On a quiet stretch of Intervale Street in Dorchester, a short walk from Blue Hill Avenue, a red brick building has been a Muslim place of worship since the late 1950s. Masjid Al-Qur'an at 35 Intervale Street is one of the oldest Muslim congregations in Boston, and its story runs through some of the most important chapters of Black American history. Today it is open for the five daily prayers, holds Jumu'ah every Friday, and welcomes Muslims from every background, along with neighbors of other faiths who want to learn.

This is the next stop in our town series on Muslim life across Massachusetts.

From living rooms to Intervale Street

The masjid's own written history begins in the 1940s, when, it says, a small group of musicians came together to form the first Muslim community of Boston under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad. Harvard's Pluralism Project dates the community's founding a little earlier, to the 1930s, in Boston's South End. Both accounts agree on what came next.

Members met weekly in each other's homes, and the home of Minister Lloyd Williams became a main meeting place, according to the masjid. As the group grew, it moved into a storefront in the early 1950s and then through several locations in the South End, Dorchester and Roxbury. When a Jewish synagogue at 35 and 37 Intervale Street came up for sale, members pooled contributions and put up personal property as collateral to buy it. The purchase closed in 1957, and the building became Temple No. 11 of the Nation of Islam. The masjid describes that sale as the start of "a partnership between the Muslim and Jewish communities that exist today."

The Pluralism Project says Malcolm X, who joined the Nation of Islam in 1951 and later took the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz after performing Hajj, taught at the masjid, as did Louis X, now known as Louis Farrakhan. The masjid's history says 37 Intervale Street became the minister's living quarters, and that Malcolm X, then the regional minister, considered Temple No. 11 his home.

A turn toward Sunni Islam

The masjid is open about how painful the 1960s were. Its history says the community was "hit hard" by the split with Malcolm X and his assassination, which divided families. In 1975, Imam W.D. Mohammed, the son of Elijah Muhammad, was chosen to lead the Nation of Islam, and he set his followers on the path of mainstream Sunni Islam, grounded in the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Under Imam Shakir Mahmoud, whom W.D. Mohammed selected, the Boston temple was renamed Masjid Al-Qur'an. The Pluralism Project notes that the congregation follows Sunni Islam and is no longer affiliated with the Nation of Islam.

The masjid still honors that history. Its mission statement commits it to the Qur'an, the Sunnah and "the logic of Imam W.D. Mohammed," and its website keeps a library of his recorded talks.

Malcolm X's Boston, just up the road

Visitors interested in this history can also see the outside of the Malcolm X-Ella Little-Collins House at 72 Dale Street in Roxbury. According to the City of Boston, Ella Little-Collins bought the house in 1941, and her teenage brother Malcolm moved in that same year. He lived there during his formative teenage years and visited often for the rest of his life. The Boston Landmarks Commission made it a city landmark in 1998, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021, the Associated Press reported. The house remains in the family's private ownership, so please view it from the sidewalk.

A masjid for the whole city

Masjid Al-Qur'an describes itself as founded by the African American community in Boston and now "a melting pot of diverse Muslims from all over the city." Its resident imam is Imam Taalib J. Mahdee, whom the masjid calls a tireless advocate for the betterment of all people.

Service is part of the building itself. Next door, at 37 Intervale Street, the Amal Women's Center is a 12-bed transitional home for women experiencing homelessness, run by ICNA Relief USA in partnership with the masjid, which owns the property. The masjid's website says the restored house has five bedrooms, a play space, a computer lab and a library, provides meals, case management and referrals, and has housed hundreds of women since it opened in 2019.

The masjid has long worked across faith lines. The Pluralism Project's profile describes a partnership with Temple Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Newton, with shared visits, a food drive and food deliveries to homebound elders. In a 2024 letter to supporters, the masjid listed more recent work: deeper involvement with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, monthly family events, an ongoing Qur'an reading group, official 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, and a grant for new safety doors and security equipment.

Building on Blue Hill Avenue

The masjid is also investing in the neighborhood. In 1998 it bought 374-374A Blue Hill Avenue, a three-story brick building from 1920 on the corner of Intervale Street, for $79,900, according to a project summary on its website. After years of stalled efforts, members formed a separate company to redevelop it, and Rockland Trust provided financing. The plan, now called Marzuq Plaza, calls for commercial retail space, retail space for the masjid and four apartments. The masjid says income from the building will help support its budget. Its stated goals also include rebuilding the front stairs to make the masjid accessible to people with disabilities and restarting weekend Islamic studies classes.

Visiting Masjid Al-Qur'an

  • Address: 35 Intervale Street, Dorchester, MA 02121
  • Prayers: The masjid says it is open for the five daily prayers.
  • Jumu'ah: Fridays at 1:00 p.m., according to the masjid's events page.
  • Weekly iftar: The events page lists an iftar every Thursday after Maghrib. Call ahead to confirm before you go.
  • Community meetings: The board meets the first Sunday of the month from 10 to 11 a.m., followed by a community business meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Contact: (617) 445-8070 or masjidalquran@verizon.net

As at any masjid, dress modestly and remove your shoes before entering the prayer hall. Prayer times change through the year, so call ahead if you are planning a visit at a specific time, especially as the clocks change in early November.

Places like Masjid Al-Qur'an are a reminder that Islam in Massachusetts did not arrive only with recent immigration. It has deep roots in Black Boston, built by families who gave what they had to buy a building and keep its doors open. If you are in Dorchester for Jumu'ah, consider praying there and saying salaam to the people who have kept it going.

Header photo: evening prayer at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri, a file photo from Wikimedia Commons (CC0). It does not show Masjid Al-Qur'an.