Islamic Educational Center of Orange County

Islamic Educational Center of Orange County

General Information
Established	1996
Location	Orange County, USA
Coordinates	33°41′04.2″N 117°51′59.5″W
Specifications
Status	Active
Facilities	Providing various religious services to clients
Architecture
Website	iecoc.org

The Islamic Educational Center of Orange County (IECOC) is a Shi'a non-profit organization based in Orange County, California, serving all the communities of Orange and Los Angeles Counties since 1996. It provides religious and educational services to Shi'a Muslims in the area.

History

People gather at the Islamic Center of Orange County mosque before sunset on Thursday, Ramadan 1, 1436/ June 18, 2015. Photo by Matt Masin.

The Islamic Educational Center of Orange County (IECOC) started its activities in September 1996 as the first mosque in Irvine, California, in addition to being the first mosque that follows the tradition of Ahl al-Bayt (a) in that area, in a small rented building. Its focal aim was to provide the teachings of the Holy Qur'an, the Sunna of Prophet Muhammad (s), and Ahl al-Bayt (a) to the communities of Orange and Los Angeles Counties.

After two-short years, the IECOC community quickly outgrew its facility and the community was able to raise funds to purchase a new building in Costa Mesa, California. The new location was inaugurated in the Holy month of Ramadan 1420/December 1999 and start to serve the larger Orange and Los Angeles Counties and it is open to all visitors.

Mission

As declared in its mission statement, IECOC sees itself as a community striving to strengthen the faith of believers through the Holy Qur'an as defined and taught by the Holy Prophet (s) and his family (Ahl al-Bayt). This organization tries to encourage all people to pursue a lifelong of righteousness, peace, and belief in One God. Its aim is to serve the community and to teach the words of wisdom and truth through the Holy Quran.

Services and Programs

Directed by Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini, the IECOC provides various services to its visitors, such as marriage solemnization, matrimonial matchmaking, divorce procedure, funeral/burial services, and counseling in different topics, i.e family, youth, inheritance, will, Zakat and Khums.

The center also has other programs such as Qur'an classes, weekly ceremonies for Du'a Kumayl, Qur'an interpretation, Friday congregational prayer, Islamic Farsi and Arabic Schools.

There are also yearly programs in this center which are done in special religious events in Islamic Hijri Calendar. For example, Holy Month of Ramadan, mourning ceremonies in Muharram and The Arba'in, Mid-Shaban celebration for birth of Imam al-Mahdi (aj), workshops for Hajj pilgrimage, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Ghadir, birth and demise of the Holy Prophet (s), and also birth and martyrdom of the 12 Imams of Shi'a (a) and Lady Fatima (a).

External Links

• The Official Website
• Youth page of IECOC on Facebook
• Youth community of IECOC on Twitter
• The channel of IECOC on Youtube
• Sayyid Mustafa al-Qazwini on Twitter
• ‌ Find IECOC on Google Map