Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam 50th Anniversary

Metro Atlanta

Photos of 50th anniversary at Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam

The Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, an egalitarian, mainstream Muslim community, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next week. Pictured, members participate in the late afternoon prayer.

The festivities, which run Oct. 16-19, include a fashion show, a gala featuring Mayor Shirley Franklin, a 5K fund raiser for Mohammed Schools, a men's discussion on "responsibilities of manhood" and an interfaith program. Pictured, a member displays a commemorative plate on the congregation's 50th anniversary.

The mosque has had several locations from Auburn Avenue to Bankhead Highway to its current home in the East Lake area. At one point in the 1950s, it rented a room in a building next to room that the Ku Klux Klan had rented. The groups could sometimes hear each other through the walls.

Jesse Ahmed, a member for 30 years, gives the call to prayer.

Of the 35 masjids in Atlanta, the Atlanta Masjid was the first in the metro area.

The Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam spawned several other mosques. Here, Intisar Rashid prays at Jum'uah service.

Ibrahim Pasha, an associate Imam, leads prayer.

"We're part of one humanity, and there's no superiority of one over another," said Safiyyah Shahid, principal of the W.D. Mohammed High School. "God's way is the way of peace, and I believe that that's what the human soul yearns for is peace -- peace within and peace without."

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The Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, an egalitarian, mainstream Muslim community, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next week. Pictured, members participate in the late afternoon prayer.

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