Growth of Muslim Community in Washington D.C. Region

October 20, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

On October 20, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "a Howard County [Maryland] Muslim congregation is edging closer to reality -- and with it, hopes of becoming a more integral part of the community's daily fabric. After bouncing among facilities for their prayers and gatherings since the early 1990s, members of Dar Al-Taqwa are just months away from a building permit to erect the county's first mosque. The worship center... will be a place to call their own, to teach Arabic to their children and to honor the customs and rituals of Islam. Plans for the mosque parallel the construction of Islamic centers around the Washington region in the last decade. On the border of Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society soon will worship in a new $4 million mosque. In Prince George's County, leaders of the Islamic Community Center of Laurel are looking for more space after just two years."