From a Birmingham student association to schools and community services
The Birmingham Islamic Society traces its beginnings to a Muslim Students’ Association at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the early 1980s. The society formed in 1990. That sequence connects a campus organization to institutions that later served families across the Birmingham area, including schools, places of worship and a health clinic.
A community history told through its buildings
The society’s history records the At-Tawheed school beginning in 1994 at its original facility near UAB. A larger Homewood property purchased in 1996 accommodated the Islamic Academy of Alabama, the school’s successor. The building and the organization have different timelines: buying a new property was a stage in a community already taking shape.
Adapting existing space in Hoover
In 2006, community members voted to purchase an existing church. After renovation, the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center held its first Friday prayer there on December 28, 2007. The society also records the opening of Westside Masjid in Fairfield in 2010.
These locations show why a Birmingham-area guide should look beyond one landmark. The institutional record follows changing needs across several municipalities, rather than the construction of a single monumental building.
A partnership with Alabama physicians
The Red Crescent Clinic of Alabama is a collaboration between the Birmingham Islamic Society and the Alabama chapter of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani-descent in North America. The society dates its start to 2011. Its clinic page describes free health care and directs readers to a dedicated website for service and appointment information.
The partnership connects a community institution with professional expertise. The historical record establishes how the clinic began; it does not establish that every specialty or appointment is currently available.
Back on campus: a survey changed the response
In March 2022, a Blazer Kitchen survey asked UAB pantry users what was missing. Some students were not using the frozen meat because it did not meet their dietary requirements. Hoover Sun reported that UAB’s Lisa Higginbotham sought guidance from education professor Mary Ann Bodine Al-Sharif, a Birmingham Islamic Society member.
A donor funded a regular contribution, and volunteers helped prepare it for distribution. The December 2022 account describes around 150 students and 25 employees receiving it each month. These are figures reported for that period, not current participation totals.
The story belongs here as an example of campus support becoming more usable after staff asked a specific question. It is not a dining guide or a judgment about religious requirements.
A separate campus connection in Tuscaloosa
The University of Alabama’s Family Weekend resource lists the Islamic Center of Tuscaloosa, also called Masjid Omar Ibn Al Khattab, among off-campus religious institutions. The university page and the center’s own contact page identify 1416 Paul W. Bryant Drive. This is a Tuscaloosa institution, distinct from the Birmingham Islamic Society and UAB story above.
A photograph dated February 4, 2007, records the center’s brick exterior, corner tower and crescent-topped roof detail. It adds an architectural view to Alabama’s campus connections without claiming that a historical photograph describes current access. Use the institution’s own information to confirm arrangements for a visit.
Follow the story
Explore the original reporting and organizational records:
Selected local stories, not a complete account of the state. Events and figures refer to the periods stated above. Check directly with organizations for current services.