The Pioneers of Islam in North Dakota

Ross, North Dakota, is now a small town of about 90 people, mainly white and Christian.
A century ago, it was home to a Muslim community of farmers from present-day Lebanon (then part of Greater Syria).
They constructed one of the first purpose-built mosques in the United States.
Their history is preserved in interviews with community members from the 1930s at North Dakota's State Historical Society.
The mosque no longer exists, but its door remains in the Arab American National Museum, connecting past and present.

Around 1900, the United States saw an influx of immigrants seeking economic opportunity, better lives, and greater freedom.
Among these were Muslims from the Middle East, then under the Ottoman Empire.
Some settled in cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago, while others went to Detroit for Ford factory jobs.
A lesser-known migration led some to settle in the Great Plains, specifically in Ross, North Dakota.

Nicole Mattson's ancestors were among those who settled in the early 1900s, following Mary and Hassen Juma.
Nicole discovered her family's Muslim history while researching Lebanese-Americans in college.

The story begins in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, the home of Mary and Hassen Juma in the late 1800s.
People left due to economic displacements caused by the Ottoman Empire's modernization.
The United States, recovering from a depression in the late 1880s, recruited workers, promising an American Dream.

Immigrants initially planned to earn money and return home, but many stayed.
The journey took 20 to 30 days, often involving travel in steerage due to its affordability.
Some immigrants faced rejection due to trachoma or racial biases, leading them to enter through the northern border via Canada.
After Canada, many went to Nebraska and became peddlers, selling goods in areas lacking stores.

In 1902, the Jumas moved to western North Dakota during the homesteading influx.
The Homesteading Act offered 160 acres of land to those who cultivated it for five years.
This land had been taken from Native Americans a decade earlier.
Migrants inadvertently served as buffers between the US government and displaced Native populations.

The Homestead Act required applicants to be US citizens or to commit to becoming one.
Citizenship was restricted to free white persons, those of African descent, or African nativity.
Middle Easterners faced challenges in naturalization due to racial ambiguity, as skin color didn't align with racial definitions.
Syrians were sometimes rejected for being considered "parasitic peddlers."
Local judges had arbitrary power in enforcing these rules.
Hassen Juma applied for and was granted citizenship, receiving land that he had five years to improve.

Mary and Hassen were among many Muslims who settled along the Great Northern Railway, making Ross an important Muslim town in the early 1900s.
Early settlers cleared the land and acquired farming equipment and livestock.

Life was challenging due to extreme cold and rudimentary infrastructure.
Settlers lacked electricity and running water, and they had to cut wood for heating.
Six years after arriving, the Jumas received the patent for their land after Hassen's citizenship was approved on April 5, 1907.
In 1908-1909, the Secretary of Commerce and Labor advised local judges against naturalizing Syrians, deeming them Asian rather than white.
Local judges often refused to comply because they knew and respected these settlers as neighbors.

The first Syrian child born in western North Dakota, Charles was born in 1903.
The Mountrail County atlas from 1917 lists Mary Juma.
Hassen passed away in 1917, the same year the map was made.
Many women owned homesteads, demonstrating their strength and independence.
Mary managed the farm when Hassen peddled, even after having a limb amputated.
The Juma home served as a gathering place for the Syrian community.
Before the mosque was built, services were held in various homes.
Muslims prayed together, celebrated Eid, and observed Mawlid al-Nabi with songs and gatherings.

The mosque was a unique establishment, given that it was the only community to build a permanent mosque, and there were more Muslims in the Dakotas per capita than anywhere else in the US.
The Jumas aimed to create a center for community and cultural activities.
The mosque served as both a prayer and gathering space.
Non-Muslims had mixed reactions, with some welcoming the community's commitment and others questioning their assimilation, since it was uncommon to see a mosque there.
Building a mosque was also a way of becoming American, fitting into the Midwest's tradition of religious congregations.

The community faced challenges due to the Depression, leading many to leave.
The mosque fell into disrepair and was torn down in the 1970s.
Dry farming practices were unsustainable, contributing to the community's decline.
Mary stayed in Ross until her death in 1947, which coincided with the community's decline.
Descendants like Nicole Mattson gradually intermarried, and some lost touch with their Muslim roots.

Efforts are underway to ensure this history is remembered.
The old cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
Nicole's great-grandmother dreamed of rebuilding the mosque, a project completed in 2005 by her descendants after her passing.
The new mosque provides a place to pray in a remote area.