An hour north of Santa Fe, Dar al-Islam was the first
planned Islamic community in the United States, and today, it offers religious
instruction, workshops on Islam, and retreats for Muslims in the community and
elsewhere.
Dar al-Islam is the realized vision of an American-born
Muslim, an American educated Saudi businessman, the award-winning architect
Hassan Fathy (1900-89). The purpose-built educational center and mosque was
built in the early 1980s, sits in New Mexico’s mesa landscape, and today
functions as an educational retreat.
During the late 1970s Abdullah Nurdin Durkee and his wife
Nura envisioned the construction of an Islamic village in the United States.
During a trip to Makkah they met Sahl Kabbani, a Saudi businessman educated in
the United States who felt a connection and desired to contribute in some
manner.
Together they decided to create an Islamic village that would also function as an educational center and retreat. Later on Nura Durkee, while also praying in Makkah, met Mothie and Johara, daughters of the Saudi king at the time, both of whom offered a financial gift to start the project. The group searched for a suitable site and eventually settled on Abiquiu, NM, due to the abundance of available land for a relatively low cost, the remote location, and the landscape’s similar qualities with those in the Middle East.
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