The Islamic Center of Irving was established and registered as a non-profit
501C organization in 1991 in the state of Texas, USA. The center had a humble
beginning, and has moved from various locations to the current facility on
Grauwyler road.The number of attendees has AlhamduLillah grown
exponentially.The center started with only three (3) brothers, and currently
about 800 worshippers attend the weekly Jummah prayer, AlhamduLillah.
The city is located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. It is
estimated that there are 100,000 Muslims in DFW Metroplex. The center's goal is
to serve the Muslim population by providing a Mosque, which is a place to pray,
and an Islamic school to preserve the Muslim kids. It also provides Islamic
activities to strengthen the Islamic community ties socially and religiously.
The center strives to increase Islam awareness and therefore increase the
number of Muslims through Da'awa according to the holy book Quran and the
Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The house used for prayers
The house was big enough for 75 people
Juma'a Khutba
Adjacent Hall
The idea of establishing an Islamic center goes back to the early 80's when a
group of Muslim brothers started praying the five daily and the Juma'a (Friday)
prayers together in one of their own houses.Soon they had to move to a bigger
place, from one apartment to another until they were able to rent an apartment
and use it as a Mosque where they performed all their prayers.
With Allah's will and blessings, the number of people praying started to
increase which required them to find a bigger place.In 1990, the brothers rented
a house to use as the Mosque. The house could accommodate about 75 people.
Not too long afterwards, the number of people praying exceeded 75, some of the
brothers with their commitment to worship the All Mighty God, they had to pray
outside the house on the ground, under the sun, in the rain and the cold. A
school for the children was held each weekend but had to close down
eight months later because the place was not suitable for studying. For many
years we struggled with instability and had to move from one place to another. We
rented big halls for the Friday prayers as the number of the people praying
reached between 200 and 300 men and there was no place for women or children.
Not to mention that Muslim brothers were prevented from praying in some of the
halls.
Children Learning
Children during school session in the house but it was closed
8 months later.
Praying in one of the area hotels
As a result of the increase of number of people praying, we decided to rent
a warehouse in a shopping center in February of 1994. The warehouse could big
enough for 300 men and 100 women. At the end of 1997, we rented the adjacent
hall to accommodate the increase of people praying which reached 700 by the end
of 1999. Renting both places costed $4,000 monthly.One of the most demanding
issues we had to deal with every Friday was the parking space to all of the
cars for people attending the prayers. That lead us to buy the land nearby to
rectify the problem.
With Allah's will and your support Alhamdulillah, we have moved to the new building which is fully functional and we are having regular 5 times prayer in the new masjid. It also supports Islamic School, Sunday & Summer School,
Marriage Services, Funeral Services, Quranic and Arabic Teachings etc.
To see more pictures, Click here.
Shopping center location of ICI showing the parking problem