About us

Prior to the organization, our community formed an informal association, in 1999, made primarily of immigrant Muslims from West Africa residing in the area of Greensboro. At the time, the association focused on providing community assistance, mutual aid, and the promotion of Islam. In 2000, women in the association organized and commemorated the celebration of the Night of Destiny (the night of Al-Qadr, an important event in the month of Ramadan) for the community. This celebration was greatly needed, as it transformed a night of high spiritual significance into a communal moment of worship, supplications, devotion and prayers. With this great initiative and courage, the community at large decided to form a more organized and formal association. This was known as the Islamic Association of Greensboro. Among other things, the major objectives of this new association were the promulgation of Islam and moral education of kids. With determination and motivation of the new association, members of the community and different spiritual leaders worked together to implement these objectives. Therefore, Islamic activities and assistance within the community increased and became regular. This togetherness, facilitated by the formation of the Association, led to the start of the Sunday Islamic program. A free program, opened to all, to helped teach and exposed children in the community to Islamic moral values and knowledge. For example, they attended classes on Quranic recitation, how to supplicate (Dua’a) and sayings (Hadith) of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing on him). Moreover, this Islamic school program gave young Muslim a safe place to practice and implement Islamic teachings.

After 2008, the assistance and support provided by the association decline greatly, due in part to the move of many of the founding families from Greensboro to other cities in the US. Even with this declined in membership, the community always came together to help each other in times of great need. In 2016, The Association was restructured and reorganized with the arrival of a new generation of experienced young members. This new generation helped diversify the activities in the community, from Quran reading sessions to sermons given at different venues, and implemented the use of social media platforms, such as a WhatsApp group, to help spread information and interact with the younger generation. Indeed, these members were critical in helping move many of the operations online during the pandemic of COVID-19. This new vigor, renewed fraternity, and engagement within the community led to more events that solidified the kinships already present within the community. As such, the new community thought to re-invent the old association to better reflect its new mission and membership. This renewed association is now the organization called “Al Firdaws Islamic Community of Greensboro”, established in 2022.

To foster organizational longevity, Al Firdaws Islamic Community of Greensboro formed a new administration composed of board of directors and members. This new administration, in line with its non-profit status, holds regular meetings to make sure the vision and mission of the organizations are being met. To accomplish this, this administration is structured such that each board member leads of team tasked with specific duties and responsibilities. Furthermore, the Board and community have established a constitution and bylaws for the organization. Al Firdaws is registered with the Internal Revenue Service under revenue code 501(c)(3).

It is important to remember those who have given so much of themselves for the pursuit of the common good for this community; they are owed deep gratitude and they deserve to be remembered and congratulated. However, we all have an obligation to support our community, to come together and work to improve the quality of our communal life so that we can be able to better worship Allah and leave a beautiful legacy for many generations to come. As such, we will strive to endow our members with an understanding of Islam’s principal, practices, and work to make the community a better place of love and kindness for everyone.

A plan to purchase a cultural center for the Islamic school and organized da’wah efforts are under way to transmit the message of Islam to the broader community through education program, social and cultural events.