Mosque Maryam, also known as Muhammad Mosque #2 or Temple #2, is the headquarters of the
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
, located in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. It is at 7351 South
Stony Island Avenue
Stony Island Avenue is a major street on South Side of the city of Chicago, designated 1600 East in Chicago's street numbering system. It runs from 56th Street south to the Calumet River. Stony Island Avenue continues sporadically south of the Ca ...
in the
South Shore neighborhood.
[Mosque Maryam and The Nation of Islam National Center]
" ''Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
''. Retrieved on February 26, 2009. Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
's headquarters are on the premises.
The building was originally the
Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church before it relocated to suburban
Palos Hills.
Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his de ...
, Farrakhan’s predecessor as head for NOI, purchased the building in 1972. Muhammad was lent $3 million from
Libyan
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
leader
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
to convert the former church.
The main prayer hall is unusual for a mosque, since it was originally the church's
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
that contained
pew
A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom.
Overview
...
s later replaced with seats,
whereas mosques usually have only an open floor space to spread
prayer rugs
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...
on which to kneel.
Adjacent to the mosque is the
Muhammad University of Islam
Muhammad University of Islam (MUI) is a Nation of Islam (NOI)-affiliated preschool to 12th Grade school in the South Shore area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, located next to Mosque Maryam. Every major NOI mosque has a MUI. The schools a ...
, an educational institute for boys and girls from preschool through 12th grade.
See also
*
List of mosques in the United States
This is an alphabetical listing of notable mosques in the United States (Arabic: ''Masjid'', Spanish: ''Mezquita''), including Islamic places of worship that do not qualify as traditional mosques.
History of mosques in the United States
A mosque ...
Notes
References
{{Mosques in the United States, state=collapsed
Maryam
Nation of Islam mosques
Religious buildings and structures in Chicago
Mosques converted from churches
Former churches in Illinois
20th-century mosques
Islamic organizations established in 1972
Headquarters in the United States
Mosque buildings with domes