Being Muslim and American in the nation's heartland
Associated Press
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Fatima Igram Smejkal, whose family immigrated to the United States from Lebanon in the early 1900s, greets fellow faithful before Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Community members talk after Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Children play outside after Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Two young girls stand together outside of the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids after Friday prayer on Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)An old photo shows Fatima Igram Smejkal sitting with children whose families had immigrated to the United States from present-day Lebanon in the early 1900s, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Fatima Igram Smejkal, whose family immigrated from present-day Lebanon to the United States in the early 1900s, stands beside her husband's grave in the Muslim National Cemetery, established in the 1940s, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Faroz Waziri, left, helps his son decide on a piece of baklava from a halal grocery store owned by Mohamed Mahmoud, right, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Faroz Waziri and his wife Mena, both refugees from Afghanistan who settled in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, roughly 10 years ago, hold hands on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)"The Mother Mosque of America," completed in 1934, was the first mosque built from the ground up in the United States, seen on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapid, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Community members talk after Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Imam Taha Tawil of "The Mother Mosque of America" discusses the building's long history in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Muslims attend Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Families attend Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)A young girl watches as men and women pray at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Families attend Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)A woman prays at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)Families attend Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
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Fatima Igram Smejkal, whose family immigrated to the United States from Lebanon in the early 1900s, greets fellow faithful before Friday prayer at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)