Islamic Center of New England (1964)
The starting point for Muslim communities in Greater Boston and New England begins with eight (8) Muslim families who emigrated from Lebanon/Syria to the United States at the turn of the 20th Century and settled in the historic city of Quincy, Massachusetts. Drawn to Quincy to work at the Fore River Shipyard, the patriarchs of these families (and the years they arrived in America) are the following: Abdullah Abraham (1895); Ameen Sulieman (1908); Toufic Derbes (1909); the two Hassan brothers, Ismail and Abduh (1909); Mohamed Omar (1914); Ali Eldeb (1913); and Selman Allie (1913).
In 1934, these Quincy residents formed the Arab American Banner Society, a charitable non-profit organization and precursor to the mosque they dreamed of building. As the organization's name indicates, the Muslim group reaffirmed its commitment to a new American identity. Overcoming many obstacles, the founders took thirty years to establish their religious identity and stake their claim on America’s religious landscape. In 1964, the first dedicated mosque in New England, appropriately named the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE), was finally built in Quincy. The financial support it received came from the American-born adult children and from decades of fundraising efforts, with contributions mostly from Christian and Jewish neighbors, customers, clients, and students. The American-born leaders, who had never seen a mosque, modeled their governance after churches and synagogues.
