Southern Maryland Islamic Center

In the early 1970s, there were only a handful of Muslims in Calvert County, MD. Because the community was not large enough to form a prayer group, individual Muslims prayed in their own homes. Eventually, as more Muslim doctors moved to Prince Frederick to work at Calvert Memorial Hospital, a group began meeting in the hospital chapel on Fridays to hold prayers. By the 1980s, the group was looking for an opportunity to build a permanent home.A Christian resident and Issam Damalouji, one of the first Muslim residents in Calvert County, donated 6 acres of land directly across the street from the hospital, and a 7,448 sq. ft. mosque was constructed on the site. It was completed in 1986 and opened in 1987.The central portion of the mosque is shaped like an octagon, with another half-octagon shape joined on the eastern side of the building. A large green dome sits above the central section of the mosque, with small clerestory windows around the drum. There is a square minaret, topped by a small green dome, at the northeast corner of the building. Three pointed arches frame the entrance to the building on the eastern side. It is faced with white brick and stucco.Sources:Maryland Historical Trust. "Internal NR-Eligibility Review Form for Southern Maryland Islamic Center." Report, August 26, 1992. Accessed April 23, 2015. http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/025000/025700/025707/pdf/msa_se5_25707.pdf.Paley, Amit R. "The Mosque that Saddam Built." The Washington Post, January 24, 2006. Accessed April 23, 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/23/AR2006012301674.html.