Mezquita Al Ahmad

Today I went to the Mezquita Al Ahmad today for the first time (I realized I never explained that the Spanish word for "mosque" is "mezquita"). Located in another barrio of Buenos Aires (in San Cristóbal), this mosque is older than the Rey Fahd Mosque: it was built in 1983, and according to the city government, it was the first mosque in the city—however, I am suspicious, since from what I've been told there have been and continue to be simple musalahs ("prayer spaces") that might not qualify as full-fledged mosques to the writers of the site.

The Mezquita Al Ahmad is associated with the Centro Islámico de la República Argentina, which was founded all the way back in 1931. The Muslim presence in Argentina is long; Muslims emigrated in large numbers starting in the first decade of the 20th century. According to its website, the Centro Islámico was founded "con el objetivo de organizar y representar a la comunidad islámica Argentina" (with the objective of organizing and representing the Argentinian Muslim community).

I was in the mosque with a contact for the Asr prayers, in the late afternoon on a Wednesday. Understandably I was one of only a few people in the mosque at the time. But from what I hear, and I hope to verify this in person on a coming Friday, the "descendiente" Muslims (i.e. those that are the descendants of the Syrian/Lebanese Muslims who migrated in the early 20th century) are more represented in this mosque. After all, unlike the King Fahd Mosque, this mosque was not created by an international body but rather by Argentine Muslims. 

Inside the dome of the Mezquita Al Ahmad

Inside the Sala de Oración (prayer hall) of the Mezquita Al Ahmad

A (poor quality) picture of the view from the street of the mosque