Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis
The Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis(IFGSTL) is an organization containing two Masjids. The first, Masjid Bilal(West Pine Masjid) is located in downtown St. Louis, at 3843 W Pine Blvd, next to the campus of Saint Louis University. The second and larger one, Daar-Ul-Islam is a mosque located in Ballwin, Missouri at 517 Weidman Road
History
In 1965, a small group of Muslims formed a local chapter of the Muslim Students Association, a group that has its headquarters in Gary, Indiana. Initially, the group met for prayers and other activities at facilities provided by St. Louis University. As the group increased to 100 members, it began to hold prayer meetings at the International Institute.
In 1974, the group incorporated as the Islamic Center of Greater St. Louis, a non-profit organization, and began to look for a building of their own. The next year they purchased from Wolf Construction an office building at 3843 West Pine Boulevard, on the edge of the St. Louis University campus. Following a successful fund-raising event in 1982, the building was extensively renovated.
As the years rolled by, the group's leaders realized that with the continued growth of the Islamic community in St. Louis, a larger facility was needed. In 1987, the organization purchased 5 acres (20,000 m2) of horse-grazing pasture land across from Queeny Park. Fund-raising continued to raise the money for construction of a new building.
On Nov. 27, 1992, a groundbreaking ceremony was held. Christian and Jewish community leaders attended the event. County Executive Buzz Westfall declared the day "Muslim Awareness Day". The building opened in November 1995.
Departments
IFGSTL includes many departments: the Al-Salam Day School, Weekend Madrassa, Muslim Youth of St. Louis(MYSTL), and the Iqra Library. Al-Salam Day School is a 5-day public school with grades K-8, with authentication from the state of Missouri.[1][2] The Weekend Madrassa consists of separate Sunday and Saturday school for part-time Islamic education for grades K-10.[3] MYSTL, or the Muslim Youth of St. Louis, is an Youth Group that attempts to unite all of the Muslim Youth in the area and increase their faith.[4] The Iqra Library houses many Islamic books. Al-Salam Day School, Weekend Madrassa, MYSTL, and the Iqra Library all operate out of the Dar-Ul-Islam Masjid.
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External links
Coordinates: 38°36′10″N 90°29′45″W / 38.6029°N 90.4959°W