The America's Islamic Heritage Museum is an history museum located in Washington, DC, United States. It is a non-profit organization that displays a variety of Islamic artifacts, photographs, and stories dating from the 16th century up to the 21st century. Before it was a museum, it was a traveling exhibit called Collections and Stories of American Muslims (CSAM). Later, the traveling exhibit turned into a museum that was established on April 30, 2011. In 2024, the history museum introduced its grand reopening in a new constructed, mix-used space at the ground floor, sharing it with a housing unit and other rental spaces.
Organization history
Before the museum
In 1996 Collections & Stories of American Muslims, Inc. (CSAM) was established. In the years that followed CSAM travelled across the country sharing the history of Muslims in America with the public. This included stops at the
DuSable Museum of African American History
The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, formerly the DuSable Museum of African American History, is a museum in Chicago that is dedicated to the study and conservation of African-American history, culture, and art. It was founded i ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
,
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
, the
Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center,
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
, the
Anacostia Community Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum (known colloquially as the ACM) is a community museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is one of twenty museums under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution and was th ...
,
Stanford University,
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
,
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
, the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
and the
U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.
[Arlene Borenstein]
''NBC Washington'', July 28th, 2011 The exhibition also travelled abroad, visiting Qatar and Nigeria. On April 30, 2011, the museum opened to the public at the former Clara Muhammad School in Washington, DC.
Grand reopening
On March 8th, 2024, the America's Islamic Heritage Museum's grand reopening at the Clara—a new affordable housing spot and the new permanent home for the museum—has 11,000 square feet of new space. The new home for the museum is set to open in the winter of 2024.
Museum content
Much of the museum's content is displayed on a series of panels covering a diverse set of personalities including
Estevanico
Estevanico ("Little Stephen"; modern spelling Estebanico; –1539), also known as Esteban de Dorantes or Mustafa Azemmouri (مصطفى الزموري), was the first African to explore North America.
Estevanico first appears as a slave in Portu ...
,
Omar ibn Said,
Hajj Ali,
Yarrow Mamout
Yarrow Mamout (c. 1736 – January 19, 1823) was a formerly enslaved African entrepreneur and property owner in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. An educated Fulani Muslim, he gained his freedom in 1796 after 44 years as a slave. James Alexander Si ...
, and
Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb. It makes note of America's unique ethnic groups and migration patterns, including the hard to define
Melungeon
Melungeons ( ) are an ethnicity from the Southeastern United States who descend from Europeans, Native American, and sub-Saharan Africans brought to America as indentured servants and later as slaves. Historically, the Melungeons were associated ...
s and the immigration of
Bosnian Muslims
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
starting in the 19th century. There is an extensive section on the
Nation of Islam with old newspapers, photographs and other memorabilia. The museum also makes note of several towns with Islamic references including
Mahomet, Illinois,
Mahomet, Texas
Mahomet is an unincorporated community in Burnet County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 47 in 2000.
History
Mahomet had two sites in eastern Burnet County. George Ater sett ...
,
Mecca, Indiana
Mecca is a town in Wabash Township, Parke County, Indiana, Wabash Township, Parke County, Indiana, Parke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 335 at the 2010 census.
History
The town of Mecca was platted on August 7, 1890, by ...
, and
Elkader, Iowa
Elkader is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,209 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,465 in 2000. It is the county seat of Clayton County. It is the site of Iowa's lowest recorded minimum temperature, ...
.
Hours
The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sunday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm and closed on Monday.
See also
*
Islam in the United States
*
Islam in the Americas
Islam is a minority religion in all of the countries and territories of the Americas, around 1% of North America population are Muslims, and 0.1% of Latin America and Caribbean population are Muslims.
Suriname has the highest percentage of Musli ...
References
External links
Official websiteCollections & Stories of American Muslims Inc.{{Islamic museums
2011 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Ethnic museums in Washington, D.C.
Islam in Washington, D.C.
Museums established in 2011
Religious museums in the United States
Islamic museums