The first Muslim immigrants arrived from Syria and Lebanon in the 1900s and established the Syrian American Muslim Society in the late 1930s. In 1954, the first Islamic Center was built on East Bancroft Street. By the late 60s and early 70s, the growing Muslim community had outgrown the Bancroft Street Center. The present Center, architecturally classic in Islamic style, was the first such mosque in North America; its foundation was laid in October 1980 and it officially opened on October 22, 1983. In August 2001, the full time Islamic School of Greater Toledo opened. Today, its members represent nearly 30 nationalities and provide an important bridge of understanding between its members and the community at large.