Bright Lights of the Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 56
56 BRIGHT LIGH TS OF THE AHMA D IYYA MOVEM ENT AMERICA'S FIRST MOSQUE (Aisha N. Sharif) Dear children, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, told us that if we build a House for Allah Almighty in this life, Allah will build a house for us in the next life. A House for Allah is a Mosque where we can gather together to worship Him. The first Mosque built by Ahmadi Muslims in America is in Dayton, Ohio. It was built by real sacrifices of a few dedicated, respected older members of our community. Outstanding among them are Dr. Wali Kareem and his wife Lateefa who in the year 1952, donated a plot of land next to their home on which they wanted a Mosque to be built. A ground digging ceremony was held and many members of all J amaats were there. At first a basement was put in with one small kitchen, two bathrooms and an auditorium. There was no office or telephone. About ten years later this basement building needed many repairs. There were just a few Ahmadi Muslims in the Dayton Jamaat at that time and very little money. Maj or Abdul Hamid, a missionary in Dayton at that time, called the members together and suggested that it would be a great blessing for them to build a real Islamic Mosque where only a basement foundation was now. But there was no money to do this great thing.