Religious Centers Grow with Northern Virginia Population

July 11, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

On July 11, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "followers of the Baha'i faith plan to begin construction this summer on their first center in Northern Virginia, an 18,000-square-foot building in Sterling that would serve the religious and community needs of more than 1,000 people... Local Baha'is held a groundbreaking ceremony in May. Several said they anticipate that construction will begin soon and hope that the center will open as early as next summer... Baha'is have only recently experienced the kind of growth that makes a permanent home necessary, several active local members said... The growth in the Baha'i community is another sign of Loudoun's increasing religious diversity. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society is building a 25,000-square-foot mosque not too far away on the Loudoun-Fairfax border, and the Loudoun Jewish Congregation broke ground in April in Leesburg for the county's first permanent synagogue."