The Islamic Center of Washington was the site of the 1977 Hanafi Siege, in which armed gunmen took hostages in Washington, D.C. In 2010 the opening named the "Hanafi Siege" and said "Muslim gunmen holding hostages made several demands," including that a film be destroyed. Today's opening covers only the mosque's 1957 opening and its size; hostage survives twice elsewhere in the article. A reader today does not learn that gunmen took hostages at the center in 1977 or that the standoff is known as the Hanafi Siege.
Read line by line and written up by hand.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “hostage” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2010 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2010
Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. , United States . It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek . When it opened in 1957 it was the largest Muslim place of worship in the Western Hemisphere.1Some 6000 people attend prayers there each Friday. The center was originally conceived in 1944 when the Turkish ambassador Münir Ertegün died and there was no mosque to hold his funeral in. The Washington diplomatic community played a leading role in the effort to have a mosque constructed. Support came from most of the Islamic nations of the world which donated funds, decorations, and craftsmen to the project. Support for the project also came from the American-Muslim community. The site was purchased in 1946 and the corner stone was laid on January 11, 1949. The building was designed by Italian architect Mario Rossi and was dedicated on June 28 1957 with President Dwight D. The main prayer hall of the center is covered by Persian carpets dedicated by the late Shah of Iran. The center continues to be controlled by a board of governors made up of various ambassadors. Around the building are arrayed the flags of the Islamic nations of the world. The mosque has been visited by many high profile dignitaries, including several presidents. The highest profile visit was by President George W. Bush on September 17 2001 only days after the attacks of September 11 . On national television, Bush quoted from the Koran and worked to assure Americans that the vast majority of Muslims are peaceful. In addition to the mosque, the center contains a library and classrooms where courses on Islam and the Arabic language are taught. The mosque was one of three buildings taken over in the 1977 Hanafi Siege . Muslim gunmen holding hostages made several demands, including the demand that the movie Mohammad, Messenger of God be destroyed because they considered it sacrilegious." Stewart, Nikita (August 1, 2005). " 'Some Things You Never Forget': Thirty years ago, gunmen stormed three D.C. buildings, taking 150 hostages and one life" .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 360327400.
The opening as it stood in 2005
It is located on Embassy Row just east of the bridge over Rock Creek . When it opened in 1957 it was the largest Muslim place of worship in the Western Hemisphere. Some 6,000 people attend prayers there each Friday. The centre was originally conceived in 1944 when the Turkish ambassador died and there was no mosque to hold his funeral in. The Washington diplomatic community played a leading role in the effort to have a mosque constructed. Support came from most of the Islamic nations of the world who donated money, decorations, and craftsmen to the project. Support for the project also came from the American-Muslim community. The site was purchase in 1946 and the corner stone was laid in 1949. The building was designed by Italian architect Mario Rossi and was dedicated on June 28 , 1957 with President Eisenhower in attendance. The center continues to be controlled by a board of governors made up of various ambassadors. Around the building are arrayed the flags of the Islamic nations of the world. The Mosque has been visited by many high profile dignitaries, including several presidents. The highest profile visit was by George W. Bush on September 17 , 2001 only days after the September 11th attacks . On national television Bush quoted from the Koran and worked to assure Americans that vast majority of Muslims are peaceful. As well as a mosque the centre contains a library and classrooms where courses on Islam and the Arabic language are taught.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 17394292.
The opening as it stood in 2015 18 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. . It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek . When it opened in 1957 it was the largest mosque in the Western Hemisphere.Some 6,000 people pray there each Friday .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664223627.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. . It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek . When it opened in 1957, it was the largest mosque in the Western Hemisphere.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 965184432.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
The Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek . When it opened in 1957, it was the largest mosque in the Western Hemisphere.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1151339401.
The opening as it stood in 2025
The Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek . When it opened in 1957, it was the largest mosque in the Western Hemisphere.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294781312. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“hostage” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 2. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
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hostage
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 6 October 2023.
Then
mosque and islamic cultural center in washington d
Now
mosque and islamic cultural center in washington
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
