Sharon Mosque

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| location = Sharon, Massachusetts, United States

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| established = 1993

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The Sharon Mosque is a mosque located in Sharon, Massachusetts, United States.

History

The mosque was founded in 1993 as an extension of the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE) which was established by Lebanese American immigrants in Quincy, Massachusetts. The mosque is situated on 55 acres formerly used for a horse farm. The main building is a social hall large enough to accommodate 500 people.{{Cite web|url=http://pluralism.org/profile/islamic-center-of-new-england-at-sharon/|title=Islamic Center of New England at Sharon {{!}} The Pluralism Project|website=pluralism.org|access-date=2016-11-16}}

= School =

The second building behind the mosque houses an Islamic elementary school, Al Noor School, and weekend school. Former president of the school, Abdul Badi Abousamra was a prominent Boston doctor, Muslim activist, and father of Ahmad Abousamra, who is on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.{{Cite news|url=http://www.wcvb.com/article/fbi-on-mass-terror-suspect-don-t-know-where-he-is-what-he-s-doing/8209979|title=FBI on Mass. terror suspect: 'Don't know where he is, what he's doing'|last=Anderson|first=Karen|date=2014-10-15|newspaper=WCVB|access-date=2016-11-16}}

Imams

Talal Eid was the first Imam of the Sharon mosque as well as the sister mosque in Quincy.{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/08/26/islamic_community_at_odds_over_post/|title=Islamic community at odds over post|newspaper=Boston.com|access-date=2016-11-16}} Eid left ICNE in 2005 after creeping radicalism put him increasingly at odds in the late 1990s with the board of directors.{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/moderate-imam-reveals-how-radicals-won-battle-for-soul-of-boston-mosques/|title=Moderate imam reveals how radicals won battle for soul of Boston mosques|last=Singman|first=Brooke|date=2015-07-26|newspaper=Fox News|language=en-US|access-date=2016-11-16}}

In 1998, Muhammad Masood became Imam of the Sharon Mosque. In November 2006, he was detained by federal immigration agents for visa violations. In August 2007, he was arrested on criminal visa fraud charges. He pled guilty to five counts of visa fraud and volunteered for deportation in February 2008.{{Cite news|url=http://www.patriotledger.com/x1129044876/Deported-imam-expects-to-be-a-stranger-in-my-own-country|title=Deported imam expects to be 'a stranger in my own country'|last=Lambert|first=Lane|newspaper=The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA|access-date=2016-11-16}} After leaving the country, he became spokesman for the Pakistani terrorist organization Jamaat-ud-Dawah.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistani-brothers-reflect-their-countrys-contradictions/2012/10/28/f29af3ea-1c52-11e2-8817-41b9a7aaabc7_story.html|title=Pakistani brothers reflect their country's contradictions|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2016-11-16}}

Interim Imam and Egyptian native, Khalid Nasr, was Imam of both Sharon and Quincy Mosques.{{Cite news|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/18/a_muslim_leader_reaches_out/|title=A Muslim leader in Quincy reaches out - The Boston Globe|newspaper=Boston.com|date=18 May 2008 |access-date=2016-11-16|last1=Preer |first1=Robert }} After a difficult search, Abdur Rahman Ahmad, became the new Imam in 2015.{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/american-imams-too-few-to_n_1626268.html|title=Pool Of American Imams Too Small To Meet The Demand|last=Service|first=Omar Sacirbey Religion News|date=2012-06-26|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=2016-11-16}}{{Cite web|url=http://icne.net/imam-abdul-rahman-ahmad|title=Islamic Center of New England : Quincy : Sharon » Imam Abdul Rahman Ahmad|website=icne.net|access-date=2016-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325142500/http://icne.net/imam-abdul-rahman-ahmad|archive-date=2016-03-25|url-status=dead}}

1993-1998: Talal Eid
1998-2006: Muhammad Masood
2006-2015: Khalid Nasr
2015-current: Abdur Rahman Ahmad

References

External links

Controversies around the Sharon Mosque ([http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/08/26/islamic_community_at_odds_over_post/], [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/09/29/romney_remarks_alarm_muslims]), from the Boston Globe

Category:Buildings and structures in Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Category:Lebanese-American culture in Massachusetts

Category:Mosques in Massachusetts

Category:Sharon, Massachusetts

Category:1993 establishments in Massachusetts