Local people barely knew about Islam or Muslims; presence of any mosque was out of question. Such unfamiliarity was not unusual in the bible belt, but the life of those young Muslim students became unthinkable without a mosque, a place of worship. So they started renting an apartment at Greenwood Drive, Johnson City, TN for $50 to offer their Friday (Jumuah) prayer and initiated an unofficial campaign for the establishment of Muslim community.

As more Muslim students enrolled in ETSU, it became a fertile campus for the MSA (Muslim Student Association) chapter. Some of the obligatory Islamic activities [i.e. Ramadan prayers and iftar (breaking of the fasting), Eid celebration or facilitating charity for the community] were organized by MSA but they remained confined within a small and shared room located in the Mathematics building of ETSU. Meanwhile, those early Muslims had full bloomed families. The presence of medical residency programs at Johnson City medical center and the Quillen College of medicine, also welcomed several medical professional Muslim families to this area. Occasional events at MSA were not enough to fulfill the comprehensive role of religion in their lives. For Muslims, faith is the primary facet to shape their families by encompassing all events from birth to marriage to funeral rituals, as well as offering five-time daily prayers in congregation, therefore the necessity of a mosque became vital.

Playing an active role in society through their professions and having children enrolled in local schools fostered a quick assimilation into the mainstream. Yet the Muslims, felt incomplete without the active presence of faith in their lives. So, some of the local Muslims proactively took the responsibility of establishing a mosque to bring the blessing of faith in the community. In addition to those early Muslims, Dr. Fazle Nasim Khan, Taneem Aziz, Atif Atyia and Ahmed Wattad joined the efforts to establish a mosque. The first constitution was drafted by Dr. Khan and it was officially established as a non-profit faith organization in Washington county of Johnson City in 1992. Thus, without any physical address, an Islamic center continued to develop quietly and formally. Participation grew quickly from 8-10 people to over 75 brothers and sisters on Friday prayers. A Sunday school for children was also opened in the same small room. During the holidays of the ETSU, Eid and/or Friday prayer services took place in the basement of Br. Ahmed Atiya or in the racquetball court of his residential complex.

While Muslim growth started to gain some momentum, they lost their temporary place as the shared small room was demolished for a parking lot. It appeared as a call of renewed commitment for the community. Within two days enough money was raised to purchase their first place of worship on Division Street in Johnson City in 1994. The original place was only 700 square feet, not enough to accommodate the growing community. So it was renovated and redesigned into a 1400 square feet building which consisted of separate prayer space for men and women and two class rooms for Sunday school. It became MCNET’s home base to expand its programs and community outreach till 2008.

MCNET didn’t have to wait long to experience the benefit of their outreach initiative. When the horrific event of 9/11 took place in 2001, other faith groups and neighbors didn’t hesitate to confirm their solidarity with the local Muslim community. They invited MCNET leaders to talk on behalf of the Muslims and Islam to increase their familiarity with it. With joint collaboration, interfaith engagement became a day-to-day event. In the meantime, MCNET continued its efforts and proactively worked on its broader vision for the community, and purchased a property of three acres on Antioch Road in 1997.

With due diligence, the adjacent lands were acquired later on. Although MCNET originally planned to build a small multi-purpose building of 3400 square feet, the growth of the community pushed them to build a place of 10,000 square feet. With the blessings of God Almighty and the generous donations of our community, in a very short time MCNET was able to raise enough funds to finish the construction in a timely manner. In 2015, through the efforts of the-then board members, Dr Fereidoon Shafiei and Dr Faisal Khateeb, MCNET officially received the certification from the State of Tennessee as a 501c3 not for profit religious organization.

Currently, MCNET community has nearly 500 members. We also cater to the religious needs of many more Muslims who live in the surrounding areas of Tri-Cities. The Sunday School which is being run by MCNET has nearly 100 students enrolled.