In the 1940s when Quba, Inc. (formerly the International Muslim Brotherhood)* was founded, America was quite a different place. World War II had not long been over and Jim Crow Laws very harshly divided the races. Yet, Imam Nasir Ahmed and a handful of determined followers left the anonymity and security of a secluded agrarian community (Addenu Allahi Universal Arabic Association) of Sunni Muslims that had been formed by Professor Muhammad Ezzaldeen in Southern New Jersey to start the International Muslim Brotherhood in Philadelphia.
The dream of that founding group was to make Islam applicable to the lives of urban dwellers through the establishment of the social institutions that promote and sustain healthy living. To achieve that goal, they knew that the first requirement was to become educated in the Islamic Sciences that underpin religious fidelity. Their problem during that time was a lack of books, even Qur’ans, teachers and the necessary resources to guide such an ambitious mission, but the put their own meager contributions together and opened their first official masjid on Christian St. in South Philadelphia in 1949, relocating to Lancaster Avenue in the 1950s. Thus began the 60 year journey of the Quba, Inc. (more…)