 70, Fall 2003
        • Issue 69, Summer 2003
        • Issue 68, Spring 2003
        • Issue 67, Winter 2003
        • Issue 66, Fall 2002
        • Issue 65, Summer 2002
        • Issue 64, Spring 2002
        • Issue 63, Winter 2002
        • Issue 62, Fall 2001
        • Issue 61, Summer 2001
      • Back Issues 51-60 >
        • Issue 60, Spring 2001
        • Issue 59, Winter 2001
        • Issue 58, Fall 2000
        • Issue 57, Summer 2000
        • Issue 56, Spring 2000
        • Issue 55, Winter 2000
        • Issue 54, Fall 1999
        • Issue 53, Summer 1999
        • Issue 52, Spring 1999
        • Issue 51, Winter 1999
      • Back Issues 41-50 >
        • Issue 50, Fall 1998
        • Issue 49, Summer 1998
        • Issue 48, Spring 1998
        • Issue 47, Winter 1998
        • Issue 46, Fall 1997
        • Issue 45, Summer 1997
        • Issue 44, Spring 1997
        • Issue 43, Winter 1997
        • Issue 42, Fall 1996
        • Issue 41, Summer 1996
      • Back Issues 31-40 >
        • Issue 40, Spring 1996
        • Issue 39, Winter 1996
        • Issue 38, Fall 1995
        • Issue 37, Summer 1995
        • Issue 36, Spring 1995
        • Issue 35, Winter 1995
        • Issue 34, Fall 1994
        • Issue 33, Summer 1994
        • Issue 32, Spring 1994
        • Issue 31, Winter 1994
      • Back Issues 21-30 >
        • Issue 30, Fall 1993
        • Issue 29, Summer 1993
        • Issue 28, Spring 1993
        • Issue 27, Winter 1993
        • Issue 26, Fall 1992
        • Issue 25, Summer 1992
        • Issue 24, Spring 1992
        • Issue 23, Winter 1992
        • Issue 22, Fall 1991
        • Issue 21, Summer 1991
      • Back Issues 11-20 >
        • Issue 20, Spring 1991
        • Issue 19, Winter 1991
        • Issue 18, Fall 1990
        • Issue 17, Summer 1990
        • Issue 16, Spring 1990
        • Issue 15, Winter 1990
        • Issue 14, Fall 1989
        • Issue 13, Summer 1989
        • Issue 12, Spring 1989
        • Issue 11, Winter 1989
      • Back Issues 1-10 >
        • Issue 10, Fall 1988
        • Issue 9, Summer 1988
        • Issue 8, Spring 1988
        • Issue 7, Winter 1988
        • Issue 6, Fall 1987
        • Issue 5, Summer 1987
        • Issue 4, Spring 1987
        • Issue 3, Winter 1987
        • Issue 2, Fall 1986
        • Issue 1, Summer 1986
    • Digital Features
    • Links of Interest
    • Bonus Materials >
      • Alabama Heritage Blog
      • Adventures in Genealogy
      • Alabama Territory
      • Becoming Alabama >
        • Creek War Era
        • Civil War Era
        • Civil Rights Movement
      • From the Vault
      • History in Ruins
      • The Nature Journal
      • Places in Peril
      • Recipes
  • Donate
Published by The University of Alabama,
The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
and the Alabama Department of Archives and History

Huntsville's Muslim Community

5/14/2022

 
Picture
North Alabama Islamic Society
Across the world, there are around 1.65 billion Muslims. Most of these are spread out across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and West Africa. However, there are also Muslim communities here in Alabama. One of these communities is in Huntsville, where Muslims have developed and established a solid presence with several institutions.
Although it is unknown who the first Muslims that came to Huntsville were, the earliest established presence of Islam in the Huntsville area dates to the late 20th century, although there were certainly Muslims in the area from before then. During this period, in 1998, Huntsville’s largest and most prominent mosque, the Huntsville Islamic Center, was established. Another early mosque from that time period is the Warith Deen Mohammed Cultural and Community Center. Named after the African American Muslim leader, Warith Deen Mohammed, this mosque was founded by African American Muslims. Initially, Sunni and Shiite Muslims coexisted together at the Huntsville Islamic Center, but the Shiites eventually established a separate mosque called the Alabama Islamic Educational Center of Fatemah Az-Zahra.

Today, there are four mosques in the Huntsville metropolitan area, including the city of Decatur. In the city of Huntsville itself are the Huntsville Islamic Center and W.D. Mohammed Center. While in the city of Madison, just north of Huntsville, is the North Alabama Islamic Society; colloquially referred to as the “Madison Masjid” (the native Arabic term for mosque) among local Muslims. There is also a mosque in the city of Decatur, which is near Huntsville as well. The Shiite mosque has been sold to a massage spa and has ceased to function. Along with this, the Huntsville Islamic Center also hosts a full-time kindergarten through 8th grade school for Muslim children. The most prominent religious cleric in the area is the imam of the Huntsville Islamic Center, Ragab Abdelmoneim, who arrived in Huntsville from Egypt in May 2013. The imam is a graduate of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and taught there before coming to Huntsville after being hired by the Huntsville Islamic Center.

A hallmark of the Huntsville Muslim community is its ethnic diversity. The dominant groups in the Huntsville Muslim population are immigrants from South Asian and Arab countries such as Pakistan, India, Egypt, and Palestine, as well as the children of these immigrants. But the area has also always been home to a sizable African American Muslim community. In recent years, the ethnic diversity of the Muslim population has continued to grow with new arrivals from different backgrounds, such as West African and Afghan.

The Huntsville Muslim community is also actively involved in the surrounding community. For example, pre-COVID, Muslim volunteers would gather in the Huntsville Islamic Center and conduct food drives for homeless people either by taking food to homeless camps in the Huntsville area or to homeless shelters in Huntsville such as the Downtown Rescue Mission. After the rise of the pandemic, such activity came to a halt but will likely resume in the near future with the falling away of COVID restrictions.

Huntsville Muslims also engage in outreach and education efforts to educate their non-Muslim neighbors about Islam. Before COVID, the Huntsville Islamic Center used to hold an annual event called “Meet Your Muslim Neighbor” where people from the surrounding community could come to the mosque and learn about Islam. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the event has not taken place, and no efforts have yet been made to revive it.

The Huntsville Muslim community is still relatively new and continues to grow. Just recently in March 2022, the North Alabama Islamic Society completed an expansion and renovation of its facility, and similar projects continue in other mosques in the area. The community will likely continue to grow and flourish in the coming decades.

Additional Information:
  • https://www.al.com/living/2013/05/huntsville_islamic_center.html

Author

Picture
Shaheer Abdullah Seljuki is an Undergraduate Student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham(UAB). His hobbies include reading, writing, swimming, and spending time with friends and family.

Comments are closed.
    Subscribe To AH!
    Alabama Heritage BLOG
    At Alabama Heritage, we owe many of our successes and smooth operations to our fabulous student interns. We hope that with this blog--written mostly by our interns as well as history students from UAB and a few from our own editors--our readers will have an opportunity to get to know the students who bring so much to the table with their enthusiasm, hard work, and expertise!

    If you're interested in our internship program, check out the details here.
    Read More Blogs Here

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    AH Field Trip
    Architecture
    Civil Rights
    Civil War
    Farming
    Horticulture
    Military
    Mill Town
    Museums
    Music
    Mystery
    Native Americans
    Preservation
    Scandals
    Sports
    The Depression
    WWI
    WWII

    RSS Feed