Mosques in New Mexico

According to Atlas Obscura, the oldest mosque in the United States, “sits in a remote prairie in North Dakota. The Muslim community… sought farmland through the Homestead Acts. In 1929, immigrants from what is now Syria and Lebanon erected the original mosque on the periphery of Ross, a town of 100 people about 60 miles south of the Canadian border.” The photo below comes from google maps.

Here is some info about the history of Islam in New Mexico and the lovely mosques across the state:

New Mexico’s First Muslim

Likely the first Muslim to come to what is now New Mexico was a man known to us by his slave-name: Esteban. According to Dennis Herrick’s work Esteban: The African Slave Who Explored America, he was born in or around 1503 in Azemmour, Morocco. He was enslaved by a Spaniard and brought on an exploratory mission of Florida in 1527. The vast majority of the men died, but four survivors, including Esteban, began a journey on foot across the continent to return to Spanish-controlled territory. This journey is known primarily through the work of Cabeza de Vaca, who later published a written account. The men finally reached Mexico City in 1536. Esteban was later selected to guide a mission north in search of the “Seven Cities of Gold.” Most historians maintain that he was killed at the Zuni village of Hawikku. but there is debate as to why. Some other historians have suggested that Esteban was not killed at Zuni, but in fact escaped from Spanish control. Laila Lalami’s work The Moor’s Account explores this possibility. While nominally a Catholic, many scholars believe Esteban maintained his commitment to Islam. According to this Morocco World News article, “there is some controversy about, among other things, his adopted religion… one then wonder whether Estevanico retained his religion regardless of being baptized as a Christian. Moustapha Ouaarab indicates that Esteban died a Muslim just as he lived throughout his life and that he was surely forced to become Christian and hold a Christian name accordingly.” Forty years after Esteban’s death in New Mexico, a man named Antonio de Espejo traveled to the territory and wrote that, “these Indians appear to have some light of our holy Catholic faith, because they point to God our Lord, looking up to the heavens.” Espejo also reported that Indigenous Americans had been taught by Esteban to pray at dawn and at sunset, which could correspond to the fajr and maghrib prayers, which is quite extraordinary to think about. Today at Zuni Pueblo, you can take a guided tour of Hawikku.

Dar al Islam, Abiquiu

This lovely complex was built in 1981. It was designed by the renowned architect Hassan Fathy. According to the Harvard Pluralism Project Archive, “a Muslim village begun in 1977 by American and European converts who wanted to live amid the Native American pueblos in northern New Mexico.” Dar al Islam hosts annual retreats and workshops, including for Muslims and non-Muslims. These videos are of Abdul Hakim Murad teaching at the Teachers Institute in the 1990s. In 2014 Dr. Heba Nayel Barakat published a work on the complex.

The Islamic Center of New Mexico, Albuquerque

According to this website, “in the early 1970s, the first Muslim community in Albuquerque held their Juma’ services at the University of New Mexico Chapel, and later in the back of a Muslim businessman’s store. The Islamic Center of New Mexico (ICNM), the first mosque in Albuquerque, opened in December 1986. That building was subsequently demolished and replaced with a new mosque that opened in October 2006.” The photos of the old building come from the same site.

Here is what the mosque looks like today:

Islamic Center, Socorro

An unassuming building in a residential area, the Islamic Center of Socorro is in what appears to be a small house. If no worshippers are present and the building is locked, there is a number you may call. I had the place to myself to pray dhuhr, the mid-day prayer, on a Sunday. After texting one of the community members to let them know what a beautiful and peaceful mosque they had, he asked me to keep them in my prayers.

The Albuquerque Islamic Center

According to this USA Today article, “Albuquerque is home to two major mosques – the Islamic Center of Central New Mexico, established in 1986, and the Albuquerque Islamic Center, established in 2015 – and several smaller centers. Over time, the community has grown, and now boasts about about 4,500 Muslims in the area.” The Albuquerque Islamic Center is housed in what appears to be an old bank. According to their Facebook page, in the beginning of 2024 they purchased 2.5 acres land to “build a new huge Islamic Center.”