The Islamic Center of Santa Ana’s (ICSA) was established by a dozen Muslim families who escaped from war-ravaged Vietnam and Laos and the killing fields of Cambodia to the U.S. in search of new lives and religious freedom in the early 1980s. In the early days, it was known as the Indo-Chinese Muslim Refugee Association. After 35 years, the community yearned for a larger facility and parking spaces. After many years of searching, ICSA’s leadership finally bought an abandoned building located at 1610 E. 1st Street, Santa Ana with a price tag of $2.6 million dollars.
