Basic Information for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh
Address: 4100 Bigelow Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Hours: Open Monday through Sunday from Fajr (dawn prayer) to Isha (night prayer)
Roughly 5AM-10PM
Website: http://www.icp-pgh.org/
Transportation: Bus or car (street parking available)
Access: ramp available, tours can be scheduled
About the Islamic Center
The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh is Oakland’s mosque. It is nestled on the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Parkman Avenue in a quaint neighborhood called Schenley Farms. Because of an Islamic belief in Aniconism, which disallows the creation of people or animals in art, there are no portraits hanging inside of the building. Instead, geometric art and scripture are interspersed throughout the building.
On Friday afternoons, the sides of the surrounding streets begin to line up with cars as up to 700 men and women gather here for a group prayer called Jumu’ah.
The center is also home to Ya-Ne, the Islamic Center’s Youth Alliance for Networking and Empowerment group, which is the first one in Pittsburgh. At Ya-Ne, youth can learn about Islam, play games, and share food. Ya-Ne is located in the basement of the Islamic Center.
Along with prayer services and a youth group, the Islamic Center also provides the community with resources for legal services, housing, workplace discrimination, and prayer areas.
The Islamic Center’s Outreach program is part of an interfaith community which seeks “to increase understanding and alleviate misconceptions that revolve around the Islamic Faith today.”
The Outreach program puts on its Humanity Day Award Ceremony annually during Ramadan, where people of different faiths gather together to share in Ramadan traditions and celebrate Pittsburghers of all faiths who exemplify compassion in their work. Recipients of the award include Jubilee Soup Kitchen, the Thomas Merton Center, and the Race and Reconciliation Dialogue Group
A Historic District with a Religious History
Pittsburgh loses its sense of urbanism as one follows Bigelow Boulevard into the Schenley Farms Historic District in North Oakland. As you enter, you are withdrawn from the familiar concrete city structures and transported to a quaint neighborhood filled with revivalist homes and at its northeast corner, a mosque. The revivalist homes range in style from Tudor cottages to stuccoed Italian villas. One home was even built for the acclaimed entertainer and Pittsburgher Mr. Rogers’ grandparents!