mosque would also be too small to accommodate the area Muslims. A board was elected to assemble plans for the construction of a new mosque, which would be able to handle the group for an indefinite period of time. For the next six years, the community kept growing. It became so large, that a hall had to be rented to accommodate the members for various religious functions. During this time, funds were constantly being raised, from both current members and from outside sources, such as the Royal family of Saudi Arabia. The new mosque, in West Chester, was finally completed in 1995. At a cost of almost $8 million, the Islamic Center included a mosque large enough to hold over three thousand people. Also included in the complex was a Community Center, which was to be used for meetings and wedding ceremonies, a gymnasium with a full sized basketball court, a school building, to be used in the future as an Islamic grade school, and a traditional Islamic minaret.The group of Muslims combined the two mosques to form the Islamic Community of Cincinnati. Daily prayers are held at both locations, with the Jumuah prayer boasting the largest attendance each week, in addition to the students who hold prayer at the University of Cincinnati. Sundays at the West Chester mosque include afternoon prayer and Islamic classes for the children, similar to traditional church assemblies. Weddings are now performed at the mosques, and the dead are also ritually cleansed there. All religious holiday prayers are done at the mosque, and are usually followed by a community dinner during the subsequent weekend. All of these things are meant to ensure unity of all types of Muslims, whether they are of the Sunni origin or the Shiite one, and regardless of the ethnic backgrounds.The Muslims of the Islamic community have also come together for reasons other than prayers and holidays. Its members have often united for political rallies for such causes as abor...
