A brief insight into the past challenges and future direction for the old and new generations.

Most mosques in the tri-state area were built within the last 20 years. I have had been fortunate enough to see this revival or ‘making of a mosque’ within many communities. I am deeply touched by the altruism of many folks to build a community center to cater to the needs of Muslims. Many mosques and community centers offer classes on Islamic education, assist in burial rites, offer daily prayers, have full-time Imams to offer advice, social services, and offer programs for women, youth, and converts, etc.

How were all of these services institutionalized? Well! there is a history that I would like to share to my readers and offer some suggestions on the future direction.

So where and when did this epic of ‘making a mosque’ began? A long time ago our mosque ‘amus, chachas and uncles had graduated from their respective universities and they were no longer part of their college MSA. They were young professionals from different backgrounds who came together to help build a House of God. These people were smart, talented, and persistent in their vision. They wanted to plant the seeds of Islam and nurture this tree of faith to produce fruits. However they were not perfect, nor they claimed to be perfect.

Some people probably recall the old rumble in their local mosque. It was growing pains sort of like the Civil War or the Civil Rights Movement. There were many different view points, ideologies, creeds, fiqhs, nationalities, and methodologies coming to form a community center. It was a house of worship for everyone. Therefore, the uncles worked extremely hard. They rallied the community. They got the design. They got the township approvals and got the Imam from the Land of Imams. They got the chandeliers and the carpets from Iran. They ordered lotas and wudu basins from Afghanistan. They even got the Senators and Congressmen all along.

It was not easy to put a mosque together. Yet everything was not always so…beautiful.

Frankly speaking, there were microphone love stories, dome infatuations and Kursi (chair) trouble. Sometimes people were on the kursi and other times the kursi was on them. The hurling of Fatwas made people laugh and cry. For some the list of haram things included elections, mosque constitution, wearing ties, and women on the board or in the mosque. There were also halal and hilal issues (moon sighting). The community came together to become divided on the annual moon-walking and the moon-fighting. Ok, perhaps no moon-walking but there definitely existed moon sighting. And there were parties…yes, many parties to keep one busy at the mosque on election day. No, not the type of parties where you amuse yourself. People splintered into groups and at times mosque leadership looked like it consisted of Muslim leadership overseas i.e. kings, generals, dictators, and religious police. Obviously, the Muslim community did not live in isolation from their predecessors. They were distracted by global and mosque politics. Yet to their credit, the uncles did not quit. The mosques multiplied and Islamic schools were built. Many charitable organizations were founded and political activism started amidst many confusion. All thanks to the uncles who planted the seeds.

Over the years while the community was going through a massive change, the uncles also transformed. They adapted a new identity. From Big Daddy they became Grand Daddy! They all became grandpas. Yet they did not stop for the sake of God and continued to serve on the board.

However, in the last 20 years others stopped. Others have stopped from coming to the mosque and from actively engaging themselves in the mosque affairs. They spend their time on “bigger and better” things. They do not want to engage in moon-sighting or board nominations at their local Islamic center. In the last twenty years another generation has grown unable to work within the system. Their talents, education, work ethics, and networking power is not a top agenda on the mosque planning board. The new generation is unable to contribute to the vision of these uncles due to a generation gap, a glass ceiling, a bottleneck, a billabong that keeps the two generations apart.

The reality is that uncles are getting really old and the next generation is not in the mosque. The Muslim community has grown tremendously in last 20 years. However, the mosque board, committees, and helping hands do not reflect this ratio and proportion inside any mosques. Every mosque is full on Friday but only a handful of people actually provide any services to the community.

Why in the last 20 years others have not joined hands? Why have we become so complacent to these khutbas in broken English? Why the women and youth are not involved? Why prayer space continues to be neglected for women? Why do we find “haram and haram” issues continually arise when Islam is more than halal and haram? Why do we focus on building a parking lot but forget about building character? Why do we say “youth is our future” only on mosque election day?

I believe that the last twenty years were foundational years. Lets now move forward to plan and for the next twenty years with a broad and diverse leadership that reflects participation by youth, women, elderly, converts, immigrants, indigenous folks, etc. To quote Malcolm X, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today”. A bright future needs fresh faces and young blood to revive our Islamic spirit and this should be the next building phase of our mosques and community centers.

With all the love and respect to our seniors, May Allah reward them.

* Brother Faraz Khan is currently works as a Geologist in New Jersey and is a former Muslim Chaplain at Rutgers University. He also maintains a blog at http://liberalartsforum.blogspot.com