*** The session has begun. Please submit your questions. ***
Answer
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Name
Sa'id
-
Profession
Question
What role did you see that "White" American Muslims played. How significant where they in the whole scheme of things?
Answer
White Americans have to go in hands with all the other ethnic groups in building Islam in this country. Islam is to demonstrate racial equality in America. Our job is to show whites, blacks and people of different ethnic backgrounds can form a true brotherhood. Lastly, more white Muslims means more da’wa can be done to white America.
Name
Tarek
- United States
Profession
Structural Engineer
Question
Do you think that many of the positive outcomes of the survey will change the way we perceive ourselves as being "weak" and have no way to change our fate in America.
Answer
Yes. My hope is that Muslims will take a positive message from the surveys. Overall, we can be very proud of our achievements. Hopefully, these will inspire masjid communities to work even harder because we are in the initial stages of building Islam in America.
Name
Ayub
-
Profession
Question
Was there any word on relations between any (or all)Masjid with a non-Muslim place of worship?
Answer
Yes. Sixty-six percent of all masjids participated in interfaith programs. Seventy-one percent visited a church or school to talk about Islam. Overall, mosques are working with other religious groups in improving understanding of Islam.
Name
Medina
-
Profession
Question
What area of the country was the most active? Why would you say that it was this way?
Answer
I don’t have a clear answer to that question. I will look at regions in a second stage of analysis. I can say that the northeast section of America is the largest in terms of activity it is clear that masjids that have a jam’ah size over two hundred have significantly more activities. So size of Majid correlates best with the amount of activity.
Name
Salama
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Profession
Question
How do you feel about youth programs in masjid? How can they improve to deal with the challenges youth face in America?
Answer
We only had a few questions about youth activities. Unfortunately most mosques do not have youth activities or programs. Only forty-one percent of mosques said that they had regular youth activities. Mosque, therefore, are not doing a good job in serving the youth. There are weekend schools in mosques. Ninety percent of all mosques have some form of a weekend school. But most of these schools are very small.
Name
Shanekwa
-
Profession
Question
Would you say that there are any regional themes or any particular characteristic that stand out about any region?
Answer
I have not analyzed the data by region and, therefore, I do not have an answer to that question.
Name
Bob
- Cocos Island
Profession
Question
How would you compare the Mousque in America with those of the Middle East?
Answer
Our study did not ask that question. However, it is safe to say that mosque in America are very different from mosque in the Muslim world. The mosque in America is more of a community, which serves the religious, social, political needs of Muslims. Mosque are also independent and are not controlled from outside.
Name
Mutahowy
-
Profession
Question
With only a small smathering of samples, can you really say that this is represenative of all Masjids, as a whole?
Answer
Our samples were actually quite large using the rules of statistics. The total number of mosques that we identified was twelve hundred and we completed over four hundred interviews. That is a very good rate, which has a margin of error of +- four percent. Scientifically, our study is on very solid grounds.
Name
Tarek Attia
- United States
Profession
Engineer
Question
Do you think the data from your study would encourage further research by the two existing Islamic Univeristies in the US? Is there any other research efforts related to your work that you may refere us to? Is tehre any research agenda for Muslims in US?
Answer
Our hope is that this study will lead to many other studies using our statistics. There is a wealth of information in our study that is waiting for further analysis. We hope that other students in the field of religion or sociology will use the data. A conference called Islam in America will discuss the data extensively in more depth. Unfortunately, we do not have an association of researchers and therefore there is no real research agenda. The Association of Muslim Social Scientists should serve as that forum.
Name
Sister without a cause
-
Profession
Question
Would you say that there is any particular group in charge of the Mousqe? And if so, why?
Answer
Mosques are controlled by either a Majlis as-Shura or an imam. About sixty percent are controlled by a shura and almost thirty percent by imams. In terms of national affiliation, the largest group is the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Twenty seven percent of all mosques are associated with ISNA. Next is Imam W Deen Mohammed who has nineteen percent of all mosques. However, almost half of all mosques are not affiliated with any national organization.
Name
Mohamed
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Profession
Question
Do you think Muslims should concentrate more now on just building Islamic schools and incorporate masjids within them, than on spending millions of dollars building huge masjids.
Answer
Yes. The priority for Muslims is in building Islamic Schools and not mosques. Many mosques have built the Mosque around the school and this seems a good idea. However, I am sure the establishment of new mosques will continue Insha'Allah. The era of mosque building in America has not slowed since the 1980’s. I don’t think it will slow for at least another decade.
Name
Mustapha Hadji
-
Profession
Question
Why is this study important?
Answer
Muslims need to understand themselves in order to better plan. Our community is growing, but we spend little effort in strategic planning. Our study provides data for strategic planning. In fact, the next step of our project is to produce a workbook that each masjid can use in a process of strategic planning. That workbook will be available from ISNA by late summer insha'Allah.
Name
Billy
-
Profession
Question
Do you believe that this study will have any impact on the U.S. Government?
Answer
To a certain extent. Our study confirms for the first time that estimates of six to seven million Muslims in America are reasonable. The study also shows that mosques are interested in political involvement. In other words, the government will not be able to ignore Muslims and masjids.
