Amidst the early immigration to North Dakota were individuals from Syria, in what is today Lebanon. These immigrants came from a variety of religious backgrounds, but the largest of the North Dakota Muslim communities settled around Ross, which was established in Mountrail County in 1887. By March 1929 the Minot Daily News reported that the Syrian-Lebanese community in Ross was on the brink of purchasing land for a Muslim Cemetery. The article reported that a modest mosque would be built “as soon as is practicable.” This became the Assyrian Muslim Cemetery, the first Muslim cemetery in North Dakota by more than ninety years, and it was the first mosque built in the United States. The original mosque had fallen into disrepair, but in 2005, a replica of a typical Muslim house of prayer was built.

Source: New York Times April 21, 2023 18:03 UTC