The Qalabani and Sadden families were instrumental in initiating the Muslim community in the TriState area which eventually led to the founding of the Islamic Center of Siouxland.  Drs. Askar Qalbani and Fahima Qalbani have been residents of Siouxland area for 45 years. Mohummed Sadden's family roots in Sioux City trace back to 1906.The Islamic Center of Siouxland was registered as a Non-Profit cultural/religious organization with the Secretary of State of Iowa in December 1995 by our founder Chairman of the Board of the Directors, Mr. Mohummed Sadden.  

The following persons are the founders of Islamic Center of Siouxland and responsible for fund raising, purchase of a parcel of 2.5 acres of land in South Sioux City, NE  in 2000 and for construction of the original building of the Islamic Center which opened its door to our community in November 2002. Mr. Saied Zangenehpour, our First President of the Board of Directors from 1996 to 2006 was the visionary, architect and was personally responsible for construction of the original building of the Islamic Center under his dedicated personal supervision from beginning to the end of the project during 2000-2002.

1. Mr. Mohummed Sadden, Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Mr. Sadden is a native of Sioux City and is graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law - now retired.
2. Mr. Saied Zangenehpour, First President of the Board of Directors (Retired and moved to Florida).  As mentioned already,  Mr. Zangenehpour  is the architect and builder of the original Islamic Center’s building in 2002. He was Engineering Director at the Gateway Computer Company in North Sioux City, SD during 1995-2001.
3. Late Mr. Vali M. Sorathia, Vice President -  Professor Sorathia used to teach Economics at the Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He passed away in 2010.
4. Dr. Askar Qalbani - Dr. Askar Qalbani and his wife Dr. Fahima Qalbani have lived in Sioux City for over 45 years and were staff physicians at the Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City.  They are now retired and live in Dakota Dunes, SD.
5. Mr. Hashmat Ali – Resident of South Sioux City, NE
6. Mr. Salah Ud Din – Secretary.  Mr. Din was Electronics and Computer Engineer at Gateway Computer Company in North Sioux City, SD during 1995-2001. He now lives in Austin, TX.
7. Dr. Yunus Moosa – Dr. Moosa was a physician cardiologist, who used to practice medicine  in Siouxland area and moved out in early 2000’s
8. Mr. Ata M. Khan – Treasurer.   Resident of South Sioux City, NE.

Mr. Saied Zangenehpour, our First and Founding President moved out to Florida in 2005 and Dr. Ahmad Mohammad  was elected President of the Board of Directors of Islamic Center in 2006.   Dr. Mohammad has also been serving as Imam of the Islamic Center since 2000, well before the original building of the Islamic Center was built in 2002.

The current building of the Islamic Center sits on a 2.5 acre lot and was first built in 2002 and was expanded in 2018 to its current capacity. In 2002 there were 25 to 30 Muslim families living in Siouxland.  Since then a large number of new immigrant Muslim families from the East African countries of Somalia and Ethiopia have arrived and settled in Sioux City and South Sioux City.  Most found good-paying jobs at the Tyson Foods beef in adjacent Dakota City and at Wells Enterprises' ice cream facilities in Le Mars.  The need for a larger praye hall and a larger basement was felt during 2014 - 2018 to meet the religious and cultural needs of our rapidly growing  community and for the foreseeable future.  An expansion project to add a total of 3,000 squre feet to the north of original Islamic Center building  -- 1,500 feet each to the prayer hall on the first floor and to the basement  - was undertaken during 2018-2019 with a new entry way for the new addition on the west side.  The cost of this expansion project totalled $370,000 which was donated equally by Somali and Pakistani Muslim members of our congregation.  The Islamic Center of Siouxland is now the largest Islamic Center in the states of Nebraska and South Dakota and accomodates up to 250 persons for congregational prayers on Fridays in its prayer hall.  We have separate facilities for men and women for washing and Wadu.  The first floor serves as a prayer hall and the basement serves as muti-functional area for educational and cultural activities. Our current parking lot has room for more than 100 cars. 

The Islamic Center of Siouxland's current building and the accompanying land is completely funded and owned by the local Muslim community of Siouxland and does not have any mortgage or we do not owe any money to any bank or financial institution.  No donations of money and other gifts of any kind by other  US and foreign Muslim organizations and/or foreign governments were accepted.  It is a 100% locally funded and 100% debt-free community property owned by the Muslims of Siouxland area.