About Us

Assalaamu Alaikum:

 

The Islamic Center of Culpeper (ICC) was established on June 17, 2011, members of the ICC began praying at the local train station. In 2012, the ICC was given a three months’ notice to find a new place to pray due to a museum being built in the space previously used for prayers causing the location to be moved to a community member’s local business. Shortly after in 2013, prayers and Islamic classes for kids started being held at 16040 Brandy Road Culpeper, VA 22701 in a small beaten down house next to a Muslim owned car dealership. ICC members knew this house was merely a temporary fix because the house didn’t have AC or heat.

During the winter months, ICC members endured freezing temperatures and during the summer, members dealt with the sweltering heat as the temperature inside the mosque was nearly as bad as it was outside. The kids also were forced to endure these conditions while trying to learn, and many times classes had to be canceled.

 

In 2016, the community bought a lot of land at 14432 Rixeyville Road Culpeper, VA 22701 and because Culpeper County’s sewage system didn’t reach out to the land, a pump-and-haul permit was necessary for the mosque’s construction. The permit was initially denied because Culpeper County’s board claimed the pump-and-haul permit is only used in emergency situations. Immediately, a red flag was raised because ICC’s request for the permit was the only of 20 requests that were denied. Of those 19 approved, four of them were for churches. With the help of Muslim Advocates and the Justice Department, the ICC was eventually approved for the pump-and-haul permit, and on September 20, 2019, the construction began for the new Islamic center.

 

Present day, the first phase of the mosque is nearly done being built, but to complete the construction of the mosque, we need another $500,000 for the congregation to begin. The goal is to complete the project before Ramadan, so our community can finally have a stable location to hold prayers, khutbahs, Islamic studies, and weekend classes for the young boys and girls in the community Inshallah.

 

With this short introduction, we hope everyone who’s reading this, whether it be a mosque, business, or an individual, is able to support the first mosque in Culpeper. Please support in any way you can.

 

Mohammad Nawabe, PRESIDENT OF ICC