Islamic Centre of Greater Cincinnati - in pictures

  • The chandelier draping over the centre's prayer space is one of the few items not made in Ohio, having come from an artist in Syria. All photos: Joshua Longmore / The National
    The chandelier draping over the centre's prayer space is one of the few items not made in Ohio, having come from an artist in Syria. All photos: Joshua Longmore / The National
  • Staff members Shabana Ahmed and Samina Sohail say the prayer space and wider grounds of the Islamic Centre feel like a second home
    Staff members Shabana Ahmed and Samina Sohail say the prayer space and wider grounds of the Islamic Centre feel like a second home
  • The Islamic Centre of Greater Cincinnati was built in 1995 and has grown from its original prayer space into a much larger complex with a school, athletic centre and other event spaces
    The Islamic Centre of Greater Cincinnati was built in 1995 and has grown from its original prayer space into a much larger complex with a school, athletic centre and other event spaces
  • For many of the Muslim-Americans in the midwest, community prayer spaces started in rented-out warehouses or gatherings in office spaces, said ICGC's Samina Sohail. To have an Islamic centre as grand as the one in Cincinnati is a 'blessing', she said
    For many of the Muslim-Americans in the midwest, community prayer spaces started in rented-out warehouses or gatherings in office spaces, said ICGC's Samina Sohail. To have an Islamic centre as grand as the one in Cincinnati is a 'blessing', she said
  • The entrance to the mosque, which board members say now serves at least 10,000 families
    The entrance to the mosque, which board members say now serves at least 10,000 families
  • 'It's an open-door policy here so Muslims can come from all over,' Ms Ahmed said of the mosque that sits just off a major interstate motorway
    'It's an open-door policy here so Muslims can come from all over,' Ms Ahmed said of the mosque that sits just off a major interstate motorway
  • A statue of St Xavier outside the all-boys Catholic high school in Cincinnati named after him
    A statue of St Xavier outside the all-boys Catholic high school in Cincinnati named after him
  • Cincinnati is a largely Catholic, German city
    Cincinnati is a largely Catholic, German city
  • Twenty minutes from the Islamic Centre in Cincinnati, students at St Xavier Catholic high school learn about Islam in their world religions course
    Twenty minutes from the Islamic Centre in Cincinnati, students at St Xavier Catholic high school learn about Islam in their world religions course
  • Katie Collins believes teaching her students at an all-boys Catholic school about the traditions of Islam is a part of living out their own religious values
    Katie Collins believes teaching her students at an all-boys Catholic school about the traditions of Islam is a part of living out their own religious values
  • A copy of the Quran available to students at Cincinnati's Catholic St Xavier High School
    A copy of the Quran available to students at Cincinnati's Catholic St Xavier High School
  • Cincinnati is nicknamed The Queen City, formerly called The Queen of the West, in the nation's early history before colonisers migrated further westward
    Cincinnati is nicknamed The Queen City, formerly called The Queen of the West, in the nation's early history before colonisers migrated further westward