Our Story

Masjid Bilal began around 2010 with a handful of brothers in Syracuse who were worried about the same thing: there was no proper place in the city for the community's children to learn the Quran. Parents who wanted their kids to grow up reading the Quran and staying connected to their deen didn't have a dedicated place to take them.

So those brothers made one. They rented a residential house and set it aside for exactly that purpose, and parents started bringing their children. It wasn't a big space and it wasn't built to be a masjid, but it gave families somewhere to go, and word got around.

More families kept coming, and eventually the house couldn't hold everyone. The masjid moved to North Salina Street, which gave the growing community more room to pray and more room for the children's classes.

The address changed, but the foundation didn't. From the beginning Masjid Bilal has been built on the Quran and the Sunnah, with tawheed, the oneness of Allah, at the center of what is taught. It's what the founding brothers wanted their children to learn, and it's still what we teach today.

Our Home on Pond Street

Masjid Bilal has always been supported by its own community members. Their donations, year after year, made it possible to move again, this time to a much more spacious building at 507 Pond Street.

The new building needed a lot of work. With help from the community, most of the renovations are either finished or underway, and anyone who has prayed here over the past few years has watched the place change from one visit to the next. There's still more to do, including a new carpet for the musalah and the sisters' bathrooms. You can see those projects on our donate page.

The Madrasa

The madrasa is the reason Masjid Bilal was started, and it's still at the heart of the masjid. Students learn to read and recite the Quran, work on memorization, and study other Islamic subjects, including Hadith and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Parents who bring their children today are doing the same thing families did in that rented house years ago.

What We Stand On

Tawheed: Worshipping Allah alone is the starting point for everything taught here.
Quran and Sunnah: Our teaching and practice follow the Quran and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Our children: The masjid was started so kids would have a place to learn their deen, and the madrasa is still a priority.
Our community: Every step, from the rented house to Pond Street, has been paid for and worked on by the people who pray here.

Get Involved

Masjid Bilal keeps going because people pitch in. If you'd like to enroll your child in the madrasa, help with renovations, or volunteer your time, get in touch. If you're able to give, the donate page lists what we're currently raising funds for.

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