Archive for the ‘MECA’ Category

By: Naomi Schaefer Riley, from the Wall Street Journal 

Earlier this month, the TLC network announced that it will cancel the reality show “All-American Muslim” due to low ratings. Critics had complained that the show whitewashed the problem of Islamic radicalism in the U.S. by not portraying Muslim extremists, which led major sponsors such as the retailer Lowe’s to drop their support.

But the show’s producers were closer to portraying reality than critics asserted. The story of Islam in America today is a story of rapid assimilation and even secularization, not growing radicalism.

Jihad Turk, director of religious studies at LA’s Islamic Center of Southern California, says that of the roughly 750,000 Muslims living in Southern California, just 30,000, or about 4%, regularly attend Friday prayer. And when I interview members of the center’s offshoot, the Muslim Establishing Communities of America (MECA), whose target demographic is unaffiliated young adults, they say there are few Muslim institutions where they feel comfortable.

Younger Muslims say they don’t like the gender segregation at prayers and the imams imported from other countries who repeat the same Friday sermons, known as Khutbahs, week after week. (There are only so many times I want to hear the hadith about how smiling is a kind of charity, one woman told me.) They question the religious education they received growing up, where they learned enough Arabic to recite prayers or Koranic verses but not enough to understand what they were saying. Many say they have disaffected friends who have fallen away from the faith.

Mosque attendance is not the only measure of religious observance, but Muslims are experiencing other signs of secularization as well. They are intermarrying at rates comparable to those of other religious groups in America. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimates that about one in five Muslims is wedded to someone of another faith.

Muslim men are allowed by religious law to marry Jewish or Christian women so long as they raise the children Muslim. But in America, where mothers tend to be more responsible for a child’s religious education, the products of Muslim interfaith couples are often raised in another religion.

Some Muslim women insist that their partners of other faiths convert before marriage. But Munira Ezzeldine, the author of “Before the Wedding: 150 Questions for Muslims to Ask Before Getting Married,” says that many of these are “fly-by-night Shahaadas,” professions of faith that are not sincere and are simply made to please the families or religious authorities. Indeed, one of the women on “All-American Muslim” tells her siblings that her Catholic fiancé converted only for the sake of marriage.

According to Pew, there are about 2.8 million Muslims in the U.S., and 63% are immigrants. Not surprisingly, their children and grandchildren feel more American and say they are stifled by religious communities dominated by the rules of a particular culture.

Even those I speak to who are more religiously oriented say they care more about the faith than about cultural traditions brought over from the old country. These sentiments echo those of America’s previous waves of immigrants—Irish Catholics and Italian Catholics or German Jews and Russian Jews who, after a generation or two in the U.S., stopped drawing the ethnic distinctions of their parents and grandparents.

The challenge of L.A.’s Islamic Center, in its view, is to help American Muslims assimilate without betraying the tenets of Islam. “How do we carry forth the charge to speak for truth . . . and live life based on a moral foundation?” Mr. Turk asked his congregation on a recent Friday. “If we find ourselves caught up in the rat race, we won’t have fulfilled our religious commitment.”

Mr. Turk advises parents “to turn off the TV and eat dinner as a family.” And he expresses concern that young adults are putting off marriage too long and are marrying outside the faith. He also notes that constructing bigger institutions is not the answer to strengthening Islam in America. The focus should be passing on the faith: “Otherwise we will possess buildings of great size and great emptiness.”

Raising children with moral foundations, encouraging marriage, avoiding the distractions of too many worldly things: If it seems like these are the messages that one might hear at thousands of churches and synagogues on a given weekend, they are.

The news this week that a Muslim Frenchman, a jihadist trained by al Qaeda, shot and killed seven people is yet another reminder of the dangers of radical Islam in the West. This strain of Islam no doubt exists in America too. But that is not the experience of most American Muslims or their religious leaders. As Mazen Hashem, a sociologist at Cal State Northridge and a longtime attendee of the Islamic Center, says, “Everything that’s true of middle-class Americans is true of Muslims.”

Ms. Riley, a former Journal editor, is writing a book about interfaith marriage, to be published by Oxford University Press next year.

A version of this article appeared Mar. 23, 2012, on page A13 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Defining the ‘All-American Muslim’.

By: Soha Yassine 

As many of you know, I am a relatively new hire at the ICSC. I began working as Youth and Volunteer Coordinator at the Center in June 2011 and, what an adventure it has been! Praise is due to Allah for putting me in this wonderful position where I have been able use my employment experience and academic background to serve the youth community of the Center, speak on behalf of Muslims at universities and places of worship etc, and oversee the volunteer corps which has served our Center’s vision.

Email syassine@icsconline.org is you are interested in volunteering at the Food Pantry

One of our most successful volunteer programs at the Center is the MECA SoCal Food Pantry. For almost seven years now, MECA has distributed grocery bags comprised of everything from fresh eggs to bagged rice to hundreds of people every week. In fact, in 2011 alone, the MECA Pantry served 11,296 households and 29,782 persons. Through our partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, we have been able to provide wholesome food at no cost to our Center. Last December, through a partnership with QueensCare, we administered hundreds of free flu shots to Pantry constituents. The beauty of our pantry is that it is open to anyone and everyone  who is in need of assistance regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliation.

Another example of a successful volunteer program at our Center is our Zakat Committee. The Committee draws from community donations to provide immediate assistance for the needy. Anyone who is need of help can meet with the Committee on Fridays by arriving the Center at noon to fill out an assistance application and add their name to the interview list. Interviews take place after Jumma where the needy talk with the Zakat Committee and receive direct help. In 2012, through the diligence of ICSC intern, Zach Smith, the Zakat Committee now has a comprehensive resource guide to help offer referrals that deal with issues outside their capacity.

One thing that I immediately noticed when I began working last June is that our community is in need of other types of services beyond our Food Pantry and Zakat Committee. The reality is that, while both of these wonderful endeavors have helped thousands of people,  they do not address the root causes of the issues at hand. The Center’s Board of Directors, too, has realized that our community, Muslim and non-Muslim, is need of the type services that create lasting change in people’s lives. For this reason, they entrusted MECA SoCal to develop more social service programs at the Center.

In 2011 and 2012, MECA has launched a dynamic Social Service & Outreach Committee. Below you can find the projects we have started:

Family outreach: In response to the growing immigrant/refugee communities surrounding the Center we, along with the Tiyya Foundation, assist with the distribution of basic necessities such as furniture and other household items to needy families. Tiyya will be providing ESL tutoring, translation, transportation, community support, tutoring, and at-risk youth programs.

Homelessness project: MECA volunteers have signed on to be “Faith Partner Volunteers” to help end the cycle of homelessness in our city. Imagine LA, our partner organization, facilitates a mentorship program that matches families exiting homelessness with volunteer teams from faith communities. Together, they progress through a two-year program that teaches life skills, aids the families in accessing resources, instills confidence and allows every member of the family to thrive.

Health Initiative: While providing free healthy food at our Pantry is a wonderful start, many families lack basic information about health and nutrition. As result MECA has started a Health Initiative that will be holding educational forums and health fairs in 2012. Click here for information about the upcoming event “LET’S GET HEALTHY!“ Additionally, through this initiative, CalFresh (the state food stamp program) will conduct outreach at our Center after Jumma and during the Food Pantry.

Incarcerated Muslim Support Project: Like homelessness, incarceration is cyclical. The Center is inundated with requests for Qurans and Islamic literature from inmates seeking to reform their lives through spiritual guidance. Through a partnership with the Claremont Forum Bookstore’s Prison Library Project, we will now be able to respond to the hundreds of requests seamlessly.  We also provide MP3s of our Friday sermons, Dr. Maher Hathout’s podcast, and more to the Muslim Chaplains Association so they can share the material with inmates interested in learning about Islam.

We are proud to report that all of MECAs committees saw growth in 2011. Besides the developments in the Social Service & Outreach Committee, the other MECA committees have been bustling with activity. In fact, in 2011 alone, MECA started new projects such as the Young Professionals Group, MYG Tutoring Program, and more! With the commitment of our wonderful volunteers, we will only see more growth in 2012 and beyond.

Soha Yassine is the Youth and Volunteer Coordinator at the ICSC. If you are interested in learning more about the Muslim Youth Group, MECA SoCal, or volunteering at ICSC, email syassine@icsconline.org. 

By: Marya Mikati, YP of ICSC Co-founder

ICSC Young Professionals is the newest group to join the Islamic
Center of Southern California. The group was started by Lena
Ameripour, Marya Mikati, and Sarah Naqvi because they felt something
was missing from the groups aimed at the twenty-something to early
thirties age group. In talking to their peers they realized that this
was a common theme. Most young Muslims felt that after they had
“outgrown” the youth group it was difficult to attend the mosque
frequently and they no longer felt a connection to their local mosque.
Others wanted a non-judgmental environment to learn about Islam and
discuss issues conflicting with their Islamic values that they came
across in their professional and personal lives. Finally, others just
wanted to develop friendships with other Muslims through social
events. Ameripour, Mikati, and Naqvi decided that a group that met
bi-weekly at the Islamic Center and focused its activities around
spiritual and professional growth would serve all these needs. From
the very first kick-off meeting, it appeared that the rest of their
peers agreed! ICSC Young Professionals kick-off meeting was attended
by 70 young Muslims from all over Southern California ranging from
Thousand Oaks to Riverside. All the members were excited to get
involved and be a part of this new group and Adam Momand was appointed
sports coordinator.

Read the rest of this entry »

By: Sadi Malik

Every week, MECA hold a Quran Study class at the Islamic Center. This meetup is set up to study Quran by hearing surahs/chapters recitation with their english translation and presenting findings on the surahs with the intent to understand infallible words of God. This meetup encourages regular study of Quran every weekend for the sake of rememberance and understanding the message of God and its importance in our daily lives. A new surah is picked and studied in every meetup.

The very revelation of the Holy Quran began with the word “iqra” which means “read” (the Quran.) Understanding is important because the Quran is a purposeful book and we cannot derive its benefits without comprehension. The command for reading is given to every person through the Prophet (s).

The Quran explains the purpose of its revelation: “so that you may understand.” It is not only for the scholars (ulama) but also lay people to understand. The Quran itself explains its own simplicity and comprehensibility: “And we have made Quran easy for admonition. Is there then any seeker of admonition?” (Qamar:17).

Regular attendees of the class have offered the following testimonials:

“ Born muslim or a convert, religious in views or the spiritual few, if u r looking for guidance and willing to learn, look no further. || Surah by surah we learn about islam; who are we, what we need to know; Our minds so full of questions, our past so different, and yet can the future be the same? || A fun bunch, an inviting one, thought provoking are the sessions, and yet not too taxing, those are few of my observations from the eyes of a newbie. || ”

— Tanwir Danish 

“The Qur’an Study in English meetup group has been my favorite of halaqa session due to its unique format and atmosphere. It facilitated a good environment for sharing individual perspective of signs (ayahs) of Allah in the Holy Qur’an for individual who reads and ponders verses of qur’an on their own. It made me realize that the Holy Qur’an is not a “dangerous” tool due to its extremely powerful content.

In my opinion, after attending many Islamic lectures and seminars, the unique framework of Qur’an Study in English group made me able to realize and understand the myriad of Muslims’ views and understandings of verses in Holy Qur’an vis-a-vis real life first hand.

Thus, I’d be able to learn from participants’ wisdom about content of Holy Qur’an that is hued and with participants’ life experience, character, and knowledge. I’ve found out that learning from participant’s wisdom has more weight in real life, than learning Islamic lessons detached from sound practical points for implementation in day-to-day aspects. I’d say that this is a gem that would be rarely found when attending conventional Islamic seminar or lecture sessions.

Furthermore, participants’ wisdom would be more pragmatic,in comparison to learning from a shaykh/scholar in monophonic mode that normally has a dogmatic atmosphere.

On the other hand, learning from an Islamic scholar on Islamic study would usually made me able to absorb and “advance” my Islamic knowledge.

On the contrary, Qur’an Study in English meetup is a decent medium to contribute what I’ve learned of Islam without being self-righteous as well as to practice Islamic teachings in a safe environment, rather than to practice an Islamic culture and advanced my self in being a culturally Islamic person.

This would be a reason that makes a Qur’an Study in English session could be as scholarly as the participants who contributes. In the end, it’s about contributing instead of absorbing that I’d say has more weight according to Islamic teachings.

Most of the time, I’ve sensed that some participants had different expectations after coming to Qur’an Study in English session because they came with intention and expectation to absorb Islamic in a one-way street.

Nevertheless, the Qur’an Study in English meetup occasionally invites scholars such as Br. Jihad Turk, Br. Mohammed Nasser, Dr. Ahmed Soboh, Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed, etc. for “absorbing” sessions.” – Achmad Bastaman