page_title: Islam in Houston
section_title: Individual mosques
hierarchical_section_title: Islam in Houston / Individual mosques
caption_attribution_description: English: Islamic Education Center, Houston, Texas - Includes the Al-Hadi School of Accelerative Learning
context_page_description: Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas, is home to a significant number of Muslim Americans. As of 2012 it has the largest Muslim population in Texas and the largest Muslim population in the Southern United States. That year, Kate Shellnut of the Houston Chronicle wrote that "Some estimate that Muslims make up 1.2 percent of the city's population." As of 2000 the estimated population of Muslims in Houston was over 60,000. In 2000 there were over 41 mosques and storefront religious centers, with the largest being the Al-Noor Mosque of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.
  In 2007 Barbara Karkabi of the Houston Chronicle wrote that the Sunni and Shia Muslims "generally enjoy good relations in Houston." The University of Houston has separate student organizations for Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims, the mostly-Sunni Muslim Students Association and the Shia Association of Muslim Students.
  As of 1990 the ISGH served as the main Sunni mosque system in Houston, as in that year it had multiple branches there, and as of 2000, most Sunni mosques in the city are a part of the ISGH. As of 2011 the Al-Noor Society of Greater Houston operates four mosques in Greater Houston.
context_section_description: There is one mosque in Downtown Houston, the Islamic Da'wah Center. It is located in a three story building built by Ross S. Sterling. Constructed in 1928, it formerly housed the Houston National Bank. The exterior is made of black granite and limestone. Richard Vara of the Houston Chronicle stated that the building's eight columns are "reminiscent of ancient Greek colonnaded architecture." Gold leaf is used in the high-domed ceiling. Belgian, Portuguese, and Italian-imported marble is used in the interior. Hakeem Olajuwon purchased the building in 1994 so it could be made into a mosque. The treasurer of the facility, Hasan Tulbah, stated that the building initially needed major restoration. California artists did restoration work on the ceiling, which had received rain damage. Both men and women pray on the first floor, with each gender praying in a separate area separated by a screen. The second-floor mezzanine area is used as a prayer area for women. The Islamic library is located in an open bank vault in the basement. The basement also houses a reception hall and kitchen. The building is used as a da'wah center, and Vara wrote that "The building is regarded by the Houston Muslim community as one of the nation's premiere worship centers."
  Katy Islamic Center, the largest mosque in Greater Katy, is located in unincorporated Harris County. Operated by the Muslim American Society (MAS), it occupies an 11-acre (4.5 ha) tract with a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) mosque building that is two stories tall. In September 2006 the Katy Islamic Society purchased the tract for $1.1 million ($1395064.38 according to inflation). Around that time some neighbors of the tract reacted negatively. Many cited concerns involving infrastructure such as traffic and drainage. One man threatened to hold pig races, involving animals considered to be forbidden in Islam. Another established a website that had a counter of terrorist attacks that occurred since the September 11 attacks. Construction began in 2008 after MAS acquired the tract, and it opened on June 13, 2015.
  The Clear Lake Islamic Center Inc. (CLIC), established in 1996, is the largest mosque in the Clear Lake area.
  The Islamic Education Center, in a former Hindu marketplace, is one of the largest Shia mosques in Houston and serves as a majority Shia institution in west Houston. It includes an affiliated in Islamic school, the Al-Hadi School of Accelerative Learning, which opened on January 9, 1996. The Islamic Education Center is owned by the Alvani Foundation. It has been found by the federal government to serve as an illegal funding machine for the Iran regime.
  The area's first Spanish-speaking mosque, the Centro Islámico, opened on January 30, 2016. It was the first Spanish-language mosque to open in the United States since the 2005 closure of the storefront mosque of the Alianza Islámica in New York City. The Houston mosque, decorated in a manner similar to that of the Mezquita de Córdoba, is operated by the organization IslamInSpanish.
  The Baitus Samee Mosque in Houston's Northside area is also notable.
caption: Islamic Education Center in Houston
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