On June 28, 1957, citizens of Washington and the international community came together for the dedication of the capital’s first mosque. The Islamic Center of Washington, located in the city’s northwestern section in a neighborhood known as Embassy Row, sits close to diplomatic missions and houses of worship, including a Jewish synagogue, a Lutheran church, a Greek Orthodox cathedral, a Catholic church and a Buddhist temple.

The Islamic Center is both a place of prayer and a center of outreach to the community and to elected leaders of the United States. A key mission of the center is to inspire goodwill and understanding among peoples of different religions. As he admired the beauty of the mosque, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower reinforced this message in his speech at the center’s dedication fifty years ago:

“As I stand beneath these graceful arches, surrounded on every side by friends from far and near, I am convinced that our common goals are both right and promising. Faithful to the demands of justice and of brotherhood, each working according to the lights of his own conscience, our world must advance along the paths of peace.”