Opened in 2002 by Texas Governor Rick Perry in the presence of Mawlana Hazar Imam, the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center was designed by Indian-born architect Ramesh Khosla, who is also known for his work on the World Trade Center concourse. His design brings together concepts of Islamic inspiration — some going back a thousand years — with materials indigenous to the Southwestern United States.

Amidst its interconnected interiors linked through a shared rotunda, garden and courtyard, the Center incorporates cultural and exhibition space, classrooms, offices, and areas for spiritual contemplation.

The red brick complex plays an important national role as home to the Ismaili Council for the United States of America, as well as other American Ismaili institutions responsible for the community’s social governance.

At the time of the inauguration of the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center, Mawlana Hazar Imam articulated its purpose and function: “The Center will be a place of peace, humility, reflection and prayer. It will be a place of search and enlightenment... It will be a center which will seek to bond men and women of this pluralist country to replace their fragility in their narrow spheres by the strength of civilised society bound together by a common destiny. It is already a symbol of the hopes of people who lived through change and turbulence, and have ultimately found security and opportunity here in the United States, the majority of whom have chosen the State of Texas.”