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Inside Dar Al-Hijrah The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest in the country, with most congregants coming from Arab and African states. It has been dogged by controversy and questions, which have been renewed by the killing in a drone strike of Anwar al-Aulaqi, a former imam there turned radical anti-American.
Elyaa Hammad, 31, of Falls Church straightens brochures in preparation to distribute them during an interfaith meeting at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. The mosque's name translates to "land of migration."
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
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Muslims cross Route 7 en route to the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church for evening Ramadan prayers.
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A full moon lingers over the minaret past midnight after Friday-evening Ramadan prayers at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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Zaki Abdulrahman of Falls Church feeds his son, Bilal Zaki, 3, as family friend Muktar Saeed, 4, waits for his turn to eat during iftar, the evening breakfast, on the steps of the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Mohamded Ejallali, a vendor who sells items such as hats, garments and dates, reads the Koran outside the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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Men gather outside the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque after Friday evening Ramadan prayers.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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Imam Johari Abdul-Malik at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. The imam, who is in charge of the mosque’s outreach effort, was invited to give the opening prayer for the Virginia state legislature last year, but some people protested, accusing Abdul-Malik of supporting terrorism.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik talks with women during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Abdul-Malik is the center's outreach director. He was hired nine years ago with the express goal of rehabilitating the mosque's image. "We needed a native Muslim American like him, someone who could speak in unaccented English and articulate who we are to the outside world," said Hossein Goal, a former member of the center's executive committee who persuaded its board to hire Abdul-Malik.
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Samir Abo-Issa, left, is introduced by Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, center, to Robert Buckman at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Abo-Issa is the center's executive director.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Hassan Abdi Bishaar, 13, of Annandale reads on a stack of prayer rugs in the library at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik helps distribute prayer rugs to the prayer hall before evening Ramadan prayers.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
After the evening Ramadan breakfast, men prepare for prayers at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Jose Acevedo, Dar Al-Hijrah youth director, talks with Kambiz Soltani and two of his sons — Joseph, 9, left, and Adam, 7 — at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.
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Suleiman Abucar of Annandale talks with his sons — Muhammad Abdulkadir, 9, left, and Abdulrahman Abdulkadir, 6 — before afternoon prayers.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, left, helps NOVA Catholic Community member Peggy Meyer of Springfield, with her husband, Bill Meyer, during an interfaith meeting at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Almost no one showed up to the first interfaith event launched by Abdul-Malik, the mosque's outreach director. "I gave a few sermons to tell [the Muslim constituents of the mosque] that these are not the Christians you know as occupiers and imperialists. I talked about the Underground Railroad operated by Christians, about the ones who hid and helped people like us," Abdul-Malik said.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Jacquie Muhammad, a Dar Al-Hijrah member, talks with members of the NOVA Catholic Community during an interfaith meeting at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
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Photos released by the FBI on Sept. 27, 2001, show suspected hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77. Top row, from left, are Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed and Nawaf Alhazmi. Bottom row, from left, are Salem Alhazmi and Hani Hanjour. Two of the Sept. 11 hijackers once prayed at Dar Al-Hijrah.
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AP
Patricia Morris and Imam Anwar al-Aulaqi pose for a photograph inside Dar Al-Hijrah mosque on Oct. 4, 2001. In the background are students at the Islamic School.
Tracy A. Woodward
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The Washington Post
This October 2008 photo by Muhammad ud-Deen shows Imam Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen. The imam, who communicated with Fort Hood, Tex., shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and called him a hero, was once arrested in Yemen on suspicion of giving religious approval to militants to conduct kidnappings.
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AP
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army doctor named as a suspect in the shooting death of 13 people and the wounding of 31 others at Fort Hood, Tex., once worshiped at Dar Al-Hijrah.
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A man holds his prayer bead while heading to the prayer hall of evening Ramadan prayer at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. The beads are traditionally used to keep count while saying the prayer known as Tasbih of Fatima, which was a form of prayer offered as a gift by the Prophet Muhammad to his daughter Fatima.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
A verse from the Koran is inscribed on the wall outside the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. In English, this inscription — from Sura 3, Verse 64 — reads "O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah."
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The Washington Post
A Muslim volunteer reminds fellow Muslims to help clean after the evening Ramadan breakfast.
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Muslims, including Ahmed Ahmed, 15, wash their feet, hands and face before evening Ramadan prayers.
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Joseph Soltani, 9, performs athan, the call for prayer, after the evening Ramadan breakfast.
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A man prays between official prayers at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
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The Washington Post
Men gather for prayer at the mosque.
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Men prepare to pray at Dar Al-Hijrah.
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Shaazad Asghar, Sherif Abdelaal, Suleiman Nesredin and Imad Elkalibe listen to the Ramadan sermon of Bassam Estwani at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Young girls pray in the back of one of the men's prayer halls. Women must enter through the back door so as not to be seen by men and must sit in a separate area.
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The Washington Post
Among others, David Soltani, 11, center, and his brother Joseph Soltani, 9, get ready for evening prayers.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Muslim men pray during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Bassam Estwani, 74, gives a Ramadan sermon at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. Estawani, a U.S. citizen from Syria, is a former board chairman of the mosque and one of its early founders who led the community during its 10-year effort to build a masjid, or mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Imam Shaikh Shaker Elsayed, head imam at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, thanks those at an interfaith gathering for coming to the mosque and for showing their support over the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington. As the former executive president of the mosque and now its head imam, Elsayed — an Egyptian immigrant but now a U.S. citizen — has been among the center’s most outspoken leaders.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
A roomful of men listen to the sermon of Imam Mohammed al-Hanooti during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Muslim women pray in one of their prayer rooms at the mosque.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Mutee Salaam, 58, reads the Koran before Friday evening prayers at Dar Al-Hijrah. Salaam is an African American convert who has been Muslim for 18 years.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Joseph Soltani, 9, paces while reading the Koran just before the evening Ramadan meal.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Mohamad Adam El Sheikh, right, talks with Mohsin Abulohom during the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. El-Sheikh is a founder imam of the mosque, and Abulohom is a diplomat from the Yemeni Embassy.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Sherif Abdelaal, left, talks with Abdul Ali Karriem, 80, after afternoon prayers at the mosque. Karriem is an African American convert who has been Muslim for 40 years.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
A Muslim man rests between Friday evening Ramadan prayers.
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The Washington Post
Sabahat Adil directs women to their seats during the evening Ramadan meal.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
Muslim children buy ice-cream treats outside the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. One of the largest mosques in the country, Dar Al-Hijrah is primarily an immigrant institution, with most of its congregants coming from Arab and African states.
Jahi Chikwendiu
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The Washington Post
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![Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, left, helps NOVA Catholic Community member Peggy Meyer of Springfield, with her husband, Bill Meyer, during an interfaith meeting at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Almost no one showed up to the first interfaith event launched by Abdul-Malik, the mosque's outreach director. 'I gave a few sermons to tell [the Muslim constituents of the mosque] that these are not the Christians you know as occupiers and imperialists. I talked about the Underground Railroad operated by Christians, about the ones who hid and helped people like us,' Abdul-Malik said.](/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/09/01/Others/Images/2011-09-01/34muslimsDAH_1314907560.jpg)
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