Cedar Rapids mourns Imam Taha Tawil at Saturday funeral prayer

The Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids filled Saturday afternoon for the Janazah of Imam Taha Tawil, the 66-year-old religious leader who died Friday evening after more than 40 years serving the city's Muslim community.

The funeral prayer began at 1:30 p.m. in the center's gym. Tawil's body will be taken to Jerusalem for burial, the center announced.

Tawil's presence in Cedar Rapids began in the early 1980s, when he arrived from Jerusalem. By 1996 he was imam of the Mother Mosque of America, the 1934 building his community had purchased in 1990 and restored to its original purpose. The mosque, now on the National Register of Historic Places, is the oldest purpose-built mosque in the country.

His work reached well beyond the Muslim community. Tawil co-founded the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County, served as a police chaplain and a member of the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, and made regular visits to state prisons through the Iowa Department of Corrections.

He also taught for more than 15 years at Lake Land College in Illinois and led prayers for Muslim students at Grinnell College. His academic credentials included a law degree in Islamic Law from Jerusalem University and a master's in Theology and Ethics from the University of Iowa.

"For many of us, Imam Taha was part of our own families, and this loss is deeply personal," the Islamic Center said in its death announcement.

Tawil is survived by his wife, Sara, their seven children and several grandchildren. The family recalled his guiding principle: "America works when freedom works."