Islamic Center of Little Rock (ICLR)

History

The Islamic Center of Little Rock (ICLR) had initially spun off from the Little Rock chapter of the state-wide Muslim Association of Arkansas. The local chapter began holding meetings at the location in May 1985, where it later started its own chapter of the Muslim Youth of North America after members attended an annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). One of ICLR’s founders, Hashim Ghori, encouraged a relationship between the University of Arkansas Little Rock’s Muslim community population and the chapter, increasing membership at the mosque. The group then became the Islamic Center of Little Rock in January 1992. In December of that year, the property was given to the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). ²

Initiatives

In addition to the spiritual and religious operations, the center also offers the Islamic Center of Little Rock is the Huda Academy, the mosque’s pre-K to 8th grade Islamic school. It is the only full-time Islamic school in Arkansas. ³

The center also manages a community food bank, oversees marriages and funerals, and offers a community center for athletic and youth social activities. ^{4 5 6 7} It also operates a Sunday school. ⁸

Activities

In September 2005, following the London terrorist attacks that same year, the Fiqh Council of North America became the first Islamic organization to issue a Fatwa against the rise in terrorism and religious extremism. A statement released claimed, “targeting [civilian] life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram — or forbidden — and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not “martyrs.” ⁹ The Islamic Center of Little Rock (ICLR) was one of several organizations to sign onto and endorse the Fatwa. ⁹

In 2014, a congregation of the ICLR met with the Jewish Congregation Agudath Achim to discuss the ongoing conflict within the Middle East, with members of both congregations agreeing, “the fighting needs to stop soon.”  ¹⁰

In 2016, ICLR’s then-imam, Mahmoud Hassanein, declared that members of the ICLR stood in solidarity with the victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida. Delivering a statement following the attack Hassanein, also asked for the media, “…to be fair and to call just the one who did this horrible act, we cannot say that Islam, or all Muslims, or…No…The word Islam is coming from the word salam, which means peace.” ¹¹

Also in 2016, ICLR released a billboard in Little Rock that showed an image of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab, or headscarf, compared to an image of the Virgin Mary wearing a veil. The center’s then-Vice President Alaa Eldamaty claimed the image was meant to push back against negative stereotypes of the Muslim community, further stating the group is, “…trying to tell folks, learn more about Islam. Be confident enough to go up and ask a Muslim what they believe or what they think. On the contrary to what you may think, we love it when people ask questions.” ¹²

Leadership

Ali Jarallah is the president of the Islamic Center of Little Rock as of 2024. ¹³

As of 2024. the religious leader of the Islamic Center of Little Rock is Emad Fadel. Born in Egypt, Fadel earned his bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies in English from Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt around 2003 and later received his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Al Azhar University in Comparative Religion. Fadel started his professional career as an imam in 2004 when he was appointed to the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Egypt. In 2007, he came to America and continued his work in several mosques and Islamic schools in New York. Fadel has written a series of Islamic Studies books for middle and high school students as well as two books on comparative religion. ¹⁴

Abdulrahman Abunasrah is a member of ICLR’s board of trustees. ¹⁵ He oversees the center’s financial and facilities expansions and projects, including its fundraising effort to expand the Huda Academy, the only full-time Islamic school in Arkansas. ¹⁶

Finances

The Islamic Center of Little Rock does not file a federal 990 form due to it being registered as a religious organization equivalent to a church. In 2021 and 2022, the center received funding from the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, including a $10,000 grant in 2022. ¹⁷