How did an old house in a suburb of New York City bought by 10 families so their children could learn religion, become a house of worship for thousands and a cornerstone of the community? This is the Story of a Mosque in America, told by Dr. Faroque Khan. (157 pages, $11); Distributor Islamic Center of Long Island e-mail: icli@muslimsonline.com.

Dr. Khan is a medical doctor, recipient of Mastership of American College of Physicians (1993) for his contributions to pulmonology as a clinician, teacher and administrator. Dr. Khan is also a founding member of the Islamic Center of Long Island (ICLI) located in Westbury. In the book Dr. Khan chronicles the growth of the ICLI; from its beginning in 1970 when a few Muslim families, mostly immigrants settled in Nassau County, began to meet in an old house on the edge of the business district in Westbury on weekends to the present. The ICLI is now a house of worship for thousands of Muslims and an institution of national prominence.

Thirteen chapters, 157 pages, of the book cover a wide range. There are chapters on how the center began, its building design and construction and how it is managed. Other chapters describe community outreach and educational programs offered at the center.

In addition to the bricks and mortar and management aspects of the mosque, Dr. Khan describes response ICLI leadership gave to the challenges ICLI had, because of its unique geographic location. These include the World Trade Center Bombing, TWA Flight Crash, Egypt Air Flight 990 Crash and Election 2000.

Dr. Khan on lessons learned from TWA Flight 800 and Egypt Air Flight 990 tragedies notes: (page 80)

1. There is a groundswell and untapped good will for Muslims amongst non-Muslims in North America

2. The vast majority of non-Muslims in North America have very little information regarding Islam and Muslims.

3. The Muslim community, by and large, is disconnected from major news and opinion-molding institutions in the USA.

4. Once a structure for disseminating accurate information is developed as was done at ICLA, the news media is willing and forthcoming to get the news regarding Muslims, about Muslims from Muslims.

5. There is great and urgent need for the Muslim community, in particular institutions, cultural centers, masajids, and Islamic centers to develop local, regional and, eventually, national networks.

Story of a Mosque in America is about a community taking root and coming of age in America. It is a lesson on community building in a democratic pluralistic society. And, a story of how ICLI changed from a "widely misunderstood institution to a cornerstone, not just of Westbury but all of Nassau County" (editorial Westbury Times, Nov. 20, 1998).

Story of a Mosque is available on Amazon.com. It is distributed by Islamic Center of Long Island, 835 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury, distributes website: muslimsonline.com/icli.