Who We Are
Prior to the Islamic Center of UConn, Muslim students at the University of Connecticut had multiple venues for their worship and events.
Starting in 1978, students and faculty used to reserve a room at the international house for the Friday prayers. The room was small, about 10 feet by 12 feet. The Muslims at the time continued to pray there for many years. When the number of Muslims increased, the room became crowded and was not big enough for everyone to pray. The students and faculty started to reserve a larger room in the Student Union for Friday prayer and for the events but it was difficult to always get the room due to sharing it with other student groups. It was difficult to find a place to pray taraweeh in Ramadan. As the Muslim population grew again, the MSA was successful in getting a designated prayer room in the Student Union, which allowed the students to pray most of the daily prayers there.
In the 1980s, UConn asked us to submit a request to have a land appropriated to us in order to build a mosque. We had a design for a mosque that would allow for 60 people to pray and it was expected that the total cost would be about $600,000. We started collecting money but had difficulty gathering funds due many of the Muslims at the time being students. Our plans for a mosque were put on hold while slowly fundraising for it. We continued using the MSA room for our prayers and started reserving a room the African American Cultural center, which was large enough, for our events (social night, taraweeh, eid prayers) for many years.
In 1999, as part of the discussion for the 21st century UConn campus plan, we attended a meeting with the various religious groups to discuss the need for having different religious representation on campus. A decision was made for the establishment of an Islamic center in the future, but did not specify the location of this center. After a few years, the Board of Trustees approved to give us the land on 28 North Eagleville Road. This land contained the building of mechanic arts and had several departments using it. It was built in 1920 and was one of the oldest buildings on campus. The ROTC was using the building until their new building that was under construction was completed.
After the 9/11 tragedy, the University sped up the process to give us the land to build the mosque. We invited several architects to ask for the recommendations regarding the state of the building in terms of whether we should renovate or demolish it completely and rebuilding it from the beginning. Based on the advice of the architects at the time and the limited resources we had, we decided to renovate the building in phases. The first phase was to create enough space to be able to have a congregational prayer.
Once the ROTC left the building, it was discovered that the building contained asbestos. The University hired a company to take it out on our behalf before transferring the deed of the building to us. We began by hiring an architect to start making the main structural changes so we can have a certificate of occupancy. In the meanwhile, we started having some prayers in the building before the construction began.
The transfer process required us to get zoning approval from the town of Mansfield, which would require a hearing. However, we were able to prove that building was already being used for prayer. The town of Mansfield zoning engineer accepted our application without having a hearing. We registered the mosque under a new entity, the Islamic Center of the University of Connecticut (ICUC), LLC. and registered in the state and federal governments as a non-profit organization. The ICUC has an official deed stating that it owns the building and the land that the building is on.
We started restructuring the 1st and 2nd floors of the center. We needed to fundraise $250,000 to help with the main renovation while the Muslim community worked hard by helping with the painting and carpeting the center in order to save money.
In Ramadan of 2003, the Muslim community prayed its first taraweeh prayers in the center while the renovation was in progress and by January of 2004, we had our first Friday prayer in the ICUC. Since 2004, renovation continued in small phases to expand the prayer area and upgrade other areas of the center. The prayer area currently accommodates up to 495 persons. The first floor, which contains the social activity area and MSA office, can accommodate up to 150 persons.
The ICUC functions as more than a prayer area. We hold social events, such as monthly social nights, MSA events, Ramadan iftars, community outreach programs with our neighboring religious groups, and a Sunday school program. Additionally, students use the center for studying and gathering during their free time.
The ICUC has attracted many new international and domestic students as it is one of the few mosques that is part of a college campus. Over the years, the Muslim community at UConn has been composed of at least 26 different nationalities.
Our Location
We are located on 28 N. Eagleville road, uphill across the street from the Swan Lake.
Our Mission
To serve local Muslim community and convey the eternal truth of Islam to the UCONN community and the broader Connecticut community through positive contributions to its welfare and betterment by providing religious, educational, social and community services.
Our Programs and Activities
- ICUC is open daily from 6 AM to 12 AM to all students and community members who wish to pray their daily prayers, study, or socialize
- Friday prayer “Jumu’ah”: at 1:15 PM throughout the entire year
- Islamic study circles “Halaqah”: Thursday and Friday nights during the academic year. These study circles cover Quran recitation, topics in Islamic beliefs, and specific discussions related to life of Muslim students on campus
- Counseling and mental health services: ICUC provide free-of-charge private counseling service through a certified counselor who also holds a weekly open meeting throughout the academic year
- Monthly potluck dinner: open to all students and community members every 3rd Saturday of the month throughout the year
- Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) events and other Islamic knowledge events
- Community outreach/dawah events
- Eid Celebration: Observe and celebrate Muslim holiday celebration at end of Ramadan (Eid Al-Fitr) and Eid Al-Adha
- Sunday Islamic school: Islamic education program for children in the community weekly on Sundays
- Ramadan Service: Night “Taraweeh” prayers every day after Isha. In addition, the ICUC hosts a weekly community iftar each Saturday during the month of Ramadan