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Who We Are

Welcome to the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati

The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) in West Chester, Ohio is more than a place of worship. Since our opening November 9, 1995, we have come to be known to promote community harmony through spiritual services, education, social and community services, youth services, internal and external outreach. Our goals include working with socioeconomically struggling but resilient communities for a meaningful and purposeful change, strengthening relationships, enhancing educational offerings, and youth character and leadership development services and programs. Greater Cincinnati Muslims of all ethnicities and backgrounds gather here to pray, socialize, and learn. The larger community turns to us as a trusted source of accurate information on Islam and Muslims. Our doors are open to our friends and neighbors and many have returned several times.

History

The founding roots of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) goes back to the 1950s when the community purchased a tiny house on Fairview Avenue to serve as a masjid or mosque and meeting place for the growing community. The Arabic word masjid means “a place where people prostrate toward God”. In 1980, as the community steadily grew, they purchased a larger house on Clifton Avenue that continues to serve as a mosque to Clifton and its surrounding neighborhoods.

The current ICGC property in West Chester was purchased in 1988. There were a number of community leaders spearheading the building of the Center who worked with Ahmad Samawi, founder of Mid-American Development Company. Not only did Mr. Samawi offer the services of his development company, he also made a significant financial commitment to build the Center.

The community came together and turned a long-held dream into a beautiful reality when the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati opened in 1995.

Founder of the Campus

In Memoriam Of Ahmad Samawi (1933-1998)

Ahmad Samawi was born in Damascus, Syria, where he spent his youth being raised in a highly respected and deeply religious family. He came to the United States to earn an engineering degree from the University of Texas. He returned to participate in building numerous highly successful businesses in various parts of the Middle East. He later spent time in Germany and Switzerland, before finally immigrating to the United States in 1981 and adopting Cincinnati as his home. Here he founded the Mid-American Development Company and served as its president until his death.

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ICGC Campus Overview

Home of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC), this 18-acre campus-like facility features a masjid (mosque), a community center housing a multipurpose hall/gymnasium, administrative offices and over 20 classrooms, and an educational building with a mirrored auditorium and several adult classrooms.

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Mission, Vision & Core Values

Our Mission

The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) is the Spiritual Oasis for Muslim Americans, Living Islam through Worship, Education, Service, Leadership, and Outreach.

Our Vision

Uplifting Lives as a Model Muslim American Community.

Core Values

God Consciousness, Collaboration, Mutual Respect, Moderation, Diversity, Gender Equality, Trust, Integrity, and Positive Enablement

Governing Board

The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) is governed by the Islamic Educational Council (IEC), which has a board of trustees. This governing body, consisting of both board-appointed as well as membership-elected trustees, has the ultimate responsibility of setting the overall direction of the organization, its vision, mission, and core values. The BOT meets quarterly.

See Our Board >>>

Meet Our Executive Director

Henry Hane

Mr. Hane brings to ICGC the conviction of working towards a model institution that projects a positive image of Islam through professionalism and building connections. With his experience in operations, staff management, research, development, and outreach in Muslim institutions, he is well poised to take ICGC to the next level inshaAllah.

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Meet Our Imam

Sheikh Hossam Musa

He has been the imam for Ramadan’s nightly prayers (tarawih) since 1993 at various mosques throughout Metro Detroit and Windsor including the Tawheed Center in Farmington Hills, MI; Masjid Tawheed in Detroit, MI; Masjid Al Fatiha in Detroit, MI; the Muslim Unity Center in Bloomfield Hills, MI; the American Muslim Center in Dearborn, MI; Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Columbus, OH; and the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester, OH. 

For Imam's detailed bio please click here:

Meet Our Hifz Program Director

Shaykh Mahmoud Khalil

Allah SWT blessed Shaykh Mahmoud with completion of the memorization of the Holy Quran at the young age of 14. Shaykh Mahmoud graduated from the Grand Al-Azhar University College of education. He began teaching the Holy Quran since 2007 and participated in several Holy Quran competitions and earned first place in many of them!

Learn More >>>

Meet our Youth Senior Director

Isa Ar-Razi

Isa received his B.A. from Wright State University in 2004 in Political Science & Economics. Since then, he has been working with youth from Pre-K through College in various capacities within the Dayton and Cincinnati communities. Over the past 20 years, he has worked as a program director, administrator, teacher and coach for several non-profit organizations.

At every level of his career, Isa has focused on implementing hands-on experiences, coupled with education and proven processes in order to facilitate the development of well rounded programs. For this reason he has continued his professional development with courses like the Payor Management and the ADVANCE Leadership certification.

Learn More >>>

Meet our Social Services Manager

Samira Jaweed

Samira joined the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in 2015 as Program Manager for Rahma Community Services. Her role has since evolved and she currently serves as Social Services Manager for ICGC Social Services. Samira supports a team of 5 staff members in her current position. In addition to overseeing operations, she is also involved with strategic planning, program development, reporting, budgeting, grants, and marketing as well as external collaborations and partnerships.

Learn More >>>

Meet Our Accounting & Payroll Manager

Faiza Abid

Faiza Abid is the Finance & Payroll Manager at ICGC. Originally hailing from Lahore Pakistan, she is settled in Mason, OH since 2013 where she lives with her husband Dr. Abid Yaqub and 3 children, Shameel, Ayra and Shazeb.

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Meet Our Staff

  • Henry Hane (hhane@icgc.us) – Executive Director
  • Sheikh Hossam Musa (imam@icgc.us) – Imam
  • Sheikh Mahmoud (mkhalil@icgc.us) – Hifdh Program Director
  • Ali Sabry Salahudeen (asalahudeen@icgc.us) – Adhan and Facilities
  • Jelaine Abdullah (jabdullah@icgc.us) – Office Manager
  • Ibtihal Saleh (isaleh@icgc.us) – Administrative Assistant
  • Huma Khan (hkhan@icgc.us) – Accounts Receivable Clerk
  • Ayah Hijji – HR Specialist
  • Faiza Abid (fabid@icgc.us) – Accounting and Payroll Manager
  • Samira Jaweed (sjaweed@icgc.us) – Social Services Manager
  • Lujain Jamous (ljamolus@icgc.us) – Social Services Employment & Career Coach
  • Taylor Kraft (tkraft@icgc.us) – Food Pantry Helper
  • Leanna Allouch (lallouch@icgc.us) – Education & Career Coach
  • Jackie Othman (jothman@icgc.us) – Food Pantry Coordinator I
  • Menna Ishak (mishak@icgc.us) – Food Pantry Coordinator II
  • Luna Sakkal (lsakkal@icgc.us) – Islamic Weekend School Principal
  • Firdos Ruhi – Firdos Ruhi (fruhi@icgc.us) – Islamic Weekend School Clerk
  • Isa Ar Raazi (iarrazi@icgc.us) –Senior Youth Director
  • Sadia Malik (smalik@icgc.us)– Youth Director
  • Sabeen Sajjad (ssajjad@icgc.us) – Islamic Weekend Clerk and Activities Coordinator
  • Racine Diallo (rdiallo@icgc.us) – Security Officer
  • Yousef Alani – Parking
  • 30+ Islamic Weekend school teachers
  • 30+ Qur’an Connections teachers
  • 40+ Youth Counselors

Our Teams

Volunteer Teams: ICGC’s main programs and services are managed by different volunteer teams. Each team has a leader.

Learning Leaders

  • Adult Education – Ahmed Elkady (aelkady@icgc.us)
  • Khutbah Coordination – Ashraf Traboulsi (atraboulsi@icgc.us)
  • New Muslims – Shahid Malik (shahidmalik@icgc.us) and Nasreen Fathima (nfathima@icgc.us)
  • Quran Connections – Nehad Omara and Hoda Elgamal (quranconnections@icgc.us)
  • Tours & Talks – Shabana Shakir-Ahmed (sshakirahmed@icgc.us)

Recreation

  • Karate – Abbud Abdal-Sami (asami@icgc.us)
  • Ladies’ Fitness– Ruba Alkhatib (ralkhatib@icgc.us)
  • Ladies’ Badminton – Ayesha Rasool (arasool@icgc.us) & Hudaibiya Sheikh
  • Men’s Basketball – Munam Syed (msyed@icgc.us)
  • Youth Basketball –Nadeem Qureshi (nquraishi@icgc.us), Munam Syed (msyed@icgc.us), Ahmad Saleh

Youth

  • Alzahrawat –  Mai Zedan (alzahrawat@icgc.us)
  • Muslim Girls Teen Club – Mariam Elgafy (mgtc@icgc.us)
  • Cincinnati Muslim Professionals (CMP) –Mariam Elghafy (melgafy@icgc.us), Chernoh Bah, and Abdul Salam Tarabishi
  • Youth Library – Lauren Ibrahim (library@icgc.us)

Community Services & Technology

  • Ansar – Junaid Malik (jmalik@icgc.us)
  • Communications – Ayesha Rasool (arasool@icgc.us)
  • Information/Audio-Visual Technology – Jani Syed (jsyed@icgc.us) and Adam Akka (aakka@icgc.us)
  • Social Events – Hafizah Docraat and Maria Munir (mmunir@icgc.us)
  • Volunteer Coordination – (volunteer@icgc.us)
  • Family Connections – Hadil Lababidi (hlababidi@icgc.us)
  • Welcome Committee– Zeinab Schwen
  • Outreach – Samina Sohail (ssohail@icgc.us) & Shakila Ahmad (sahmad@icgc.us)
  • Transportation – Nooraddin Bakri (nbakri@icgc.us)
  • Funerals – Asif Gulame (gasif@icgc.us) & Hafiza Docraat
  • ICGC Feeding – Shazadi Khawaja (skhawaja@icgc.us)
  • Campus Upkeep – Syed Ali Farrukh
  • Business – Hossam Elsayed
  • Safety – Hosam Mawas (hmawas@icgc.us)
  • Community Engagement – Hasan Idrees (hidrees@icgc.us)
  • Security – Abbud Abdal Sami (asami@icgc.us)

Interested in Volunteering?

See our volunteering opportunities and how to join the volunteer team.

Get Started

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Founder of the Campus

In Memoriam Of Ahmad Samawi (1933-1998)

Ahmad Samawi was born in Damascus, Syria, where he spent his youth being raised in a highly respected and deeply religious family. He came to the United States to earn an engineering degree from the University of Texas. He returned to participate in building numerous highly successful businesses in various parts of the Middle East. He later spent time in Germany and Switzerland, before finally immigrating to the United States in 1981 and adopting Cincinnati as his home. Here he founded the Mid-American Development Company and served as its president until his death.

After settling in Cincinnati, Samawi became actively involved in the affairs of the local Muslim community. He was greatly concerned about the negative image and stereotyping of Muslims and Arabs in this country and spent his boundless energy promoting dialogue and better understanding between Christians, Jews and Muslims. He was a founding member of the National Policy Council of Arab American Institute and its Presidents Circle.

Samawi was the prime moving force behind the vision and the actual building of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC). He devoted several years of his life and all his resources to ensure that Cincinnati had one of the most beautiful and accessible Islamic centers in the western world, a most generous gift to our Greater Cincinnati community. A grateful Muslim community has named the mosque at the Islamic Center as Ahmad Samawi Mosque, to forever remind everyone of his legacy. In addition, he quietly supported the work of numerous civic and cultural organizations in this area.

In the words of U.S. Senator Rob Portman, recorded as part of his tribute on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on January 6, 1999, “Mr. Samawi has inspired us all with his vision for a more spiritually united Greater Cincinnati.”

At the time of his death, Samawi was survived by his wife Uschi; sons Ashraf and Hisham; daughters Janan, Laila, Nada and Dana; brothers Riffat, Eid and Anwar; and sisters Firyal and Fatma.

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Our Campus

Home of the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC), this 18-acre campus-like facility features a masjid (mosque), a community center housing a multipurpose hall/gymnasium, administrative offices and over 20 classrooms, and an educational building with a mirrored auditorium and several adult classrooms.

Masjid: Our masjid or mosque offers serene and peaceful places to pray, read the Qur’an and contemplate. A beautiful 14,000-sq.-ft. building, the masjid has many must-see architectural and design elements.

Community Center: This multipurpose building, often referred to as the gym hall, holds classrooms for our very active Weekend School program. It is also built to support social gatherings, sports activities and general recreation. The gym is used to host community dinners, parties, and weekend lunches.

Educational Building: This is where you will find our Mirror Hall, an auditorium that accommodates more than 400 people for interfaith discussions, professional seminars, weddings, and more. The building also houses classrooms and conference rooms used for various educational and cultural activities.

Contact the ICGC office to take a tour of this beautiful facility. Open house tours are available the first Saturday of every month. Weekday tours require an appointment.

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The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC) is governed by the Islamic Educational Council (IEC), which has a board of trustees. This governing body, consisting of both board-appointed as well as membership-elected trustees, has the ultimate responsibility of setting the overall direction of the organization, its vision, mission, and core values. The BOT meets quarterly.

For information on becoming a member with voting rights to elect our leadership, see the Membership page on this website and submit an application form.

Executive Committee: This is a standing committee that is a subset of the board, which meets monthly and is more involved in the operations of the center. It includes four elected members and three appointed members with the chair of the board leading the committee:

Executive Committee (standing)

Chair – Tariq Sultan (Appointed)
Vice-Chair – Samina Sohail (Appointed)
Secretary – Maria Munir (Elected)
Treasurer – Munam Syed (Appointed)
Member – Cheikh Jelil (Elected)
Member – Ahmed Elkady (Elected)
Nonvoting Member – Sheikh Hossam Musa (ex officio as Imam)
Nonvoting Member – Henry Hane (ex officio as Executive Director

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Henry Hane – Executive Director

Henry has an MA in English, an MA in Urban Education Studies, and is currently completing a PhD in Urban Education Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University.

Henry Hane comes with over a decade worth of experience having been active with the Islamic Muslim Community Association (IMCA) in Indianapolis, IN since 2003, where he served as an active community member, volunteer, board member-at-large, and board Vice-President. He also served as principal at the Universal School of Plainfield, in Indiana, for over 3 years. Henry Hane is currently a Board Member of Tabital Pulaaku Americas as Secretary General and the Secretary General of NANN-K USA.

Mr. Hane brings to ICGC the conviction of working towards a model institution that projects a positive image of Islam through professionalism and building connections. With his experience in operations, staff management, research, development, and outreach in Muslim institutions, he is well poised to take ICGC to the next level inshaAllah.

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Shaykh Mahmoud Khalil

Allah SWT blessed Shaykh Mahmoud with completion of the memorization of the Holy Quran at the young age of 14. Shaykh Mahmoud graduated from the Grand Al-Azhar University College of education. He began teaching the Holy Quran since 2007 and participated in several Holy Quran competitions and earned first place in many of them!

He is a world-class reciter and hafiz who has received his certification from Shaykh Mohamed Jibreel, one of the highest-ranked reciters in the world. He has traveled and led tarawih prayers in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and here in the United States.

Shaykh Mahmoud has one of the most beautiful voices in recitation of the Holy Quran, saying beautiful nasheeds, and has a passion and dream to teach the Holy Word of Allah SWT for future generations to come here at ICGC, in sha’a allah!

Shaykh Mahmoud lives here in Cincinnati with his wife, Maaly Elgindy, and three kids, Mariam, Youssef, Sarah.

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Isa Ar-Razi

Isa received his B.A. from Wright State University in 2004 in Political Science & Economics. Since then, he has been working with youth from Pre-K through College in various capacities within the Dayton and Cincinnati communities. Over the past 20 years, he has worked as a program director, administrator, teacher and coach for several non-profit organizations.

After graduating, Isa served as a teacher and counselor at the International Academy of Cincinnati from 2004 to 2013. During that time, he also served as the Director of a youth sporting organization, ‘Thunder United’, from 2011 to 2017, where he worked closely with over 600 kids per year. From 2016 to 2019, he transitioned to working with college-age youth as a coach at both the University of Dayton and Wright State University.

At every level of his career, Isa has focused on implementing hands-on experiences, coupled with education and proven processes in order to facilitate the development of well rounded programs. For this reason he has continued his professional development with courses like the Payor Management and the ADVANCE Leadership certification.

Since joining ICGC in 2019, Isa has continued to focus on improving and developing programs that will allow the kids to associate FUN with the Masjid.

A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Isa comes from a very diverse muslim community living among a Christian majority. In this regard, he understands the importance of providing this space for our kids to grow, ask questions and find solutions with the guidance of the correct role models.

Isa lives in the Greater Dayton/Cincinnati area with his family and enjoys nature and eating Trinidadian Indian cuisine.

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Samira Jaweed

Samira joined the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in 2015 as Program Manager for Rahma Community Services. Her role has since evolved and she currently serves as Social Services Manager for ICGC Social Services. Samira supports a team of 5 staff members in her current position. In addition to overseeing operations, she is also involved with strategic planning, program development, reporting, budgeting, grants, and marketing as well as external collaborations and partnerships.

Samira is also the recipient of the “2018 Women of Excellence” award by the West Chester Liberty Chamber Alliance, which honors women, who through their careers or volunteerism, have enhanced business, education, culture, and philanthropy in the region. She also completed the “ADVANCE” leadership training program through the Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati in early 2019 followed by a fellowship with the “American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute” in late 2019. In 2020/2021 Samira also participated in the “Leadership 21” program through the West Chester, Liberty Chamber Alliance, designed to improve the quality, and effectiveness of leadership within the communities of West Chester and Liberty Townships.

Prior to joining ICGC, Samira worked in Marketing, Project Management, HR, and then ultimately Banking & Finance with J.P. Morgan Chase for 14 years. She earned two MBAs focusing on Finance and Management, the first at IBA in her hometown of Karachi, Pakistan, and the second at the University of Cincinnati. She has lived in Ohio for the past 20 years. She currently resides in West Chester with her husband and her son.

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Faiza Abid

Faiza Abid is the Finance & Human Resources Manager at ICGC. Originally hailing from Lahore Pakistan, she is settled in Mason, OH since 2013 where she lives with her husband Dr. Abid Yaqub and 3 children, Shameel, Ayra and Shazeb.

Faiza holds a Master of Economics degree from University of The Punjab and subsequently completed her Master of Accounting from Lindner College of Business at University of Cincinnati. She received her Payroll Certification from Miami University in 2021 and Human Resources Certification from Employee Resource Association, Cincinnati, OH in 2017.

She joined ICGC in 2015 as Accounting Assistant before advancing to her current role in 2020. Faiza is responsible for creating monthly and annual financial reports, reconciliation of bank statements, revenue and expense recordkeeping, issuance of tax donation letters and W2s, hiring of new employees, maintaining timesheets, filing payroll taxes, and orchestrating the financial audit of organization.

Her hobbies include yardwork, exercise, watching movies and travelling with her family besides taking care of her adorable cats, Pluto, and Clue.