The Islamic Center of America traces its history to the 1950s, when a dedicated group of young Lebanese Americans worked with Imam Mohammad Jawad Chirri to establish Michigan’s first, purpose-built Shi`a mosque. The congregation’s original house of worship was dedicated on Joy Road in Detroit in 1963. The Islamic Center has thrived over the years and is now perhaps the largest mosque in North America. Its growth and dynamism are reflected in the congregation’s new building, which opened in 2005 on Ford Road in Dearborn. The Center has also sponsored a popular K-6 school, the Muslim American Youth Academy, located next to its Ford Road facility, since 1997.