June 19, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 14, 1429

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18: The flood that has caused havoc in the state of Iowa has severely damaged a historic mosque in Cedar Rapids, destroying nearly century-old records, documents and artefacts.

Known as the Mother Mosque of America, it was one of the first mosques built in 1934 by Muslim immigrants from Lebanon.

Documents in the mosque, including photographs of Muslim immigrants of the early 1900s, were destroyed by floodwaters, according to Imam Taha Tawil, director of the mosque.

“The mosque has been visited by people from all over the country,” said Imam Tawil, adding “It is part of the American Muslim identity.”

The mosque is listed on the Iowa State Historical Register as well as the National Register of Historic Places as an “essential piece of American religious history, which symbolises tolerance and acceptance of Islam and Muslims in the United States”.

In the late 1800s, Cedar Rapids had its first influx of Muslim immigrants from Lebanon.

In 1952 Muslims from across the land converged on Cedar Rapids for the first Muslim Convention of the Western Hemisphere from which emerged the Federation of Islamic Associations in the United States and Canada.