Welcome to IAR | Islamic Association of Raleigh
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Islamic Association of Raleigh
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Home  /  Welcome to IAR

أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا

Welcome kit

New here? Start with this.

The Islamic Association of Raleigh has been a masjid, a school, and a gathering place for the Triangle since 1981. It's a big place, and a big community — over ninety nationalities — which is wonderful once you know your way around, and overwhelming before you do.

This page is the shortcut. Eleven things worth knowing, in the order most people need them.

Show me around Schedule a tour

Last updated August 2026 · Something out of date or missing? Tell us.

01

Learn about us

It started with students and a parking lot.

In 1981, immigrant Muslims around NC State formed the Islamic Association of North Carolina. Friday prayers were held in an apartment complex, then the student center. Eid was prayed in parking lots.

By 1984 the Muslim Student Association and local families were fundraising for a masjid. Construction began in 1985 on land beside NC State, in the historic Method neighbourhood — and the Islamic Association of Raleigh took the name it has now.

What followed was four decades of building, mostly one need at a time. A weekend school in 1987 because the children needed one. A full-time school in 1992. Cemetery land in 1995, because a community that lives somewhere also dies there. A second Jumu'ah shift in 2001 because one hall could no longer hold everyone. A third after that.

Today IAR is one of the largest Islamic centers on the east coast — a masjid, three schools, a cemetery, a kitchen, and a gathering place for over ninety nationalities. Eid is still prayed together, though now at the NC State Fairgrounds, because nowhere else is big enough.

  • 1981First communityThe Islamic Association of North Carolina forms. Jumu'ah at King's Village, then the NC State student center.
  • 1985First masjidThe community builds its own mosque beside NC State, and becomes the Islamic Association of Raleigh.
  • 1987Al-Furqan weekend schoolSunday Islamic school opens for the community's children.
  • 1992Al-Iman SchoolFull-time Islamic school opens, following North Carolina curriculum standards.
  • 1995A cemetery of our ownIAR purchases land in Wake County for a Muslim cemetery.
  • 2001Two shifts of Jumu'ahOne Friday prayer can no longer hold the community. A third shift follows.
  • 2008The expansion completesThe masjid reaches roughly 40,000 square feet, with the cafeteria opening the same year.
“

I came for Jumu'ah and left as quickly as I could for about a year. Then someone asked me to help set up chairs. That was six years ago, and now I can't walk from the door to the prayer hall without stopping four times.

Placeholder quote · to be collected from a community member
02

Join a prayer

Come to a prayer. That's the whole invitation.

Five daily prayers at both campuses. You don't need to book, tell anyone, or know what you're doing — arrive a few minutes before iqamah and follow the row.

Atwater Campus
808 Atwater St, Raleigh, NC 27607
  • Main musallah and a private sisters' musallah
  • Free parking on site, with overflow nearby on busy days
  • Step-free entry and accessible restrooms
  • Shoes come off at the prayer hall door — racks are provided
Page Road Campus
3104 Page Rd, Morrisville, NC 27560
  • IAR's second campus, serving the RTP area
  • Smaller prayer hall — the second Jumu'ah shift is usually quietest
  • Enter from the north lot
  • Same daily iqamah times as Atwater

Jumu'ah runs in three shifts

11:30First shiftThe quietest. Parking fills by about 11:15.
1:00Second shiftThe busiest, and the one that's usually livestreamed.
3:00Third shiftTimed deliberately late so students can come after school.

Both campuses run all three shifts. Eid prayers are held at the NC State Fairgrounds — the masjid isn't big enough, which tells you something about Eid morning here.

First visit? Read this
03

Find your way around

The building is bigger than it looks.

Atwater is two connected buildings and roughly forty thousand square feet. Here's what's inside, so you're not opening doors at random.

Main musallahThe primary prayer hall
Sisters' musallahA private prayer space, plus dedicated sisters' areas
Multipurpose hall & gymPrograms, dinners, basketball
LibraryReference and reading
Al-Maidah Kitchen & CaféOpen for lunch and dinner; also caters
Children's play areasSo parents can actually pray
Education wingClassrooms for the schools and weekly classes
Cemetery, WendellIAR's own Muslim cemetery, with washing and burial services
04

Come to something

There's almost always something on.

Weekly halaqas, tafsir after Isha, youth nights, sisters' circles, classes for adults, and community events through the year. You can filter the calendar by who it's for.

Every week

Weekly programs

Halaqas, Quran circles, tafsir, and youth programs at both campuses. Most run on the same evening each week.

See the calendar → Through the year

Community events

The annual picnic, the Health Fair — free medical services, open to the public — plus Ramadan iftars and Eid.

See what's coming → For younger people

Youth & families

Youth group, Saturday Girls, Young Ansar, mentorship and sports. Running in some form since 1990.

Youth programs →
05

Use the services

Most of what you'll ever need, IAR already does.

You don't have to be a member, and for most of these you don't have to know anyone. Ask at the office, or use the links.

Family & life events

Care & support

Questions & paperwork

06

Look at the schools

Three schools, for three different needs.

They're separate institutions with their own admissions and their own websites. Enrolment runs on their calendars, not the masjid's.

Full-time · two locations

Al-Iman School

Accredited full-time Islamic school for Pre-K through 8th grade, following North Carolina curriculum standards. Founded 1992.

alimanschool.org → Full-time · grades 3–8

An-Noor Quran Academy

A close-knit school combining academics with Qur'an memorization, for students who want both together.

annoorquranacademy.org → Sundays · K–12

Al-Furqan Weekend School

Sunday Islamic school serving Triangle families since 1986 — the oldest of IAR's educational programs.

alfurqanschool.com →
07

Become a member

Membership is how you get a say.

You can pray here, send your children here, and use every service without being a member. Membership is different — it's how you vote, and how leadership changes.

IAR is governed by a Shura, which sets policy, and a Board of Directors, which makes sure the place actually functions. An Executive Committee and its committees run day-to-day operations. Members elect the people who fill those seats.

The constitution, bylaws, and annual reports are published — worth reading before you vote for the first time, and worth reading if you've been here twenty years and never have.

If you've ever thought someone should really change that about this masjid: this is the mechanism. It's slower than complaining and it works better.

Become a member Read the annual report
Who runs what

Shura

The policy-making body of IAR.

Board of Directors

Ensures IAR functions as it should.

Executive Committee

Administration and the standing committees that carry out the work.

The Imams

Religious leadership — khutbah, teaching, fiqh, and pastoral care.

Meet the office of the imams →
08

Volunteer

This is the fastest way to stop feeling new.

Nearly everything here runs on volunteers. If you want to know people rather than recognise them, pick something and show up twice.

Events & hospitality

Setup, food, parking, greeting at the door. No experience needed and always short-handed.

Teaching & youth

Weekend school, youth programs, mentorship, tutoring. A background check applies for work with children.

Skills you already have

Accounting, legal, medical, IT, design, translation. Committees ask for these constantly.

Volunteer sign-up

If you sign up and don't hear back, don't take it personally and don't give up — committees are run by people with day jobs. Come to something in person and ask who to talk to.

09

Stay connected

Pick one channel and actually follow it.

Announcements go out in several places. The newsletter is the one that carries everything.

Best single source

The weekly newsletter

Prayer time changes, upcoming programs, Jumu'ah speakers, and anything the office needs the community to know. One email a week.

Subscribe →
Also worth having

Socials & IAR TV

Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube all post as @raleighmasjid. IAR TV carries livestreams and recorded programs — including the second Jumu'ah shift.

Watch IAR TV →
10

Try these first

Eight things worth doing in your first month.

Not a to-do list. More of a way to end up in conversation with someone without having to engineer it.

Eat at Al-MaidahThe café is open for lunch and dinner. Go once without being in a hurry.
Stay ten minutes after Jumu'ahThe lobby after each shift is where the community actually happens.
Ask an imam somethingWalk-in hours after every Jumu'ah. No appointment, no question too basic.
Come to a weeknight halaqaSmaller than Friday, and far easier to meet people at.
Pray Fajr here onceA different masjid entirely at 5:30 in the morning. Worth seeing.
Go to the Health FairFree medical services, open to the public. Bring a neighbour.
Visit the Page Road campusSmaller and quieter. Some people find their feet there first.
Pray Eid at the FairgroundsThousands of people in one place. It reframes what this community is.
11

Honest tips

The things nobody puts on a website.

A big masjid has friction. Here's the friction, and what to do about it.

You can't find parking
Jumu'ah is the crunch, and the first shift fills by about 11:15. Try the second or third shift, or the Page Road campus. Overflow parking and the side streets exist — check the signs before you leave a car anywhere unmarked.
Someone was rude to you, or scolded your kids
That isn't acceptable, and it isn't what this community wants to be. Most advice given at the masjid is well-meant and reasonable — but if someone made you or your family feel unwelcome, please tell the office. They can't address what they don't hear about.
You feel lonely in a crowd
This is the most common experience newcomers report at large masjids, and it has almost nothing to do with you. A thousand people in a hall is not a community you can join by standing in it. Join something smaller — a weeknight class, a committee, a volunteer shift. That's where the actual connections are.
You volunteered and never heard back
Committees are run by volunteers with jobs and families, and things get dropped. Don't read it as rejection. Show up in person at an event and ask who to speak to — that almost always works when email doesn't.
You don't see anyone like you in leadership
Over ninety nationalities pray here, and leadership should reflect that. The route is membership — members elect the Shura and the Board. If you want the room to look different, the vote is the lever, and standing for a seat is the bigger one.
Food lines are long
Especially after the second shift and during Ramadan. Get food before the prayer and eat after — the queue nearly disappears.
The facilities aren't as tidy as you'd like
Several thousand people pass through in a few hours on a Friday. There is cleaning staff, and there's a limit to what they can do mid-rush. Picking up after yourself is part of it — and so is telling the office when something needs attention.
You want something to change
Every community has room to improve, and this one is no exception. Complaining in the parking lot changes nothing; joining a committee, becoming a member, and voting changes quite a lot. Slowly, but it does.

أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا

See you at the masjid, inshaAllah.

Nobody expects you to have read all of this. Come to a prayer, stay a few minutes afterwards, and say salaam to one person. Everything else follows from that.

Schedule a visit See what's on