History of Center

Islamic Ahlul Bayt association was formed in 1997 – the only Ithna Ash’ari organization in Austin. Austin is a vibrant and growing city in central Texas; it almost always makes the list of most livable cities in the USA. It is the state Capital. The community is multi-ethnic representing many cultures and languages. English is the official medium of communication. We have been at the current location since 2002; it is an old church building on a 4.1 acre lot. About 450 members attend the center. Sheikh Jafar Muhibullah is the Resident Scholar at the center. He is a native of North Carolina with 16 years of study at Medina-New York Howza and Qum; MA Islamic Studies from Duke University and PhD in Arabic Literature at University of Tehran.

Our programs include active youth participation; Friday congregational prayers; Saturday youth and adult education; Saturday evening program of lectures and dinner; Thursday evening Salaat, Qur’an recitation, Dua’a Kumayl and Ziyarat Waritha. We observe Wilaadat and Shahadat of Masumeen. We have busy months of Ramadan, Muharram and Safar. We invite guest speakers of national and international repute. We also have regular inter-faith and da’wah activities.

Saturday School

There are more than 90 students between the ages of 5 and 15. There is an all-volunteer faculty of 31 teachers with a Principal and Vice Principal. The grades range from KG to 8^th for Islamic Studies and Basic to Advanced for Qur’an. Arabic language classes are also offered.

Need for New Building

The community has outgrown the current space that consists of one main hall shared by both genders with a temporary partition, a library and an office. Saturday School has severe shortage of classrooms with multiple classes sharing the space. There is no indoor dining and very limited sports facilities for the youth.

Building Construction Project

Ground was broken for site work on 18th January 2014 on the blessed birthday of the Prophet (pbuh). Parking lot, utility lines, drainage pond and landscaping were completed in November 2014 at a cost of US$850,000. The plan is to build a new two story 12,600 sq ft building with 10 classrooms, main prayer hall, a library, offices and wudu and toilet facilities.

The construction on the building started on 16th Feb 2020 (please see building updates …).

The estimated building construction cost is $2.9M. This cost includes other parts of the Master Plan — dinning facilities, play grounds for the children, and upgrade of the kitchen.