SLUG-ME/MUSLIM--DATE-10/18/2002--LOCATION-Owen Brown Interfa

SLUG-ME/MUSLIM--DATE-10/18/2002--LOCATION-Owen Brown Interfaith Center, Columbia, MD--PHOTOGRAPHER-MARVIN JOSEPH/TWP--CAPTION-The growing Muslim community in Howard County is on its way to building the county's first mosque, Dar al-Taqwa. County planners have approved the design, and now the group is preparing to gain a license to build. For now, members of the Muslim community continue to gather at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center for their Friday prayers. But they are ready to have their own place like other counties around the region. They also are showing up on the political scene through a Muslim council that has thrown fundraisers during the election season and in the social arena through health fairs and food drives. Muslim leaders estimate there are about 800 Muslim families now in the county. They say their community is growing and wants to be an integrated and recognized part of the county. PICTURED, Ibrahim Zuberi(CQ) gives the Imam, Mahmoud Abdel-Hady(CQ) a hug after afternoon prayer at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The The Washington Post via Getty Images)