The Mosque Foundation was established in 1967 and opened its doors in 1981. It was built on a vacant land surrounded by mostly forested area in Bridgeview, IL. After it was built, there were many people saying that the center was too big and would never be filled since its legal capacity was approximately 1500 people. The first few Friday Prayers in the mosque were held with one and a half lines of men and even less women in the back of the prayer hall.

Today it is one of the largest Mosques in the Midwest. It is a full service center that is open almost 24 hours and has functions on a daily basis. After a complete overhaul remodeling in 1999, the mosque now holds two sessions of Friday prayer, two sessions of Taraweeh prayers, and two Eid Prayers, and there are still people that need to pray outside due to lack of room. The Mosque Foundation gets approximately 10,000 people walking though its doors each week. Three additional parking lots were added and many times you still can not find a place to park.

With two schools next door, Universal and AQSA, the forested area is all gone and has been developed into a beautiful subdivision with approximately 200 brand new homes. The surrounding community area has just grown tremendously.

The Mosque Foundation has a full time Sunday school with over 550 students. Also a full Youth Center was established for our youth. This is a multi-purpose center where the youth can hang out and learn about their religion rather than being out on the streets. The Mosque Foundation also houses a full time book store with hundreds of books, audio tapes, and cdï¾’s for all ages in both Arabic and English.