For years, Washington's Moslems have had to spread their prayer rugs wherever they might, for they had no mosque. On Jan. 11, 1949, the 1,379th birthday of Mohammed, the cornerstone for the capital's first mosque was laid at Massachusetts Ave. and Belmont Road. It was slow abuilding. Egypt anted up its share of the cost, but other Moslem countries dallied.
Last May, with the mosque still only half finished, the National Production Authority clamped controls on materials for religious structures. Washington's mosque was short 40.5 tons of steel for the roof and a 150-ft. minaret. NPA refused to allocate more steel...
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