A century before Islam became part of the American conversation, Ahmadiyya Muslims were already here — publishing the first Islamic journal in the US, building the first mosque in the Midwest, and establishing a tradition of interfaith service that continues today in Monroe, WA.
February 15, 1920. A ship docks in Philadelphia carrying a 44-year-old Islamic scholar named Mufti Muhammad Sadiq. He has been sent by the Second Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community — Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad — with a singular mission: establish Islam in America through education, dialogue, and example. What followed over the next century is the story of the oldest continuously operating Muslim organization in the United States.
The First Mission: Philadelphia, 1920
Mufti Muhammad Sadiq's arrival was inauspicious. He was initially detained by immigration authorities on suspicion of promoting polygamy. He spent weeks convincing officials that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community followed US law, then was released to begin his work. Within months he had established the first Ahmadiyya Muslim mission in America, converted dozens of African Americans to Islam, and launched The Moslem Sunrise — the first Islamic journal published in the United States.
"Come to the mosque of peace — where there is no color line, no race distinction, no class difference. All are equal before God." — Advertisement for the Chicago Ahmadiyya Mosque, 1922, The Moslem Sunrise
The First Mosque in the Midwest
In 1921, Mufti Muhammad Sadiq moved his mission to Chicago. By 1922, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had established a mosque — the first purpose-built mosque in the Midwest and one of the first in the entire United States. It became a gathering place for Black Americans seeking a spiritual home free from the racial hierarchies of American Christianity. Many of Mufti Muhammad Sadiq's earliest converts were African Americans — including musicians, intellectuals, and community leaders of the Harlem Renaissance era.
Building America's Muslim Infrastructure
Through the 1920s and 1930s, Ahmadiyya missionaries spread across the United States — establishing missions in New York, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and beyond. The community produced translations of the Holy Quran into English (the first widely available English translation from a Muslim scholar), distributed free Islamic literature, and engaged in public lectures and debates defending Islam in a deeply unfamiliar cultural environment.
- 1920: First Ahmadiyya mission in America established in Philadelphia
- 1921: The Moslem Sunrise — first Islamic journal in the US — begins publication
- 1922: First Ahmadiyya mosque built in Chicago (Midwest's first mosque)
- 1923–1940: Missions established in New York, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and 20+ cities
- 1950s–60s: AMC missionaries engage prominently with the African American community
- Today: Hundreds of AMC mosques and community centers operate across all 50 states
Islam in Seattle: Bait-ul-Ehsan Mosque
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's presence in Washington State reflects the same spirit as its national founding: a commitment to peaceful practice, community service, and interfaith engagement. Bait-ul-Ehsan Mosque in Monroe, WA — serving the greater Seattle area — hosts interfaith open houses, guided mosque tours, and annual community service events drawing participants from across the Puget Sound region.
Persecution and Resilience
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's century of peaceful service has not been without cost. In 1974, Pakistan's government declared Ahmadi Muslims to be non-Muslims by law — a declaration reinforced in 1984 by Ordinance XX, which criminalized Ahmadi Muslims calling themselves Muslims, saying the Islamic greeting, or even having the Quran in their homes. Today, Ahmadis face legal persecution in Pakistan, Indonesia, and several other countries. The community's response has been consistent: peaceful advocacy, legal challenge, and continued service — never violence.
A Century Later: The Same Mission
One hundred years after Mufti Muhammad Sadiq arrived with a suitcase and a mission, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in America numbers in the hundreds of thousands, with hundreds of mosques, active interfaith programs, and an annual 'Muslims for Life' blood drive that has collected over one million units of blood. In Monroe, WA, at a mosque off Old Owen Road, that same mission continues every Friday at 1:30 PM — and every day the doors are open to anyone who wants to learn.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community: over 100 years of Islamic presence in America, serving all of humanity — guided by Love For All, Hatred For None.
Content is grounded in Ahmadiyya Islamic scholarship available at alislam.org. This article is published by Bait-ul-Ehsan Mosque — Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Monroe, WA.
