West Campus’ Nueces Mosque Readies for Renovation

The soon-to-be renovated West Campus mosque (photo by Amaya Austin)

Tucked between towering high-rise apartments, a humble yellow house stands out against the rowdy crowds of West Campus. The charming home, embellished with a pink budding tree and a simple wooden fence, garners hundreds of people each week for shared meals, prayers, and meetings.

It may look like something from the Disney Pixar classic Up, but this building belongs to Nueces Mosque – Austin’s first mosque, originally called Austin Mosque when it opened in 1977. Now, it’s a mostly student-run sanctuary, open to anyone wishing to worship. Unlike in the movie, here there are no strings (or balloons) attached.

The mosque now hosts anywhere from 500-600 students in peak attendance. “We are at max capacity, if not more, and we’ve been like that for many, many years now,” says Imam Anwer Imam, whose last name coincidently matches his title: Imam, an Arabic term for a Muslim prayer leader. “Although the building is over 100 years old, what’s become abundantly clear to all of us is that it’s not going to last for another 100 years.”

In 2016, Nueces Mosque launched plans to fully renovate the property they have owned for the past 46 years. Today, the site is entering its pre-construction phase – having held one of the last floor plan discussion meetings on November 29 and rapidly arranging fundraisers to break ground in mid-2025. “Walking into a sacred space that’s more modern, more aesthetically pleasing, and is on par with some of the rest of the religious spaces surrounding it,” Imam said, “I think it’s an important step in the journey of the community.”

While these renovation plans would be the most significant change since the mosque’s founding, efforts to accommodate growing attendance are not new.

In 1977, Nagi Mabruk, originally from Libya, attended the mosque starting his sophomore year at the University of Texas at Austin. “Between March 1977 and 1979 the number of people increased to the point that the place itself would not take more than 40 to 50 people,” Mabruk said, “So, we built the shed behind it ... to accommodate more people there.”

Today, the property is made up of five buildings: the main prayer hall, a brothers’ wudu and seminary room, two activity spaces (one for brothers, one for sisters), and a storage unit.

Yet back then, Mabruk recalls converting an older, white house next door into today’s distinctive main hall. “We found an opportunity to buy the next-door house ... as a matter of fact, we had done all the work ourselves at that point: converting the house, taking the walls [down] and all that,” he said.

Mabruk proudly talks about his fifth child, Batul Mabruk, who currently serves as the property manager for Nueces Mosque. “It gives you the chills. You know, you were her age at that point when you got involved, or close to her age ... and I just reflected back on how much energy I had,” he said, “And now you see your own child is following your footsteps.”

Batul remembers her father’s reaction very well. “He was like, 'Yeah! Let’s go!’ and he started jumping and high-fiving me,” she said. “He’s been super supportive. When I first joined we had that big winter storm, and I was like, 'Baba, I don’t know how to weatherproof,’ so he kind of walked me through the things that I would have to do.”

As time persisted, attendance grew exponentially, but so did the structures’ degradation. Batul shared her concerns over potentially corroding pipes. “It’s always in the back of my mind,” she said. “If something were to happen, I have to deal with it. Whereas [with] newer buildings, you don’t see that as much.”

The reconstruction plan’s main attraction is the large prayer hall at the building’s core. Surrounding this space, the Mosque will include a welcoming lounge, a second-story dedicated to education and outreach efforts, a coffee shop, and even floors for student housing.

“It does mean a lot to me, because when I see it, I see things my dad laid with his own hands himself, but at the same time ... the purpose for that was to account for this growing community of Muslims, you know, to give them basically a home away from home.” Batul said. “It is bittersweet to say goodbye to this building, but I think the newer, renovated Nueces [Mosque], is going to have so much more to offer people.”

Students and committee members at Nueces Mosque have a goal of raising an additional $4 million for the reconstruction plan by the holy month of Ramadan (within March). Additional information on the renovation plan and where to donate can be found at the Nueces Mosque website.