HILLIARD (USA): The commanding white structure sits on the edge of cornfields in the suburbs, striking in design yet puzzling in its purpose. One of the largest new Islamic worship centres in the US doesn’t look like a mosque, at least at first glance.

And that’s what its developer was aiming for, especially in a post-Sept 11 world. “We went to the architect and explained that we didn’t want a building that stood out as a mosque,” said Khaled Farag, who also is one of the mosque’s founders.

“We wanted something that fit into a residential neighbourhood. We wanted an American mosque,” Farag said.

The result is a cultural contradiction: a building that is not immediately recognisable as an Islamic house of worship, but is one, as well as a facility that functions as a seven-day-a week interactive museum about all things in Islam.

“It’s not your traditional-looking mosque, because it’s not just a mosque,” said Abdul Aburmaieleh, a regular worshipper who also custom-built his home in a nearby upscale subdivision.

“Prayer is done as one function,” he said. “It’s a community centre, a cultural centre.”

Fair or not, Muslims building a new mosque face far more scrutiny than Christians erecting a new church. Plans to create an Islamic cultural centre near the site of the terrorist-destroyed World Trade Centre caused an uproar last year. The developer of that centre, which opened last week, says the biggest mistake was not involving the families of Sept 11 victims from the beginning.

Central Ohio is home to a growing Muslim population of more than 25,000, or more than double what it was 10 years ago.

Census figures show a majority are from Somalia — Columbus has the second-biggest U.S. Somali population after greater Minneapolis — along with immigrants from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, among other countries. The region’s relatively stable economy and comfortable lifestyle have long been a draw.

Plans for the Noor Cultural Islamic Centre were well under way before the Sept 11 attacks. After the tragedy, the centre added interior glass walls and additional windows and launched an active community outreach programme. Farag says the goal was to make the building more user-friendly for non-Muslim visitors.

The $7.4 million centre opened five years ago this month. During the August celebration of Ramazan, the annual Muslim holy month of fasting, supporters raised the final $360,000 to pay off the construction debt.

Ohio’s best-known mosque, built by the Islamic Centre of Greater Toledo in 1981, sits near Interstate 75, visible for miles with its striking dome and minarets, the tall towers used historically to call worshippers to prayer.

The Noor centre deliberately lacks minarets, and its domes hug either side of the building in understated fashion. Its gabled roof echoes the peaks of barns that dot Ohio’s rural landscape. Its many windows make it easy for visitors to look inside and once they’re inside, to observe worshippers in the large prayer hall.

Architect Bob Apel says his marching orders were clear.

“They didn’t want to impose themselves on everybody else,” he said. “They wanted to be part of the community.”

About 2,000 people attend prayers weekly, including packed services each Friday.—AP