The Al-Ahad Islamic Center, home to Shia Ithna'asheri Jamaat of Pennsylvania, is built on 4.3 acres in South Whitehall and faces Mecca. The 16,000-square-foot center features a dome and two 45-foot tall minarets, which call the faithful to prayer. Men and women have their own worship areas. The group of Shia Muslims, who built the center, initially worshipped at a mosque in Allentown, but outgrew the site.
The Universal Academy of Pittsburgh is a small Islamic private school, serving preschool to fifth grade children. It is governed by the Universal Education Foundation nonprofit organization and has a public school curriculum, although it also features Arabic, Qur'an and Islamic Studies. The school encourages its students to participate in extracurricular activities and is attempting to provide a field trip for every class with the belief that hands on experience is very important to learning.
This Islamic center has an open-door policy and welcomes those wanting to learn more about the faith. The mosque's Imam, Yusuf Akbas, leads regular Friday prayers and sermons (Jummah salat and khutba) at 12:30pm during winter months and at 1:30pm during summer months. Sunday school for children takes place from 11am to 4pm. An Islamic discussion group meets every Thursday at 7:30pm. During the month of Ramadan, Iftar dinner is served nightly at the mosque for Muslims breaking their fast. Both Eid salats also take place at the mosque. Although the mosque is not open 24 hours, Muslims looking to perform one of the five daily prayers can call the resident imam at 215-756-6333 to unlock the doors so they can use the facilities and prayer hall.
