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Muslim American Society

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For the ministry of W. Deen Mohammed, see American Society of Muslims.

Muslim American Society
AbbreviationMAS
Formation1993; 31 years ago (1993)
TypeNonprofit
Legal status501(c)(3) organization
HeadquartersWashington, DC
Location
Executive Director
Ayman Hammous
AffiliationsDar Al-Hijrah
Websitemuslimamericansociety.org

The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. MAS describes itself as a grassroots Islamic movement.[1] It has more than 50 chapters across the United States.[2]

History

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Muslim American Society (MAS) was founded by a small group of American Muslims who wanted to have a Muslim organization in the United States that would allow them to "organize and integrate Muslims to be a contributing part of American society, to see themselves as Muslim Americans."[3] According to its website, the society is a "charitable, religious, social, cultural, and educational organization" aiming for a virtuous and just American society. Its mission is to "move people and nurture lifelong, God-centered agents of change”.[4]

Muslim American Society of Queens

MAS was incorporated in Illinois in 1993[2] and established its headquarters in Washington, DC, in 1998.[5][6] Founding members of the organization were involved in the Muslim Brotherhood,[7] an organization started in Egypt in 1928. The Muslim American Society acknowledges its early connection to the Muslim Brotherhood,[2] including on its website,[8] but says that it has moved "beyond that point of conception" and "has no connection with the Brotherhood and disagrees with the international organization on many issues".[2]

In 1999, the organization began publishing a bimonthly English-language magazine, The American Muslim. The following year, the MAS Youth Center opened in Brooklyn, and MAS helped start the Islamic American University, based out of Southfield, Michigan, and Kansas City, Missouri, as a distant-learning program for classical Islamic studies.[6] In response to anti-Muslim hate following the September 11 attacks, MAS organized events such as Muslim American Heritage Day in Washington, D.C., where 150 Muslims gathered on October 5, 2002, to pray together on Freedom Plaza.[5] The Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, a public policy division led by Mahdi Bray as executive director,[9] also offered seminars on how to positively change the perception of Islam among Americans.[10]

In 2002, the Muslim American Society held its first joint conference with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).[6] The MAS–ICNA conference has since been held annually in Chicago.[11]

In November 2014, MAS was designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates,[12][13] with 84 other organizations including the Muslim Brotherhood and its regional and local affiliates, and other regional and international groups. MAS, CAIR and similar European groups were listed due to their alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties.[14] The U.S. State Department subsequently released a statement saying that the department "does not consider these organisations to be terrorist organisations".[15][16] Muslim American Society stated that it had had "no dealings with the United Arab Emirates" and were "perplexed by this news".[13]

MAS started the “Know your Muslim neighbor" program in January 2016 in response to growing anti-Islam sentiment. With the first event held in Metro Detroit, the program includes opportunities to learn about Muslim culture and traditions.[17] Similar events were held in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, in 2018[18] and the Galveston Bay Area in 2019, following the Christchurch mosque shootings at a mosque in New Zealand and Easter bombing attacks on churches in Sri Lanka.[19]

In 2019, the Middle East Media Research Institute published a video of children in a Philadelphia MAS center singing about the "blood of martyrs".[20][21]

In September 2019, the Muslim American Society of Minnesota co-organized a protest along with the Council on American–Islamic Relations and Anti-War Committee to “condemn human rights abuses and security crackdowns under India's Hindu nationalist-led government". The protest was in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appearance with U.S. president Donald Trump at a rally in Houston.[22] Following the murder of George Floyd, members of MAS of Minnesota participated in the protests calling for justice for the African American man who was killed by police.[23]

During the 2020 U.S. elections, Ismahan Abdullahi, executive director of the Muslim American Society, said that the organization made 185,000 calls and texts to Arab and Muslim communities in eight states including Michigan.[24] Abdullahi is also executive director of MAS PACE National, a policy advocacy division of MAS.[25]

Asad Zaman, executive director of the MAS of Minnesota, said in August 2020 that the organization's food distribution program run at its three Minnesota mosques was up 500% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] In early April 2021, Zaman helped organize a COVID-19 vaccination campaign based out of 16 mosques in Minnesota which succeeded in vaccinating 7,000 people in the lead up to the month of Ramadan.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Nimer, Mohamed (2002). The North American Muslim resource guide: Muslim community life in the United States and Canada. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415937283. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Ahmed-Ullah, Noreen S.; Roe, Sam; Cohen, Laurie (September 19, 2004). "A rare look at secretive Brotherhood in America". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Muslim American Society. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "About The Muslim American Society". Muslim American Society. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Branigin, William (October 7, 2002). "A Union of Muslim, American". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Nimer, Mohamed (January 21, 2014). The North American Muslim Resource Guide: Muslim Community Life in the United States and Canada. Routledge. pp. 69–71. ISBN 978-1-135-35523-4.
  7. ^ Taylor, Adam (November 17, 2014). "Why the U.A.E. is calling 2 American groups terrorists". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Gjelten, Tom (March 24, 2017). "Push To Name Muslim Brotherhood A Terrorist Group Worries U.S. Offshoots". NPR.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  9. ^ Ross, Michael E. (February 9, 2006). "U.S. Muslims react to furor with deft diplomacy". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "U.S. Muslims struggle to put new face on Islam". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. April 6, 2003. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Ullah, Syed Khalil (December 28, 2021). "Thousands join MAS-ICNA Convention at McCormick Place". Daily Herald. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "UAE Includes 2 US Muslim Groups on Terror List". Voice of America. November 17, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
    Nafeesa Syeed (November 17, 2014). "Two U.S. Islamic Groups Called Terrorist by U.A.E." Bloomberg. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Taylor, Adam (November 17, 2014). "Why the U.A.E. is calling 2 American groups terrorists". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Salama, Samir (November 16, 2014). "UAE addresses root causes of terror". Gulf News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "US Rejects Label of Two American Muslim Groups as Terrorist". VOA. November 18, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Ibrahim, Arwa (February 13, 2015). "US rejects UAE terrorist designation of American groups". Middle East Eye. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Hicks, Mark (January 16, 2016). "'Know Your Muslim Neighbor' event planned Saturday". The Detroit News. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Burney, Melanie (February 2, 2018). "Cherry Hill wants residents to 'Know your Muslim neighbor'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  19. ^ Orozco, Yvette (April 25, 2019). "Clear Lake 'Meet Your Muslim Neighbor' event seen as timely". AP News. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Holmes, Kristin E. (May 4, 2019). "Muslim American Society investigating 'oversight' following controversial video at Philly Islamic center; event organizer 'dismissed'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  21. ^ "Muslim American Society Investigates Controversial Video At Philly Islamic Center". www.cbsnews.com. May 4, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  22. ^ Ibrahim, Mukhtar M. (September 22, 2019). "'I'm here to stand up against oppression': Minnesotans protest divisive rhetoric, security crackdown in India". Sahan Journal. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  23. ^ Jenkins, Jack (May 29, 2020). "In Minneapolis, faith groups rush to aid demonstrators as they decry racism". Religion News Service. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  24. ^ Edwards, Lauren (November 7, 2020). ""This is a powerful moment": Arab, Muslim community votes in record number". WXMI. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  25. ^ Mansoor, Sanya (January 21, 2021). "Cautious Welcome For Biden's Reversal of 'Muslim and African' Travel Ban". Time. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  26. ^ Tribune, Jean Hopfensperger Star (August 23, 2020). "Faith groups grapple with economic fallout of COVID-19". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  27. ^ Hopfensperger, Jean (April 12, 2021). "Minnesota mosques prepare for Ramadan —with COVID-19 vaccines". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
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