American Islamic Center
located at the corner of 7402 Greenville Ave & Pineland, in the Old
Vickery Park Shopping Center in Dallas, (Across from the Presbyterian
Hospital) is home to the Musallah.
American Islamic Center
American Islamic Center on Pineland and features the
Arriving Refugee Reception Center (AARC).
Over 1000 Muslim refugees live in East Dallas. It is our responsibility as
Muslims to extend to them our support and generosity as they strive to make
a fresh start for themselves.
They are from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Ethiopia,
Iraq, Iran, Kosovo, Somalia, Sierra Leon, and the Sudan. Some are widows,
orphaned children and handicapped individuals, all trying to start a new life.
The latest arrivals are the Somali Bantus. 500 more are expected within the
neighborhood of the Musallah. For the past 11 years they have languished in
camps along the dangerous Somali-Kenyan border. Descendants of slaves taken
from Tanzania and northern Mozambique in the late nineteenth century to the
southern Somali coast, the Bantu have remained a persecuted minority in
Somalia and cannot return to the homes they fled there.
American Islamic Center was opened in May 2003 with the help and support of IANT, Islamic Community Center of North Texas, (ICCNT), and the greater community of North Texas. The Musallah (pray hall) and AARC serve the Muslim families that are relocated to Dallas, TX.
IANT and ICCNT are non-profit organizations and work along side the International Rescue Community and Catholic Charities to help many refugees from countries like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, Kosovo, Somalia, Sierra Leon, and the Sudan.
Every year, 500 Muslim refugees come to north Texas. Most
of them are women and children. AARC strives yearly to provide the needs and
daily necessities to these people both financially and morally.