One of the Grand Stand Islamic Society (GSIS)’s main religious activities is the Friday afternoon congregational prayers (Jum’ah), which averages about 150 congregants per week. That compares with between 10 to 15 individuals who attend the daily five prayers.

The Jum’ah Khutba (Islamic bayaan sermon) is at 1:30 p.m. The congregational prayer is at 2 p.m.

The Jum’ah service begins with a sermon in English, then a call to prayer (Azaan), individual customary prayers (Sunnah prayers), a sermon in Arabic (Khutbah), and ending in two cycles (rakahs) of obligatory (Fard) prayer in congregation. The services are officiated by our Imam Abdou El Hilaly, our Khateeb (or speaker).

Grand Strand Islamic Society was incorporated in 2008. It opened the new masjid on July 18, 2013 after a nearly two-year fundraising campaign and construction. The cost was just more than $200,000. The Jum’ah prayer prior to that were held mostly at the Myrtle Beach Recreation Center. In 2015, GSIS hired Imam Abdou El Hilaly to serves its growing community by leading the daily prayer (Salah) and running and managing weekend Qur’an and Arabic classes for children and adults.

GSIS manages the masjid site. Its mission is to secure a religious, education, and family life center for the Myrtle Beach-area Muslim community to meet its spiritual, social, and civic needs. Here are GSIS’s Constitution and Bylaws.

The Grand Strand Islamic Society is made up of an assorted group of lifelong Myrtle Beach residents, professionals, students, retirees, and business owners.

Many ethnicities attend ICV including those with origins in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and several Arab countries. The languages (besides English, of course) spoken are mainly Farsi, Urdu, and Arabic. The age groups range from infants to elders with the majority of the community members ranging from 40 to 60 years old. Congregants at the Grand Strand Islamic Society follow diverse theological Sunni schools.

A mosque, or masjid, is literally any place where Muslims make their daily five prayers (salat) performed in the direction of Mecca; it needn’t be a building.

A mosque is free of statues and utilizes rugs instead of pews. It is appropriate to remove one’s shoes before entering the prayer area in a mosque, so that the floors and carpets aren’t covered with dirt—after all, that is where people pray.

A Muslim must be in a state of physical purification before making his or her prayer. That includes washing the feet. Our restrooms are equipped with bidets and other modern amenities for the self-purification process (wudu) performed prior to prayers.

One misconception about Islam is often the word jihad. Crusaders from the Middle Ages interpreted jihad as a holy war; however, in Islam, jihad means a struggle against evil, which can include everyday temptations.

Mosques are probably America’s best line of defense against terrorism. They actually combat radicalism by providing a community to guide Muslims who have fallen to the rhetoric of radicalism. Mosques, however, remain greatly misunderstood on the American landscape.

Visit us, and listen to what our sermon speakers espouse. What you’ll hear is talk about prayer, fasting, charity, kindness to parents, and service to family and community.

No. Together with Judaism, they go back to the prophet and patriarch Abraham, and their three prophets are directly descended from his sons – Muhammad from the eldest, Ishmael, and Moses and Jesus from Isaac. Abraham established the settlement that today is the city of Makkah (Mecca), and built a cuboid-shaped building called the Kaa’ba, which Muslims turn toward daily when they pray.

The Grand Strand Islamic Society parallels national statistics on mosque attendance. According to Pew and Gallup polls in 2010, about 40 percent of Muslim Americans say they pray in a mosque at least once a week, nearly the same percentage of American Christians who attend church weekly. About a third of all U.S. Muslims say they seldom or never go to mosques. Also, contrary to stereotypes of mosques as male-only spaces, Gallup finds that women are as likely as men to attend.

One of Grand Strand Islamic Society‘s main religious activities are the Friday afternoon congregational prayers (Jum’ah), which averages about 150 congregants each week. That compares with a handful of individuals who attend the daily five prayers.

The Grand Strand Islamic Society‘s governance is based on a two-tiered administrative structure consisting of a Board of Directors and an Executive Committee. Both bodies are made up of volunteers. The Board performs primary oversight and strategic functions while the Executive Committee is in charge of the day-to-day management of the masjid. The Board and Executive Committee are selected from amongst regular masjid attendees who demonstrate a clear commitment to Grand Strand Islamic Society’s mission of peace, prayer, and service.

The Grand Strand Islamic Society has 501(c)3 status. It has a bylaws and a constitution. Its bylaws provide for active involvement and consultation of religious authorities both locally and nationally to insure that the mosque adheres to Islamic principles derived from the Qur’an (Islam’s holy book) and the Sunnah (the sayings and living habits of Muhammad, the main prophet of Islam).

Here is a list of our programs.

Here is an abridged description of Islam.

It is most appropriate to wear modest, loose-fitting clothes. For men, it is better to wear long pants, and for women to wear pants or full-length skirts or dresses, with long sleeves. Muslim women attending the mosque typically wear a headscarf as well. A female visitor may cover her head if she wishes to show respect to other worshipers or to enrich her own experience.

Also, please keep in mind that many Muslims do not shake hands with anyone of the opposite gender. That is, men do not shake hands with women, and women do not shake hands with men. Unless a member of the congregation extends his or her hand first, it is better to not extend yours.

Please see this page about visiting the Grand Strand Islamic Society.

Women and men offer prayers in a separate prayer areas. The separation provides men and women with privacy and modesty. The physical separation helps men and women also maintain his or her focus on prayer–instead on one another.

Latecomers will join the prayer already in progress. After the leader of the prayer (Imam) has finished, they will complete what they missed.

To the contrary, mosques are typical American religious institutions. In addition to worship services, most U.S. mosques hold weekend classes for children, offer charity to the poor, provide counseling services and conduct interfaith programs. There have been unfortunate exceptions, and that has led to a renewed commitment among mosque leaders to confront extremism. We hope you will visit us, and find that we are a premier site of American assimilation and community involvement.