Running Islamic
Centers in the USA
By Nasim Hassan
Delaware, USA
Not long ago, Islamic centers in
North America were running with peace and harmony.
Minor differences of opinion were resolved without
conflicts. After the World Trade Center incident,
I have noticed remarkable changes in many Islamic
centers.
I see more people keeping beard and more women
with Hijab as compared to the decade of the 1990’s.
Orthodox Muslims have become more conservative
and moderate Muslims have become very vocal in
expressing their opinion.
In fact, the operation of Islamic centers has
become more challenging. It appears as if we are
living in changed circumstances where people have
less tolerance for alternative viewpoint. Previously,
women were always in the background. Now Muslim
women all across America have become more assertive
and demand their rightful place in the decision-making
process.
The changing environment demands that Muslims
develop creative solutions that benefit all people
in the community.
There is wide variety of Islamic centers in the
USA. Broadly they can be classified into three
main categories:
The first category includes centers owned by a
group of people that pay for all operating expenses,
including maintenance and Imam. The owners could
be Pakistani, Turkish, Egyptians or Bangladeshi.
These centers are closely held by owner groups
and do not seek participation of outsiders.
The second category is based on a certain set
of religious belief. This category includes Shia,
Bohri, Ahle Hadith, Brelvi or Ismaeli centers.
The membership generally is limited to people
who believe in a particular sect. Administrative
control is limited to leaders of that sect. Others
may be welcome but the dominant sect does not
allow minorities in the decision-making process.
The last category is of common Muslim immigrants
from various countries who regardless of sectarian
differences get together to build centers by pooling
their resources. The constitution does not have
any defined belief restrictions. All Muslims are
welcomed.
Running Islamic centers of the first category
is easy indeed. If any individual or a group is
able and willing to buy the property and pay for
maintenance, nobody from outside can challenge
them.
In this category, the owners write the deed, constitution
and bylaws to suit their long-term goals. Built-in
safeguards are generally provided in the constitution
to prevent any takeover by external groups. People
come, pray, run Sunday school or a full time school
and go home happily. If they want to donate any
money they are welcome to do so but nobody asks
them for donations. People have the freedom to
pray as long as they follow the rules set by the
owners.
If outsiders challenge the decisions made by the
owners, it is very easy to go to the local authorities
and get rid of undesirable characters. I have
seen it happen several times. In one center, the
general public banded together and challenged
the owners in court. After the review of the constitution
the property owner was given full authority by
the court and people who did not pay anything
in the initial purchases were asked to vacate
the premises.
Starting from common Islamic centers of three
decades ago, certain sects found it restrictive
or uncomfortable to function in multi-dimensional
Islamic centers. This has been a recent phenomenon
as a large number of people migrated to the USA
with the desire to preserve their language and
cultural heritage.
Some people wanted the Imam to deliver the Friday
address in Bengali, Arabic, Turkish or Swahili.
Many wanted their children to learn their language
in the Sunday school.
In the second category, various sects have well
defined and time tested procedures. The centers
in this category also seem to function very well
as dedicated people are available in every community.
Once established, these centers follow tested
methods and run only with routine issues. The
limitation may come when young people want to
adapt to local conditions. Gradually these young
people either come around or they leave the fold
and merge with mainstream America.
For example, in Bohri Muslim community, the property
is given to a trust. Bohri religious leaders manage
the trust and also provide the Imam for congregation
from their main center from India.
I like to focus on the third category where most
of the problems seem to emerge from time to time.
The biggest challenge comes in running the centers
that include all types of people. On the surface
everything appears fine but there are always ongoing
tensions, differences, clashes between various
ethnic and sectarian groups. I have seen many
such centers and my observations outline successful
running of such centers.
As long as the leadership adheres to a few simple
ideas, it is very easy to run the centers. Money
comes without making effort as long as the perception
of the leadership is positive. In order to create
a positive perception of the leadership, I recommend
very simple ideas. Certain ideas must be incorporated
in the constitution and bylaws while others require
personal commitment. Here are few simple ideas:
Constitutional safeguards
The constitution should be a simple document available
to every member and should not exceed five pages.
It should reflect only the general hopes and aspirations
of the community without any rigid guidelines.
Include the following in the constitution:
1. Serving period of directors must be staggered.
For example, if there are fifteen members in the
board then five should be elected every year for
a period of three years. The inherent idea behind
this clause is to bring fresh blood in the organization
while maintaining the continuity of projects already
taken in hand. If all board members are up for
election every year then all lessons learned by
the past members are lost. Secondly the very well
thought out projects may have to be cancelled
because new board members may not buy the rationale
or philosophy behind the ideas since people who
worked hard to develop the ideas are no longer
board members and thus the progress stalls.
I have seen zealous groups coming in and pushing
women behind the walls while there were no problems
in the Islamic centers for years. I have also
seen new people entering the community fold and
getting elected to the board without any understanding
of the community.
2. The term of the president should not exceed
two or three consecutive years. He or she should
step aside for a year and come back again if the
community likes his or her services. In many instances,
I have noticed charismatic people coming in as
president and getting elected every year.
The underlying idea behind this clause is to nurture
new people for leadership under the guidance of
the experienced leaders. In the USA people have
to move away and the center loses the leadership.
3. The board of directors should include people
from all ethnic and religious groups. For example,
if a community has Indian, Pakistani, Turkish,
Egyptian and Arabic speaking people then members
from these communities should be included. There
should not be any hard rules for proportional
representation.
A simple method would be to restrict representation
on the board from a family to a maximum of one
or two. I have seen boards where father, son and
wife were serving together.
Another way is to expand the board of directors
to include more people depending upon the size
of the community.
The board of directors must include a minimum
residency requirement. This serves two purposes:
Knowledge of the community comes from staying
and meeting people. Otherwise the current board
members will bring their own people and soon an
Islamic center becomes an Indian, Pakistani or
Egyptian center. People who are not represented
gradually move out to build their own centers
and the donations drop.
The second advantage of this clause will prevent
people from another area becoming members to control
the mosque. It is very easy to gather people from
surrounding areas for election and then disappear.
This will happen if the center has property and
liquid assets.
I have seen charismatic religious Imams coming
from outside and take over centers. Sometimes,
their control is successful and it becomes very
difficult to dislodge the Imam.
5. Include a freedom of worship clause within
the operating hours. Freedom of worship means
that a Muslim of any sect is free to pray the
way he or she wants. If the ladies want a secluded
section, then provide a separate room or a secluded
area to them. This should be treated as a minor
issue and not a major religious divide. On the
surface it may seem a very simple nonpartisan
issue but actual experience has shown people fighting
over prayer timings and methods of prayer.
6. Develop and follow funds expending procedures.
There must be at least two signatures for withdrawal
of money. Similarly spending limits must be placed
on president, treasurer or executive committee.
If it exceeds predetermined limits, the board
review and approval must be obtained.
Leadership characteristics
I have seen three basic qualities in leadership
that work very well. In a non-profit organization
where common folks are not obligated to donate
anything, it is a real challenge. Mosque or Islamic
centers cannot force people to become members
or charge money for prayer service. Here are the
main characteristics of leadership which if adopted
can make life very easy:
Tolerance:
The tolerance for all kinds of school of thoughts
is a key to the success. It includes the tolerance
of people as well. The leadership should provide
the guidelines, operating hours, and kind of religious
ceremonies allowed within the premises.
It is easier said than done. I have seen people
arguing about allowing Iftar in the center. Some
ultra orthodox individuals will not allow any
talk in the mosque. Their thinking is that mosque
is for prayer, so come pray all you can and then
go home. For some people Iftar or any food service
in the Islamic center is an abhorrent act.
Simple solution for such issues is professional
cleaning after serving the food. If any one wants
to feed people then he can either clean the premises
or pay for cleaning.
Humility
People who are running the Islamic centers must
be polite and humble. Aggressive or ambitious
leaders are capable of destroying the centers
even during a single term.
I have observed people with limited knowledge
and ability running Islamic centers with success
because they treat everyone with respect and do
not boast about their wealth, success or knowledge.
On the contrary, I have seen intelligent people
creating an unfavorable impression while running
centers. During the tenure of such people the
progress simply stops.
Patience
Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay,
or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset,
or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties.
I will add to the above definition the ability
to listen. Leaders of any community need to listen
to all members. Listening solves at least fifty
percent of the problems.
If the leadership only listens to a small group
of pious people then they better build their mosque.
In many Islamic centers, I have seen Imams and
religious leaders only preaching or expressing
their own viewpoint but never caring to listen.
Common folks feel ignored and they also stop listening.
This attitude doe not achieve anything. Islamic
centers where the leadership does not listen to
others have short lives. People move away, stop
coming to the centers and donations drop. Gradually,
the center transforms to the first or second category
where a few people are the donors while the majority
just comes for offering prayers.
If the leadership is not affluent enough to operate
the center then a gradual decline sets in. This
is a challenge that our Islamic centers must face
now because the next generation may not accept
simple rituals as religion.
Conclusion
The next generation will require multiple connections
with the Islamic center to keep it a viable working
entity. These multiple connections include religious
education of children, services to the senior
members, adult education, inter-faith dialogue,
finding solution to local community problems and
social interaction.
Islamic centers that provide such services to
the community will be able to collect donations
with ease and continue to progress while other
centers lag behind. I hope Islamic centers all
across USA would learn from other non-profit organizations
that collect millions for various purposes. This
will go a long way in the creation of a positive
image of Muslims in North America.
