Story
Muslim New York
Muslims make up approximately 9% of New York City's population. In the early 20th century, a portion of lower Manhattan was known as "Little Syria," where the New York Sun reported a "Turkish Chapel" on Rector Street, while in Brooklyn, a group of Eastern European Muslims converted a church into a place for them to worship. In more recent years, Muslims from all over have moved to the city to made it their home.
104 Powers Street
This unassuming wood-frame structure was a Methodist Church, a Gospel Church, and a democratic meeting-house before it was sold to the American Mohammedan Society in 1931 and converted into a Mosque. It is the oldest long-surviving dedicated mosque in New York City. The modest structure suited their needs: the Society, which consisted of Eastern European Tartars, traditionally worshipped in simple wooden structures resemblant of churches.
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104 Powers Street
The Tartars are descendants of the 14th and 15th century Turkic settlers of the Baltic region. Many 'Lipka' Tartars (Lipka meaning Lithuanian) settled in Williamsburg in the early 20th century, though since the mid-1960s they have almost entirely relocated to Long Island. The Mosque is still used by Lipka Tartars, though only for weddings, funerals, and festivities such as Ramadans and Eid.
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55 Washington Street
This shop is a remnant of Lower Manhattan's "Little Syria" that once occupied the land that the World Trade Center was built over. Since the late 1800s, various ethnic groups of the Ottoman Empire including Syrians, Palestineans, Armenians, Greeks, and Turks lived in this area. They were located in close proximity to New York's ports, where many imported goods moved through. Around the corner, one of the first mosques was established at 17 Rector Street.
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1 Riverside Drive
This townhouse was the first location of the Islamic Cultural Center, which was founded in the early 1960s. It has since moved to 1711 Third Avenue, which is the first building in New York City to have been built as a dedicated mosque. The neo-Gothic townhouse is still maintained by the Islamic Cultural Center and used as a small prayer center.
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403 East 11th Street
The Madina Mosque was founded in 1976 primarily by Bengali immigrants and is the third-oldest active mosque in New York City. The nondescript brick exterior resembles a typical East Village building, except for the lighted signs in English and Arabic that wrap around it, reading, “There is none worthy of worship but Allah. Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.” Above the building’s back corner, away from the street, a demure minaret peeks up. Unlike traditional minarets, which are large enough for a person to stand inside and call the faithful to prayer, this one is only about 8 feet tall. The call to prayer is sung out from the front door, without a microphone, its only amplification provided by the wind.
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