Islamic library in Houston opens to the US public

The Executive Director of Islamic Daw’ah Center Ameer Abuhalimeh welcomed on Saturday guests to the opening event of the Library of Islamic Knowledge at the center in Houston. 

The Executive Director of Islamic Daw’ah Center Ameer Abuhalimeh welcomed on Saturday guests to the opening event of the Library of Islamic Knowledge at the center in Houston. 

The library, which is on the third floor of the stately Da’wah Center located in Travis in downtown, opened as part of a larger goal to offer a comprehensive educational resource to Houston residents, including its 200,000 Muslims, according to Abuhalimeh. 

Mayor Sylvester Turner said, “Houston is a highly diverse city, and this facility speaks to that diversity”. He added “This is a place not just for Muslims, but everyone. It opens the door for people of all faiths to learn about a different part of the Houston community.” 

Abuhalimeh said the library, which costs around $2.5 million, also fosters the center’s mission to become more educational in nature. 

By year’s end, Abuhalimeh expects the library to feature 25,000 books with a digital offering upward of 100,000 titles. By that time, he also anticipates the center’s Museum of Islamic Art will be complete, too. 

The building, formerly Houston National Bank, was restored and renovated to house the Islamic Da’wah Center in the late 1990s. The center officially opened in 2002 as a three-story facility that includes its main prayer hall on the first floor in addition to meeting rooms, classrooms, offices and a kitchen.