DOCSLIB.ORG

From Protest to Praxis: a History of Islamic Schools in North America

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
From Protest to Praxis: a History of Islamic Schools in North America FROM PROTEST TO PRAXIS: A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC SCHOOLS IN NORTH AMERICA by Nadeem Ahmed Memon A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theory and Policy Studies Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Nadeem Ahmed Memon (2009) FROM PROTEST TO PRAXIS: A HISTORY OF ISLAMIC SCHOOLS IN NORTH AMERICA Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Nadeem Ahmed Memon Department of Theory and Policy Studies University of Toronto Abstract This work attempts to achieve two overarching objectives: firstly to trace the historical growth of Islamic schools in North America and secondly, to explore the ideological and philosophical values that have shaped the vision of these schools. The historical growth of Islamic schools in North America has been led by two distinct communities among Sunni Muslims: the indigenous and the immigrant. Specific to the North American Muslim diaspora “indigenous” represents the African American Muslim community of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (1933-2008), and “immigrant” refers to the generation of Sunni Muslims who settled in North America in the 1960s and 1970s. Through oral history, this study attempts to capture the voices, sentiments, and aspirations of those that struggled to establish the earliest full-time Islamic schools. The study examines these voices for the ways Islamic education is defined differently based on generational, contextual, and ideological perspectives. Recognizing the diverse lived experiences of Muslim communities in North America, the findings are organized in four distinct, yet often overlapping historical phases that map the growth and development of Islamic schooling. The four phases of Protest, Preservation, Pedagogy, and Praxis also represent how the aims of Islamic education have evolved over time. ii From the Nation of Islam and their inherent vision of equality through resistance, the earliest attempt at establishing schools for Muslim children began in the 1930s. The transition of the Nation of Islam into a community redefined by the teachings of mainstream Islam coupled with the settlement of substantial immigrant Muslim communities altered the discourse from protest to identity preservation in the 1980s. Collaboration between the “indigenous” and “immigrant” communities defined a concerted effort to improve the quality of Islamic schools in the 1990s. And post 9/11, the discourse of inward-looking school improvement shifted once again to outward praxis. The historical mapping of the vision of Islamic schooling between communities also allows for the exploration of how interpretations of the Islamic tradition inform the pedagogy of schools. Through separate histories and religious perspectives, this study seeks to explore the complexities of the aims of Islamic schools, both between communities and within them. iii Acknowledgements “Say: ‘Think, if your water were to sink down into the earth, who would give you gushing water in its place?’” (Qur’an 67:30) If there is one thing that has been reinforced on this journey, it is that there is only one direction to turn to for help. In turning in that direction, He then facilitates circumstances, opens avenues that outwardly seemed impenetrable, changes the hearts of those who may be resistant, and puts people in place to give love, support, understanding, and words of encouragement. Therefore, I begin by thanking Allah first and foremost. I then would like to acknowledge the professional and fraternal contributions of all those who I have been honoured to have gained inspiration from. With the utmost sincerity, I recognize that supporting a doctoral candidate over a journey that spans years requires patience and more patience as we progress through moments of small peaks and what appear to be deep valleys. Much of the inspiration for this journey, for the questions that frame this study, and for the ways in which I sought to understand the development of Islamic schools must be attributed to my teacher and mentor, Nazim Baksh. Over numerous conversations at the “Star-Baksh” across the CBC and in between our memorable squash games, I gained an appreciation for asking difficult questions and thinking anew. The second thrust of my inspiration came through two close friends who were kind enough to take me under their wing during their own doctoral journeys. I am indebted to both Dr. Atif Khalil and Dr. Mohammed Rustom for the numerous times you both attempted to teach me Arabic. I have to shamelessly admit I came to those Arabic classes more for your words of advice and encouragement in relation to my thesis over iv actually learning Arabic. And to Mohammed I am also indebted to the number of red pens you exhausted in reading drafts of this thesis. To my committee, I could not have asked for one that was more supportive. To my supervisor, Dr. Ruth Sandwell, I thank you for taking me on, for being available whenever I needed to meet, but most of all, for the constant positive reinforcement you gave. To Dr. John Portelli, after taking a number of your classes during graduate studies, having you on my master’s and now my doctoral committee, I thank you for always asking me questions I could not answer. To Dr. Sarfaroz Niyozov, I will never overlook your support and encouragement that has opened doors to make my research relevant at OISE. To my external, Dr. Aminah McCloud I thank you for pushing me to think deeply about what I have written and to anticipate the lived reality that the tensions I have addressed still exist. And to Dr. Jasmin Zine, I have saved you for last because my indebtedness to you spans beyond the scope of this study. As I reflect, I am still unclear what I did to deserve to be taken under your wing for the past four years. I cannot express enough gratitude for the doors you opened for me with respect to conferences, publications, and community work. In most, if not all of my academic work thus far, I have but carried a torch you lit. I close my acknowledgements with the one person whose presence in my life is truly a testament to Allah’s mercy. To my wife, Nazneen Wajid, I am confident that I will never be able to outdo or even match your emotional commitment to my personal aspirations. It is without doubt that this study is completed because of your intuition of my needs, your unwavering confidence in my limited potential, and your every sacrifice along the way. v Acronyms AMM American Muslim Mission CISNA Council of Islamic Schools in North America CMS Clara Muhammad Schools IIIT International Institute of Islamic Thought ISNA Islamic Society of North America MAS Muslim American Society MSA Muslim Students Association NOI Nation of Islam SCMS Sister Clara Muhammad Schools WCIW World Community of Al-Islam Glossary of Arabic Terms ‘Aqida/ ‘Aqa’id foundational beliefs/tenets of faith ‘Asabiyyah group solidarity, cultural community building ‘Ilm knowledge Akhlaq character/behaviour Allah God Ayah sign, verse of the Qur’an Fiqh Islamic law Fitrah natural inclination, natural state Hadith a saying, teaching of the Prophet Muhammad Ibadah worship Imam religious leader of a congregation Islam the religion of Muslims Jahiliyyah ignorance Khalifah vicegerent Madrasah (pl. madaris) traditional school, place of learning Mizan balance, scale Muhammad (Prophet) the final prophet of Islam Mujaddid renewer of faith Nafs inner self Qadr power, strength Qur’an final revelation of Islam Salafiyyah an ideology/perspective of contemporary Islam that emphasizes returning to core Islamic beliefs as they were practiced by the salaf (earliest generations of Muslims Seerah the life of the Prophet Muhammad Sheikh/Shaykh scholar of the Islamic sciences, not necessarily a leader of a congregation Sunnah the way of the Prophet Muhammad Tafsir interpretation of the Qur’an vi Taqwa belief, certainty of God Tarbiyah nurturing wholeness Tawhid the belief in One God and in the finality of the Prophet Muhamad Ummah global Muslim community vii Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ iv PART I: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 1 Chapter One: Mapping the Terrain..................................................................................... 1 Semantics: Islamic Schools Versus Muslims Schools................................................ 3 Relevance of this Study .............................................................................................. 5 The Phases of Islamic School Growth........................................................................ 8 Protest 1930-1975 ..................................................................................................... 13 Preservation 1965-1990 ............................................................................................ 14 Pedagogy 1985-2001 ................................................................................................ 14 Praxis 2001 to the Present......................................................................................... 15 Chapter Two: Setting the Stage: The History of Muslims in North America .................. 17 Diversities and Complexities Within North American Muslims.............................. 19 Toward Muslim Organizational Structures..............................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Engaged Surrender
    one Engaged Surrender In 1991, when I ventured onto the grounds of Masjid Ummah, a mosque in Southern California, I was not new to African American Sunni Islam.1 In college, I had attempted to understand the “evolution” of the Muslim movement by examining the Nation of Islam’s journal Muhammad Speaks from the early 1960s through its transformation into the Muslim Journal, a Sunni Muslim weekly. What began my love of and fascination with the African American Sunni Muslim community is what I now see as an important but naive observation. In 1986, while riding on a bus in Chester, Pennsylvania, in ninety-nine degree weather, I observed a woman walking on the side- walk and wearing dark brown, polyester hijab and veil.2 She had two young children in tow, a boy and a girl, each with the proper, gendered head coverings: a skull cap for the boy and a scarf for the girl. I thought to myself, “Why would a woman in America choose not to be a femi- nist?” Or “Why would a woman in America choose not to have choices?” With respect to the first question, in the feminist literature of the 1970s, the psychological, symbolic, and neo-Marxist approaches to the study of gender asked why women are universally oppressed.3 The as- sumption of course is that in every society women are considered infe- 1 2/Engaged Surrender rior, an assumption that has been challenged in what is often described as “third wave feminism.”4 At the time I asked these questions, in the mid- and late 1980s, I was unfamiliar with the works of, for example, Chandra Mohanty, bell hooks, and Moraga and Anzaldua, who around the same time were articulating the importance of race, class, and nation in terms of women’s experiences with gender.
    [Show full text]
  • Harvard Conference (Re)Presenting American Muslims: Broadening the Conversation Conference Team
    Harvard Conference (Re)Presenting American Muslims: Broadening the Conversation Conference Team Host and Co-Convener Co-Convener Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program Institute for Social Policy and at Harvard University: Understanding (ISPU): Dr. Ali Asani Kathryn M. Coughlin Farhan Latif Zeba Iqbal Professor of Indo- Executive Director, Prince Chief Operating Officer ISPU Research Team Muslim and Islamic Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic & Director of Policy Editor and Report Religion and Cultures; Studies Program Impact Author Director, Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program Co-Organizers Facilitators Maria Ebrahimji Hussein Rashid, PhD Nadia Firozvi Asim Rehman Journalist, Consultant, Founder, Islamicate, L3C Attorney in Former President, & Co-Founder, I Speak Washington, DC Muslim Bar Association For Myself Inc. of NY ISPU would like to acknowledge the generous supporters whose contributions made this report possible: Mohamed Elnabtity and Rania Zagho, Jamal Ghani, Mahmoud and Nada Hadidi, Mahmood and Annette Hai, Fasahat Hamzavi and Saba Maroof, Rashid Haq, Raghib Hussain, Mohammed Maaieh and Raniah Jaouni, Khawaja Nimr and Beenish Ikram, Ghulam Qadir and Huda Zenati, Nadia Roumani, Quaid Saifee and Azra Hakimi, Abubakar and Mahwish Sheikh, Haanei Shwehdi and Ilaaf Darrat, Ferras Zeni and Serene Katranji Participants (listed alphabetically) Zain Abdullah, PhD, Shakila Ahmad, Debbie Almontaser Sana Amanat, Shahed Amanullah Saud Anwar, Associate Professor President, Islamic President, Board of Editor, Marvel Founder, Multiple Mayor of Windsor, in the
    [Show full text]
  • Muhammad, Sultan 1
    Muhammad, Sultan 1 Sultan Muhammad Oral History Interview Thursday, February 28, 2019 Interviewer: This is an interview with Sultan Muhammad as part of the Chicago History Museum Muslim Oral History Project. The interview is being conducted on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 3:02 pm at the Chicago History Museum. Sultan Muhammad is being interviewed by Mona Askar of the Chicago History Museum’s Studs Terkel Center for Oral History. Could you please state and spell your first and last name? Sultan Muhammad: My name is Sultan Muhammad. S-u-l-t-a-n Last name, Muhammad M-u-h-a-m-m-a-d Int: When and where were you born? SM: I was born here in Chicago in 1973. In the month of January 28th. Int: Could you please tell us about your parents, what they do for a living. Do you have any siblings? SM: My father, may blessings be on him, passed in 1990. He was also born here in Chicago. He is a grandson of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He grew up in the Nation of Islam, working for his father, Jabir Herbert Muhammad who was the fight manager for Muhammad Ali and business manager of the Nation of Islam. Sultan Muhammad, my father, was also a pilot. He was the youngest black pilot in America at the time. Later he became an imam under Imam Warith Deen Mohammed after 1975. My mother, Jamima was born in Detroit. She is the daughter of Dorothy Rashana Hussain and Mustafa Hussain. Robert was his name before accepting Islam.
    [Show full text]
  • Struggling Against Stereotypes
    Islam Struggling Against Stereotypes Struggling Against Stereotypes Summary: The American media, including television programs, films, and newspapers, propagated negative portrayals of Islam and presented anti-Muslim rhetoric uncritically even before 9/11, though the issue intensified after the U.S. declared its “Global War on Terror.” Muslim individuals—and non-Muslims mistaken for Muslims—experience discrimination, harassment, and physical attacks, while mosques and Islamic centers are often vandalized. In the wake of hate attacks, Muslim organizations like the Islamic Circle of North America, the Council of American-Islamic Relations, the American Muslim Council, various mosque and Muslim media often utilize different outlets (open houses, pamphlets, call centers, TV series) to address stereotypes. One of the most widely discussed issues in the U.S. Muslim community is the negative image of Islam in the American media, an issue that was cause for concern even before 9/11. While appeals to the media for accuracy and fairness continue, newspaper headlines regularly print the words “Islam” and “Muslim” next to words like “fanatic,” “fundamentalist,” “militant,” “terrorist,” and “violence.” Uses of the term “jihad” in television programs and films are also illustrative. As a pamphlet for the media published by the American Muslim Council explains, the word jihad “is more accurately translated as ‘exertion of effort,’ not ‘holy war.’ The Prophet Muhammad said that the highest form of jihad is the personal struggle to make oneself a better Muslim.” Events such as the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the subsequent hostage crisis, the Gulf War, and, most significantly, 9/11 and the “Global War on Terror” that followed, have received enormous press coverage as evidence of “Islamic fundamentalism.” American Muslims often ask why a small group of extremists, whose terrorist actions violate the central principles of Islam, should determine the public image of the entire Muslim community.
    [Show full text]
  • Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques
    SAUDI PUBLICATIONS ON HATE IDEOLOGY INVADE AMERICAN MOSQUES _______________________________________________________________________ Center for Religious Freedom Freedom House 2 Copyright © 2005 by Freedom House Published by the Center for Religious Freedom Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of Freedom House, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Center for Religious Freedom Freedom House 1319 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-296-5101 Fax: 202-296-5078 Website: www.freedomhouse.org/religion ABOUT THE CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM The CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM is a division of Freedom House. Founded more than sixty years ago by Eleanor Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, and other Americans concerned with the mounting threats to peace and democracy, Freedom House has been a vigorous proponent of democratic values and a steadfast opponent of dictatorship of the far left and the far right. Its Center for Religious Freedom defends against religious persecution of all groups throughout the world. It insists that U.S foreign policy defend those persecuted for their religion or beliefs around the world, and advocates the right to religious freedom for every individual. Since its inception in 1986, the Center, under the leadership of human rights lawyer Nina Shea, has reported on the religious persecution of individuals and groups abroad and undertaken advocacy on their behalf in the media, Congress, State Department, and the White House. It also sponsors investigative field missions. Freedom House is a 501(c)3 organization, headquartered in New York City.
    [Show full text]
  • The Maulana Who Loved Krishna
    SPECIAL ARTICLE The Maulana Who Loved Krishna C M Naim This article reproduces, with English translations, the e was a true maverick. In 1908, when he was 20, he devotional poems written to the god Krishna by a published an anonymous article in his modest Urdu journal Urd -i-Mu’all (Aligarh) – circulation 500 – maulana who was an active participant in the cultural, H ū ā which severely criticised the British colonial policy in Egypt political and theological life of late colonial north India. regarding public education. The Indian authorities promptly Through this, the article gives a glimpse of an Islamicate charged him with “sedition”, and demanded the disclosure of literary and spiritual world which revelled in syncretism the author’s name. He, however, took sole responsibility for what appeared in his journal and, consequently, spent a little with its surrounding Hindu worlds; and which is under over one year in rigorous imprisonment – held as a “C” class threat of obliteration, even as a memory, in the singular prisoner he had to hand-grind, jointly with another prisoner, world of globalised Islam of the 21st century. one maund (37.3 kgs) of corn every day. The authorities also confi scated his printing press and his lovingly put together library that contained many precious manuscripts. In 1920, when the fi rst Indian Communist Conference was held at Kanpur, he was one of the organising hosts and pre- sented the welcome address. Some believe that it was on that occasion he gave India the slogan Inqilāb Zindabād as the equivalent to the international war cry of radicals: “Vive la Revolution” (Long Live The Revolution).
    [Show full text]
  • Sr. Clara Muhammad (1899-1972) Courage, Conviction and Care North America
    Units 1-4 Unit 5 Elementary/Middle Level Teaching Packet < A project of Rabata < Published by Daybreak Press < Supervised by the scholars at the Ribaat Academic Program 2018 Women’s History Month © rabata.org 1 Table of Contents Overview and Overall Objectives 3 Standards 3 Essential Understandings 6 Essential Questions 7 Reference to other units 8 Unit five: 10 Discussion points and Curriculum Connections 12 Activities and Lesson plan 13 Unit five: Student handouts 16 References 27 Rabata and its Projects: 28 2018 Women’s History Month © rabata.org 2 "History looks different when the contributions of women are included." -- The National Women's History Project Teaching Packet Overview: The following material is assembled in hopes of “giving rise to women’s voices.” Its intent is to offer a way that teachers and students can work together to further awareness of both historic and contemporary Muslim women. This guide can be used as individual lessons or to integrate themes and ideas. Overall Objective of Teaching Packet: To acquire attitudes which are essential for citizens of democratic pluralist societies, in particular intellectual honesty, open-mindedness, respect for truth, tolerance, acceptance of differences, empathy, and civil courage. Standards Common Core Language Arts Standards National Social Studies Standards Reading Informational Text: Culture & Diversity Key Ideas and Details CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.1 • Assist learners to explore, Refer to details and examples in a text when comprehend, and apply critical explaining what the text says explicitly and information, ideas, and concepts that when drawing inferences from the text. are common across societies, social CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.2 institutions, cultures, and cultural Determine the main idea of a text and explain perspectives.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Prison': the Nation of Islam and the Politicization of African American
    Journal of American Studies, (), , – © Cambridge University Press doi:./S First published online August “All America Is a Prison”: The Nation of Islam and the Politicization of African American Prisoners, – ZOE COLLEY This article examines the rise of the Nation of Islam (NOI) within America’s penal system during the late s and the s. In doing so, it explores the reasons for the NOI’s appeal among African American prisoners, its contribution to the politicization of those prisoners, the responses of penal, state and federal authorities to the proliferation of prison mosques, and the way in which imprisoned Black Muslims’ campaign for freedom of religious expression established the legal groundwork for the prisoners’ rights movement of the late s and the s. This research presents the prison as a locus of black protest and the African American prisoner as an important, but largely overlooked, actor within the black freedom struggle. It calls upon historians to recognize the importance of the prison as both a site and a symbol of black resistance during the post-World War II period. That’s why black prisoners become Muslims so fast when Elijah Muhammad’s teachings filter into their cages by way of other Muslim convicts. “The white man is the devil” is a perfect echo of that black convict’s lifelong experience. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X’s conversion to the Nation of Islam (NOI) while incarcerated in Leavenworth Prison, Kansas is part of the well-established narrative of his life. A number of biographies and studies of the man detail the awakening of his political consciousness while incarcerated and the importance of that experience in drawing him into the NOI.
    [Show full text]
  • 2012 Annual Report
    2012 ANNUAL REPORT www.cairchicago.org Table of Contents Executive Note.........................................................................................................03 Financial Summary.................................................................................................06 In Focus: The Prison Project..................................................................................07 Civil Rights Department........................................................................................09 Our Vision: In Focus: Responding to Hate...............................................................................15 Outreach Department.............................................................................................17 Our Mission: InFocus: Intership and Volunteer Activist Program...........................................25 Communications Department...............................................................................27 InFocus: The Chicago Monitor.............................................................................33 1 2012 Annual Report CAIR-Chicago CAIR-Chicago CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) was founded in 1994 and is a Muslim civil rights organization based in Washington, DC. CAIR-Chicago is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization registered independently in Illinois. CAIR-Chicago raises its own funds from its local constituency and sets its own operational and strategic agenda. Our office, located in the heart of Chicago’s downtown business district, is currently in
    [Show full text]
  • A Philosophical Hermeneutic Study of the Interview Between Minister Louis Farrakhan and Imam W
    Journal of Applied Hermeneutics January 9, 2018 The Author(s) 2018 A Philosophical Hermeneutic Study of the Interview between Minister Louis Farrakhan and Imam W. Deen Mohammed: Toward a Fusion of Horizons E. Anthony Muhammad Abstract The philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer has broadened the scope and manner of hermeneutic inquiry. By focusing on aspects of Gadamer’s hermeneutics such as dialogue, the hermeneutic circle, play, openness, and the fusion of horizons, this study sought to apply Gadamer’s ideas to an historic interview that took place between two notable Islamic leaders, Minister Louis Farrakhan and Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. By analyzing the dialogue of the interview and identifying the relevant Gadamerian concepts at play within the exchanges, it was determined that a fusion of horizons did in fact occur. By applying philosophical hermeneutics to a real world dialogic encounter with participants who harbored deep-seated, divergent views, the current study accentuates the use of philosophical hermeneutics as an analytic framework. This study also highlights the utility of using philosophical hermeneutics in inter and intra-faith dialogue specifically, and in the quest for understanding in general. Keywords Hans-Georg Gadamer, philosophical hermeneutics, fusion of horizons, interfaith dialogue, Nation of Islam While early attempts to establish Islam in America were made by individuals such as Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb and the Ahmadiyyas from India, the rise of Islam in America, in large numbers, can be traced to two early movements centered in Black, inner city Corresponding Author: E Anthony Muhammad, MS Doctoral Student, University of Georgia Email: [email protected] 2 Muhammad Journal of Applied Hermeneutics 2018 Article 2 enclaves (Berg, 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Ansar Administrative Handbook 2012 Inside
    Table of Contents Aims and Objectives of Majlis Ansārullāh ............................................................................... 3 Foreword ............................................................................................................................... 5 Ansār Calendar 2012 ............................................................................................................ 12 Local Events and Action Items ................................................................................................ 12 National ‘Āmila Events & Meetings ........................................................................................ 13 Contact Information ............................................................................................................. 14 National ‘Āmila & Nāzimeen .................................................................................................. 14 Zu‘amā .................................................................................................................................... 17 Plans and Responsibilities .................................................................................................... 19 Responsibilities of a Nāsir ....................................................................................................... 20 Responsibilities of a Qā’id ....................................................................................................... 21 Responsibilities of a Nāzim ....................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 2011 Annual Report
    فََسََيى اللَّ ُه َعَملَ ُك ْم َوَر ُسولُ ُه َوالْ ُم ْؤ ِم ُنَون 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 03 VISION STATEMENT , MISSION STATEMENT 04 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 05 RELIGIOUS SERVICES 06 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 07 CHARITABLE AND ZAKAT PROGRAMS 08,09 COMMUNITY SERVICES 10 COMMUNITY OUTREACH 11 INTERFAITH INITIATIVES 12,13 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP 14,17 EVENTS AT MOSQUE FOUNDATION IN 2011 18,19 MOSQUE FOUNDATION COMMUNITY CENTER 2011 REPORT 20 AL-SIDDIQ WEEKEND SCHOOL REPORT OF 2011 21 QURAN SUMMER PROGRAM REPORT OF 2011 22 THE MOSQUE FOUNDATION’S FOOD PANTRY REPORT OF 2011 22,23 WOMEN’S ROLE AT THE MOSQUE FOUNDATION 2011 REPORT 24,25 FINANCIAL REPORT 26,27 MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND OUR ORGANIZATION 28,29 BOARD & FUNCTIONAL COMMITTEES VISION STATEMENT Our vision is to be the leading mosque in the United States in providing Islamic guidance and services to the community. MISSION STATEMENT The Mosque Foundation serves the spiritual, religious, and communal needs of area Muslims by means of nurturing their faith, upholding their values, and foster- ing the wellbeing of the community around us through worship, charity, education, outreach, and civic engagement. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Assalamu Alaikum, We would like to thank you greatly for your continuous involvement and gener- ous support of your second home: the Mosque Foundation. The year 2011 was a remarkable year that we enjoyed the blessing of larger facilities and expanded programs and activities. proactive program developed and led by youth themselves under the supervision As one of the most prominent mosques in Illinois, the Mosque Foundation has of our Imams. Several in-depth workshops were held such as Successful Mar- established itself as a forerunner of progress and development in the American riage, Healthy Family & Parenting, Hajj, Property Tax Appeal and others.
    [Show full text]