Cancer starts out very small... A new mosque on the Mainland

Mainland’s first mosque dedicated
Published August 7, 2010

LA MARQUE — The second mosque to be built in the county opened Friday with little fanfare but plenty of prayers — exactly how its members wanted it.

Masjid Al-Fattah doesn’t feature large domes or minarets to embellish this mosque, a gray metal building surrounded by a cyclone fence at 2611 FM 1765 in La Marque.

Mohammad Vohra of the Islamic League of America said the construction of the mosque cost about $100,000 made possible by donations from La Marque and Texas City Muslims. While it opened to worshippers Friday, it still has a few things to construct before it is complete, Vohra said.

While there’s the Galveston Islamic Center and other places of worship in the Clear Lake area, there isn’t a neighborhood center for Muslims on the mainland, Abdul-Rahman Salahuddin, president of the Islamic League of America said.

Mid-county Muslims — about 20 families — have been gathering and worshipping at temporary mosques on the mainland. Masjid Al-Fattah also would serve Muslims in Hitchcock, Santa Fe, San Leon and other mainland communities.

Because of city restrictions, a sign will be used to call worshippers to prayer instead of a loudspeaker.

There are no readily available statistics about how many Muslims live in Galveston County.

The Islamic League of America owns about half an acre at Union Street and FM 1765.

Original article can be found here