Dar al-Islam (organization)

Dar al-Islam was the first planned Islamic community in the United States. It was originally co-founded in 1979 by Nuridin Durkee, an American who had converted to Islam; Sahl Kabbani, a Saudi businessman; and Abdullah Omar Nasseef, a former secretary-general of the World Muslim League.{{sfn |Rayburn |2016}}{{sfn |Curtis |2010 | p=134}} Kabbani reportedly contributed $125,000 to the non-profit Lama Foundation that was formed to create the community,{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} while the bulk of the start up funds were said to have come from the Riyadh Ladies’ Benevolent Association of Saudi Arabia,{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} and several daughters of the late Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.{{sfn |Tracy |1988}}

The foundation purchased its first {{convert|1000|acre|km2|adj=on}} site from Alva Simpson, a well-established rancher along the Chama, for $1,372,000. The land included the {{convert|400|acre|km2|adj=on}} mesa top, plus {{convert|600|acre|km2}} below the mesa – a lush, fertile tract along the Chama River.{{citation needed |date=October 2019}}

At its height, the community served some 60 students, employed seven full-time teachers, and partially supported itself through resident entrepreneurial efforts. By 1990, however, the project was suffering from attrition. Although it never fully achieved its original intent as a residential community for American Muslims, it did succeed in remaining viable as an educational facility. Today it provides religious instruction, retreats and camps for its residents and other Muslims, as well as teaching workshops on Islam for public and private institutions.{{sfn |Curtis |2010 | p=134}}{{sfn |Niebuhr |1996}}

The mosque and madrasa (religious school) were designed by the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy{{sfn |Fathy |2008}}{{sfn |Stegers |2008 |p=210}} and were constructed of adobe{{sfn |Curtis |2010 | p=134}}{{sfn |Schleifer |1984}} by Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order builders. The main buildings were completed in 1981,{{sfn |Stegers |2008 |p=210}} and Dar al-Islam opened in 1982.{{sfn |Curtis |2010 | p=134}}

{{Reflist|25em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Barakat |first=Heba |title=The Dar al Islam Mosque and complex, Abiquiu, New Mexico : mosques of the United States of America |publisher=Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia |year=2014 |isbn=9789832591078 |location=Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |oclc=921930832}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Chidester |first=Dianne Lynn |year=1999 |title=My Two Weeks at Mosque Camp: A Report on Dar al Islam in Abiquiu, New Mexico |journal=Teaching Anthropology: Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges Notes |publisher=Wiley |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=27–33 |doi=10.1525/tea.1999.6.1.27 |issn=1537-1751}}
• {{Cite book |last=Curtis |first=Edward |title=Encyclopedia of Muslim-American history |publisher=Facts on File |year=2010 |isbn=9781438130408 |location=New York |page=134 |chapter=Dar al-Islam community (New Mexico) |oclc=650849872 |chapter-url={{Google books|owZCMZpYamMC|page=PA134|plainurl=yes}}}}
• {{Cite journal |url=http://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/30242 |title=Dar al Islam Abiquiu Program Site |last=Fathy |first=Hassan |date=2008-11-21 |website=MIT Libraries |access-date=2019-10-23 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Kahera |first=Akel |title=Deconstructing the American mosque : space, gender, and aesthetics |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780292798366 |location=Austin |pages=17–18, 81–87 |oclc=55889932}}
• {{Cite book |last=Kahera |first=Akel Ismail |title=The Cambridge Companion to American Islam |date=2013-08-12 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139026161 |pages=228–245 |chapter=Muslim Spaces and Mosque Architecture |doi=10.1017/cco9781139026161.016 |oclc=855793779}}
• {{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/05/us/community-of-muslims-finds-desert-fertile-land.html |title=Community Of Muslims Finds Desert Fertile Land |last=Niebuhr |first=Gustav |date=1996-05-05 |website=The New York Times |access-date=2019-10-29 }}
• {{Cite web |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/785758/peace-be-upon-you.html |title=New Mexico's tiny Islamic community spreads a message of inclusion, calm to neighbors |last=Rayburn |first=Rosalie |date=2016-06-03 |website=Albuquerque Journal |access-date=2019-10-28 }}
• {{Cite journal |last=Schleifer |first=S. Abdullah |year=1984 |title=Hassan Fathy's Abiquiu: An Experimental Islamic Educational Center in Rural New Mexico |journal=Ekistics |volume=51 |issue=304 |pages=56–60 |issn=0013-2942 |jstor=43620415 |oclc=5987894730 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Stegers |first=Rudolf |title=Sacred buildings : a design manual |publisher=Birkhäuser |year=2008 |isbn=9783764382766 |location=Basel; Boston |pages=210–211 |chapter=Dar Al Islam Mosque |doi=10.1007/978-3-7643-8276-6_63 |chapter-url={{Google books|GSujjKW04A4C|page=PA210|plainurl=yes}}}}
• {{Cite web |url=https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/198803/dar.al.-.islam-the.code.and.the.calling.htm |title=Dar al Islam: The Code and the Calling |last=Tracy |first=William |date=May–June 1988 |website=Saudi Aramco World |pages=20–29 |issn=1530-5821 |oclc=50987463 |access-date=2019-10-28 }}

• {{Official website}}
• {{YouTube|nJqniEg_Tto|America’s Eco Mosque and Retreat}}
• {{Cite web |url=http://newmexicomercury.com/blog/comments/friday_voyage_hassan_fathy_in_egypt_and_new_mexico |title=Friday Voyage: Hassan Fathy in Egypt and New Mexico |last=Randall |first=Margaret |date=2014-08-28 |website=New Mexico Mercury |access-date=2019-10-29}} Has pictures of Fathy's work at Dar Al-Islam.

{{Mosques in the United States|state=collapsed}}

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Category:1979 establishments in New Mexico

Category:Intentional communities in the United States

Category:Islamic organizations based in the United States

Category:Mosques in New Mexico

Category:Organizations based in New Mexico

Category:Islam in New Mexico

Category:Rio Arriba County, New Mexico

Category:Mosques completed in 1981