Dar al-Islam is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

educational center located near

Abiquiú, New Mexico Abiquiú (, , Tewa: ; Northern Tiwa: ) is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States, about 53 miles (85 km) north of Santa Fe. As of 2010, the population was 231. Abiquiú's ...

, US.

History

It was the first planned Islamic community in the United States. It was originally co-founded in 1979 by Nuridin Durkee, an American who had converted to Islam; Sahl Kabbani, a Saudi businessman; and

Abdullah Omar Nasseef Abdullah Omar Nasseef ( ar, عبدالله عمر نصيف) (born 5 July 1939 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) is a Saudi chemist and geologist, and serves as Chief Scout of the Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association, which he joined in 1956. Nasseef has ...

, a former secretary-general of the

World Muslim League The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic nongovernmental organization, NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of ...

. Kabbani reportedly contributed $125,000 to the non-profit

Lama Foundation Lama Foundation is a spiritual community founded in 1967, located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, seventeen miles north of Taos. The original commune was co-founded by Barbara Durkee (now known as Asha Greer or Asha vo ...

that was formed to create the community, while the bulk of the start up funds were said to have come from the Riyadh Ladies’ Benevolent Association of Saudi Arabia, and several daughters of the late

Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, خالد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Khalid ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'' ; 13 February 1913 13 June 1982) was a Saudi Arabian statesman and politician who served as King and Prime Minister of ...

. The foundation purchased its first site from Alva Simpson, a well-established rancher along the Chama, for $1,372,000. The land included the mesa top, plus below the mesa – a lush, fertile tract along the Chama River. At its height, the community served some 60 students, employed seven full-time teachers, and partially supported itself through resident entrepreneurial efforts. By 1990, however, the project was suffering from attrition. Although it never fully achieved its original intent as a residential community for American Muslims, it did succeed in remaining viable as an educational facility. Today it provides religious instruction, retreats and camps for its residents and other Muslims, as well as teaching workshops on Islam for public and private institutions.

Architecture

The

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

(religious school) were designed by the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian architect

Hassan Fathy Hassan Fathy ( arz, حسن فتحي; March 23, 1900 – November 30, 1989) was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to reestablish the use of adobe and traditional mud const ...

and were constructed of

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

. The main buildings were completed in 1981, and Dar al-Islam opened in 1982.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * Has pictures of Fathy's work at Dar Al-Islam. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dar Al-Islam (Organization) 1979 establishments in New Mexico Intentional communities in the United States Islamic organizations based in the United States Mosques in New Mexico Organizations based in New Mexico Religion in New Mexico Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Mosques completed in 1981