About

MAS Arizona (a chapter of MAS National, please see About MAS National following MAS-AZ info) is a grassroots, community organization that works to educate, organize, and empower the Muslim community to be active, contributing citizens who play a significant role towards positive social and spiritual change. We strive to achieve this mission by:

  • Teaching young Muslims social responsibility and equipping them for leadership.
  • Educating and organizing the Muslim community towards civic engagement.
  • Provide spiritual environment for our Young and Adults to better equip us to be a better servant to Allah and our community.
  • Developing interfaith and intercommunity understanding and cooperation, and creating coalitions on issues of shared concern.

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History and Accomplishments

Founded in 1996, MAS Arizona focused its first few years on working with the Muslim community through its various Masjids and Muslim organizations. As the organization grew and evolved, MAS-AZ was incorporated in 2003 and embarked on fulfilling its promise to the community during the 2004 MAS Arizona Conference; MAS-AZ promise to the community was to establish a community and youth center that will serve the whole phoenix metro area. This was to be accomplished in several phases.Phase1 started when MAS-AZ rented its first office and youth center in Tempe, this first location constituted of approximately 650 SqFt office space and a shared 800 SqFt multipurpose room. The programming expanded to include organizing youth and adults towards civic engagement and social change through the work of the Freedom Foundation under the leadership of Sister Deedra Abboud, the Boys and Girls Scout under the leadership of Brother Ammar Abed and the Youth program under the leadership of Brother Bilal Fayad. These departments were supported by dedicated members, community enthusiasts and a guided leadership at MAS National. Within the year and by the grace of Allah and the overwhelming response of the community it became evident that a much larger place was needed to accommodate the ever expended activities.Phase2 had started with the rental of 3300 SqFt facility in April 2005 also in Tempe, with the intent of securing a permanent facility that would be purchased and owned by the community within three years. The new facility featured on top of what was in existence a game room and a spacious multipurpose room which was used for training seminars and Youth activities. In March 2007 MAS-AZ adopt yet another program from MAS National, The Quran and Arabic Institute activities were lunched under the supervision and guidance of Imam Hafiz ElSayed Mitwali Shehata, within a few weeks the number of registered students reached to over 70, with many more on the waiting list for the lack of space.MAS Board in consultation with other community leaders decided to expedite Phase3 and started a serious search for a location that would be suitable to better serve the community.Phase3 commenced on August 1st with the purchase of our new facility located at 1071 N Alma School Rd. in the city of Chandler. Again with help of Allah and the ever increasing support of our community this dream came true just in time to receive the Holy month of Ramadan. A Masjid (Masjid Es Salaam) was established in the new facility to fulfill the need of the community. And by the grace of Allah the Taraweeh Prayers and Dinner Iftars were held at the new facility. The Quran and Arabic Institute enrollment exceeds 140 students now and still growing. The new facility under the name of MAS Community & Youth Center / Masjid Es Salaam provides about 6,500 SqFt of space to accommodate the youth and community activities.Our hopes and dreams for the future is to acquire a facility that would provide tender to all the needs of our community, from indoor swimming pools to exercise facilities, training and counseling as well as endowments to ensure the stability and continuous improvements of all the services. Inshllah with the help and guidance from Allah and the support of our beloved community we believe these dreams will be achieved.

Current Programs and Services

MAS Arizona’s Programs and Services are divided into five main areas:

  1. MAS Youth and Scouts Program works with Muslim youth to develop a healthy American Muslim identity, where youth see themselves as contributing citizens who are a valuable part of society rather than becoming socially isolated and resentful (often arising from negative attitudes they perceive from society towards Muslims). Initiatives include: Scouts, Outings, Mentoring, Teen Civic Empowerment, positive role modeling with successful Muslim college students and young adults, and youth groups doing community service.
  2. MAS Freedom Foundation Program empowers and organizes Muslims to be politically and civically engaged, equipped to mobilize themselves for positive change in their communities. Initiatives include: Mosque-based organizing networks, Civic education and activism workshops, Voter empowerment through registration and candidate forums, Advocacy training, Diversity training for social and government agencies, Muslim community leaders’ seminars.
  3. MAS Quran and Arabic Institute teaches the understanding of the Quran through the learning of the Arabic language. The Institute features Hafiz Program, Qur’an Recitation with Tajweed, Arabic Language for Children & Adults, Private tutoring and Islamic studies.
  4. MAS Outreach Center Program (a) Educates Arizonans about Islam and Muslims through interacting and hearing directly from Muslims and (b) Organizes interfaith and intercommunity cooperation and coalitions on issues of common concern, such as civil rights, worker justice, immigrant rights, family and children’s issues. Initiatives include: Speakers Bureau of volunteer community members, interfaith/intercommunity social justice actions, large community building events, diversity training for social and government agencies, seminars and mutual learning groups, new Muslim support groups.
  5. Training and Community Development Program provides extensive skill building through contracted or member-led workshops and courses in areas such as leadership, youth service delivery, civic engagement, public speaking, parenting, marital harmony, community service programming.

Our Constituency

MAS Arizona’primary constituency is the Metro Phoenix area Muslim community, which is estimated at more than 60,000, the majority of whom are immigrants. We work with constituents from Egypt, Pakistan, India, Morocco, Somalia, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Senegal, Bosnia and Sierra Leone, as well as a significant number of African-American and other American-born Muslims. There is great socioeconomic diversity amongst our constituents.Difficulties of acculturation among immigrant Muslims, compounded with the fact that many come from countries that lack a strong culture of civic involvement, means large numbers of Muslims (even those who are doing well economically) tend to be quite disengaged civically and un-empowered politically. Yet at the same time, we have realized that Muslim cultures place a very strong emphasis on family life and giving back to the community, and many Muslims also have a strong desire to explain their often misunderstood religion to others. With the right organizing work, these inclinations can be channeled and leveraged towards healthy civic engagement, involved citizenship and effective organizing.Involvement of ConstituencyThe central philosophy that pervades MAS Arizona’s organizing work is that our constituency must be empowered through grassroots involvement in the planning, decision making and implementation of MAS Arizona’s programs. Hence, MAS Arizona made the strategic decision to plan, oversee and deliver its broad range of programs primarily through its member volunteers. Overall, we are excited and optimistic about the future of Arizona’s Muslims and the contribution they will make.

Funding

MAS Arizona and Masjid Es Salaam are funded solely through local community and national fundraising, and members monthly dues.

What is MAS (National)

The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a charitable, religious, social, cultural, and educational, not-for-profit organization. It is a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival, and reform movement that uplift the individual, family, and society.

When and where it all started

The Muslim American Society (MAS) traces its historical roots back to the call of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Its more recent roots, however, can be traced to the Islamic revival movement which evolved at the turn of the twentieth century.This movement brought the call of Islam to Muslims throughout the globe to reestablish Islam as a total way of life. The call and the spirit of the movement reached the shores of North America with arrival of Muslim students and immigrants in the late 1950s and early 1960s.These early pioneers and Islamic movement followers established in 1963 the Muslim Student Association (MSA) of the U.S and Canada as a rallying point in their endeavor to serve Islam and Muslims in North America. Other services and outreach organizations soon followed, such as the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), the Islamic Medical Association (IMA), the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) and the Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA), to name a few.Twenty years later, Islamic movement followers and sympathizers in North America launched the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as an outgrowth of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) to serve the needs of the ever-growing number of indigenous and immigrant Muslims who had opted to reside permanently in North America.Since its inception, ISNA, and other organizations affiliated with it, worked diligently with those who were to become the founding members and future leadership of MAS, towards the advancement of the cause of Islam and Muslims in North America.Mindful of the dynamic changes that are taking place within the Muslim community and its surroundings, and keeping an eye on the future, a number of Islamic workers and Islamic movement followers decided in 1992, after a painstaking measured and tedious process of soul-searching and consultation, to launch the Muslim American Society (MAS) in order to complement the work accomplished over the last three decades, and to lay the ground for the Islamic effort needed to face the next century’s challenges.

Objectives

  • To present the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims, and promote understanding between them
  • To encourage the participation of Muslims in building a virtuous and moral society
  • To offer a viable Islamic alternative to many of our society’s prevailing problems
  • To promote family values in accordance with Islamic teaching
  • To promote the human values that Islam emphasizes: brotherhood, equality, justice, mercy, compassion, and peace, and
  • To foster unity among Muslims and Muslim organizations and encourage cooperation and coordination amongst them