When Al-Huda School opened in 1995 (Story #52), no one could have imagined how quickly it would grow. What began as a handful of students in makeshift classrooms inside Dar-us-Salaam’s College Park building soon expanded into a regional hub for Islamic education and community life.
By the early 2000s, enrollment had skyrocketed. Families moved from across Maryland, and even from neighboring Virginia and D.C., just to be closer. The once-small school now had waiting lists, and classrooms buzzed with children reciting Qur’an, solving math problems, and preparing science fair projects. Parents spoke proudly of how their children could seamlessly discuss algebra and hadith on the same day.
Dar-us-Salaam’s vision stretched far beyond the classroom. Al-Huda became part of a larger ecosystem: weekend programs for youth, summer camps, seminars for adults, and outreach events for the wider community. Parents who had once worried about losing their children to cultural assimilation now found their kids growing into confident Muslim Americans, fluent in both their deen and their society.
The school’s first major expansion was into a larger facility, giving it the ability to add more grades, specialized teachers, and extracurriculars. Students began competing in national competitions, entering college with strong academic records, and joining professional fields while holding tightly to their faith.
Al-Huda also became a magnet for religious learning. Its hifz program drew students from across the East Coast, while its lectures and conferences attracted national speakers. Families often spoke of Dar-us-Salaam not just as a masjid or school, but as a movement, a place where the vision of an Islam-centered life in America was being lived every day.
By the late 2000s, Al-Huda had gained a reputation far beyond Maryland. Visitors came from other states to study its model, hoping to replicate it in their own communities. Conferences, youth retreats, and dawah efforts radiated outward, making College Park a hub of Muslim intellectual and spiritual life.
The growth of Al-Huda into a regional hub marked a turning point in Maryland Muslim history. It showed that Islamic institutions in America could aspire not just to survive, but to lead, to become models of education, service, and community building that inspired Muslims nationwide.