Islamic center of Washington
The Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek. The site was purchased in 1946 and the cornerstone was laid on January 11, 1949. The building was designed by Italian architect Mario Rossi. When it opened in 1957, it was the largest mosque in the Western Hemisphere. The center was conceived in 1944 when the Turkish ambassador Münir Ertegün died without a mosque to host his funeral. The mosque was completed in 1954 and dedicated by President Dwight Eisenhower on June 28, 1957.
Egypt donated a bronze chandelier and sent specialists who wrote Qur’anic verses to adorn the mosque’s walls and ceiling. Tiles came from Turkey along with the experts to install them. Persian rugs came from Iran. In addition to the mosque, the center contains a library and classrooms where courses on Islam and the Arabic language are taught. The center’s board of governors is made up of various ambassadors. Around the building are arrayed the flags of the Islamic nations of the world.
- Islamic center of Washington
- Location: Massachusetts Avenue
- Country: USA
- Designed : Mario Rossi
