thenationsmosque-logo
Donate

About Us

Our History

A Short History of Masjid Muhammad “The Nation’s Masjid”

Dating back to the mid 1930s, Masjid Muhammad, The Nation’s Mosque® (of America) is representative of the oldest established Muslim community in the Nation’s Capital and America. This community established the first Mosque to be built from the ground up in America’s capital city by its citizens, and the first in America by descendants of enslaved, African Americans and African-Muslims.

Also called, “The Nation’s Masjid (Mosque)” or “Washington Masjid”, is the place of worship for several thousand Muslims in the Washington, D.C. area. Every Friday, near midday when the traditional “Adhan” (call to prayer) is heard there, hundreds gather to offer praise and thanks to Allah (G-d) and listen to the Imam deliver a meaningful, inspiring khutbah (sermon). This is the Jumua’h service, the Muslim’s congregational worship, as commanded by Allah in the Holy Quran and as has been practiced in the world for more than 1400 years.

Video about our Masjid & campaign

Located just off of New Jersey Ave. NW on 4th Street, ceremonially designated “Islamic Way” by the city.

Masjid Muhammad has long been a pillar in the neighborhood, the city of Washington, D.C. and the nation, as well as a leader in an association of numerous Masjids and Islamic Centers nationwide. Under the leadership of the late Imam W.D. Mohammed (raa), it transitioned into mainstream Islam and has gone from smaller circles of self to broader circles of humanity and the universal teachings of the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad (saw). 

Its members have proudly taken serious the responsibility of citizenship, and is comprised of and associated with millions of healthy-minded hardworking loyal Muslims who are in every field of public service and the private sector, and are making significant contributions to support, protect, and invest in the betterment of our society, the United States of America.

Item
Item
Item

Before its transition under the leadership of Imam W. Deen Mohammed, this community was not always as diverse as it is now and did not always have such comfortable surroundings for its adherence in the nation’s capital, especially among African Americans. When its initial founder, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (raa) began teaching in D.C. in the late thirties and early forties, he found ignorance and despair among his people and hostility and hatred among Caucasians. For several years, he held meetings in private homes, housing projects and even street corners, until space was rented on the second floor of a funeral parlor on Vermont Avenue and “R” Street, N.W. This was to become the first “fixed location” in Washington, D.C., of the then, Nation of Islam, and Brother Sultan X, its first minister.

The small community moved to various locations during the next few years, then, in 1942, Honorable Elijah Muhammad and several of his followers were arrested in the Nation’s Capital for refusing to register for military service. Although the community was sustained, this brought a halt to the spread of Islam in the area and across the country. It was not until the 1950’s that the community was able to regain its strength. Incidentally, when they were arrested, it led to the start of the first prison service program across the nation.
During the 1950’s, meetings were again held at various locations, including a store front at “H” Street near 8th and also in Georgetown. Brother Lucious X was the minister during this period of rapid growth and change. In 1959, the community was legally incorporated as Muhammad’s Temple of Islam No. 4 and also known as Muhammad’s Mosque No. 4. Only Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee had preceded Washington in developing a unified Muslim community.
The rapid growth of this period made a permanent location necessary. Leased store-fronts could not continue to meet the needs of the Washington Muslims. In 1959, several adjacent lots were purchased on 4th Street between “P” and “Q”, to be the site of a new temple, which would become the first mosque.
For many months, believers struggled and sacrificed to raise the funds to build a permanent structure. Many volunteered their construction skills; others cooked dinners and sold the Muhammad Speaks newspapers; bazaars were held to generate income from outside the community. On May 22, 1960 Malcolm X (raa) donated 1,400.00 and helped raise more to build the Mosque in DC. Finally, in 1960, the building was established. It became the first “Masjid” structure to be built from the ground up, and the first to be built in America representing a national community, upon a national aspiration and a national movement. Afterwards, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad himself came to Washington to dedicate the building, December 10, 1960.

The dedication ceremonies remain vivid in the memory of many of the pioneers. After completing his statements, the leader of the then Nation of Islam began the closing prayer, a prayer which all services used to begin and end. It’s important to note, that this was the universal and same Abraham’s prayer as revealed in the Holy Quran and said by the 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide. The Hon. Elijah Muhammad began with this prayer, the assembled believers standing, holding their hands out in supplication as was the custom. For more than one hour, he continued to pray, asking Allah to bless the building and the believers, to guide them on the right path and to keep evil and indecencies away from the community. Subsequently, that structure became the first Masjid or Mosque to be built in the nation by grassroots American citizens, descendants of enslaved Africans and residents of the District of Columbia. Additionally, it became the first Mosque built in the Nation’s capital by its citizens regardless of race.