Tucson is the second largest city in Arizona. Phoenix is first, about 1.67 million. Tucson is about 548,000, with Pima County at about 1.07 million.
In 2020, the U.S. Religion Census counted 10,566 Muslims in Pima County and 3 congregations.
That was the last real count.
What we can count today are the buildings:
- Islamic Center of Tucson, 901 E 1st St, near the UA. Long standing main Sunni mosque. 500 + at Friday prayer, members from 30 + nationalities.
- Muslim Community Center of Tucson, 5100 N Kevy Place, northwest side. An imam told Arizona Sonoran News in 2025 that Fridays draw 350 to 400, and tied the increase to refugee programs and the University of Arizona.
- Imam Abu Hanifa Islamic Center, 4727 E 5th St. Formed under Imam Watheq Alobaidi. Refugee services.
- Al-Faruuq Center of Tucson, 1080 N Swan Rd. Islamic and Arabic instruction, including for refugees.
- Husainiya Center of Tucson, 639 N Swan Rd. Shia center. Permanent building opened in 2019 after years of meeting in houses.
- Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, around 250 W Speedway. A separate movement, not mainstream Sunni or Shia.
- ICS Masjid, 5010 E Bellevue. Quran-only “Submitters” congregation tied to Rashad Khalifa.
Three congregations on the books in 2020. Seven centers on the map now, in the second largest city in the state of Arizona, fed by University of Arizona students and refugee resettlements from Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
This is no longer the Tucson many of us grew to love, and it is not “just normal growth” either.
Are you paying attention?