The most beloved structure of the any city are its masajid the fortress of iman and offering protection of virtue. The Islamic Society of North America held its 3rd Annual Masjid Forum on November 7, 2015 at the Diyanet Center of America (DCA) in Lanham, MD. The newly constructed state of the art auditorium in DCA welcomed a hall full of masjid board members, academics, leaders and community workers from around the country.
Sessions included dealing with diversity models for masjid websites and using social media, nonprofit management and servant leadership, improving masjid organizational structure,as well as being a welcoming and caring masjid.
Nana Firman is the American Muslim communitys voice of conscious to practice an eco-friendly lifestyle. She is a member of the Green Mosque Initiative for ISNA with Dr Ihsan Bagby. This Ramadan, the initiative successfully carried out a Green Ramadan campaign. She emphasized the 4 R's of reduce,reuse, recycle but most importantly to rethink before using anything that can increase your impact on the Earth. Firman was disappointed with the low attendance at her Greening the Masajid session, noting that this issue is not a priority amongst American Muslims. Programs being developed by the Task Force include a Green masjid certification Program, the Green Imam program, and a Green masjid guidelines app.
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, imam of the Memphis Islamic Center, presented his vision of creating a Prophetic Masjid. Urging masjid leaders to be pragmatic in handling issues that divide a community, he stressed. Building of the masjid has been the primary concern of Islamic leadership since the time of the Prophet Muhammad. They were places of knowledge, shurah, a hostel for students, a free hotel for travellers, a place to build bonds with people.
It is better to focus on a couple of things and do them well, said Dr. Rafik Beekun is Professor of Management and Strategy, former chair of the Managerial Sciences Department at the University of Nevada in his session on masjid organization . The board has to champion the strategic plan and organizations that have a systematic plan in place will outperform the ones that dont. He shared how masjid takeovers take place because of loopholes in the constitution of the Islamic Centers. Attendee Sheema Hai asked him about changes to constitution and he answered that changes in the constitution should be only allowed with a large majority and bylaws should be easier to change for issues that become obsolete that need to be changed.
Other issues in masjid management that Dr Beekun brought up occurred when the Board of Directors assume governance and management responsibilities, which often leads to burnout, board members receiving little to no management training, cultural diversity challenges to board cohesion. 
A welcoming masjid increases the sense of belonging, attendance and volunteers. Dr Bagby suggested a masjid Tasleem squad that meets newcomers to the masjid, gives them a tour and take their names and numbers and skillset to forward to the volunteer coordinator to form a welcoming masjid. Flowers in the hallway to engaging masjid signage, he shared many ideas to make Islamic centers more welcoming.
Architect Chris McCoys session on Steps in Building a Masjid was widely attended by masjid leaders. McCoy Architects in Lexington, Ky,., has completed five mosques in the U.S. since 1998, with more currently in design or under construction including the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. He gave tips on avoiding pitfalls during the construction process, including downplaying construction costs to donor and not having volunteers on the project committee that have the actual tie to invest into the project. He urged masjid leaders to resist rural properties that are not convenient, recognize the value of multipurpose buildings and carefully consider renovation of facilities over new construction.
Dr. Zainab Alwani is currently the Program Director and an Adjunct Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Northern Virginia Community College. She, along with Sarah Sayeed, who is currently a board member of Women In Islam, Inc and Aisha al-Adawiya addressed the Women Friendly Masjid and ISNAs statement on inclusive masajid. The statement refers to the Quran and hadith :The general guideline was set by Prophet Muhammad when he ordered that women be allowed to freely attend the masjid: "If the wife of anyone of you asks permission to attend the masjid, he should not prevent her" ... Thus we call on all our masjids to be welcoming to women -- such that their experience at the masjid be uplifting and not demeaning. To realize the ideal of being welcoming to women, masjids should (a) ensure that womens accommodations are comfortable, clean and well-lit; (b) support and facilitate womens activities and groups; and (c) proclaim clearly on the minbar [or pulpit] and by other means that women are an integral part of the masjid. The statement was signed by several scholars.
The session raised the heated topic of the divider in the musalla to separate men and women. We call upon masjids to ensure that women have access to the main musalla to perform salah, listen to the Jummah khutbah or attend and participate in lectures or discussions. This should be in addition to any separate area that currently exists for women. Recognizing that the architecture of some masjids may make it difficult to find a barrier-free space for women in the main musalla, especially for Jummah, masjids still have the duty to find a solution to realize the sunnah of including women in the main musalla.
The focus of the forum of leaders, imams, board members, and community members was on developing concrete recommendations for strengthening and growing mosques in North America by means of shared experiences, expert advice and discussion. Local imams, Imam Faizul Khan and Talib Shareef also spoke at the event, as well as Jimmy Jones, Mohammad Qatanani, Hazem Bata, Rasheed Rabbi, Saffet Catovic, and Atiya Aftab.
Most attendees found the masjid forum beneficial. Some wanted to attend panels that were conflicting with each other. Some left disturbed. H. Syed, who is active in her masjid leadership, said, I think ISNA is in a dangerous fine line zone by making blanket statements for the Muslims in America. I don't envy the necessary tasks that [ISNA] has undertaken. She says that ISNA needs to make it a point not to belittle or make Muslims that want a barrier when they pray or want to follow moonsighting feel backward or alienated.
At the banquet that followed the forum, which was keynoted by Dalia Mogahed, the ISNA masjid development committee recognized the Islamic Society of Central New Jersey as the Green masjid of year for incorporating LEEDS green building practices and installing solar panels and The Islamic Center of Long Island won the Women Friendly Masjid of the Year.
This is part of our effort to develop standards for our masajid, stated Dr Bagby. This year the masjid were vetted and voted by the committee members of the women friendly masjid taskforce and the Green Masjid taskforce. In the future there are plans to develop criteria and ask for nominations, says Firman.
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