The "pioneers" and elders from the mosque pose with the marker.

DURHAM – Last weekend, North Carolina’s first mosque was honored with a state historical marker.

Since 1956, the Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center has served as a hub of education, worship and outreach for Muslims statewide. Members of the masjid gathered for the ceremony on Chapel Hill Street.

The work of getting the marker installed began two years ago with the help of Aisha Abdul-Ali, who was described as a “pioneer” by mosque members.

“I said there must be something that we leave behind,” Abdul-Ali told The Tribune. “We have to change the direction that we as African American people approach our position in society, and the way to do that is to get the recognition that this society allows for people in organization to move up and become the leaders in the broader society.”

The historical marker is viewed by Abdul-Ali and other members as getting the recognition and respect of broader society.

“This is what we want our young people to see: the legacy, and to participate and feel good about who they are. We as African American people, we are always working in this society to move up, and to bring our skills and our knowledge to the table, because it’s essential,” she said. “We made this country. This seems to many people a very small gesture, but the impact – both economically, socially and culturally – is going to be phenomenal.”

“Getting a highway historical marker is not an easy task,” said Leslie Leonard of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “Getting a marker approved is saying this subject, this historical moment, is important to the entire state of North Carolina.”

The Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center was established as Muhammad’s Mosque #34 under the Nation of Islam by Kenneth Marley Muhammad, Dr. Rhonda Muhammad’s father.

“This was the time of the Civil Rights Movement; you had Islam coming to the South. My father was asked to come here and bring Islam to this area,” Muhammad said.

The family relocated from Baltimore, Maryland. “We came to this area, and it was totally different experiences than I had,” she said. “To see ‘for whites only,’ and to see those signs, it was a total surprise. At the time, we identified with the movement because we’re African Americans, we’re Black.”

Ar-Razzaq was the centerpiece of Durham’s growing Muslim community. Its current location on West Chapel Hill Street was opened in the 1970s and gained national prominence and visits from Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.

“Our religion helped us understand what we could do to alleviate the suffering that Black people had,” Muhammad said.

The North Carolina Historical Highway Marker Program, created in 1935, was established in collaboration with the N.C. Department of Transportation and Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

“The markers are designed to spark interest, to encourage deeper exploration, and to tie an observer, however briefly, to the past. Unlike monuments, markers do not seek to glorify or celebrate people and events,” reads the program’s explanation on the DNCR website. “Instead, they aim to highlight objective facts of our state’s past. Markers make note of all parts of North Carolina history — the good and the bad, the reprehensible along with the laudable, the tragic and the heroic, all in an effort to educate North Carolinians about our shared history.”

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