How can masjid (mosque) engage with its Muslim community members

Meaningful membership

• Affordable and equal membership

• Regular (quarterly) general assembly meetings

• A clear channel to voice recommendations and to implement them

• Transparent and organized elections and governance

Opportunity to serve

• Equal chance to volunteer

• Equal chance to help in programs

• Equal chance to serve on committees

• Equal chance to run for positions and elections

Recognition

• Donors

  • wall plaques or wall of honors

  • naming rooms in the facilities after big donors and businesses

  • Sponsoring events

  • Sponsoring tables during the events

  • Thank you letters and postcards

  • Thank you phone calls

  • Thank you emails

  • Thank you gifts

  • Thank you visitations

  • Thank you in newsletters and community announcements

• Volunteers

  • Same strategy used above with donors

• Special talents

  • must also be recognized by the community

• Board members

  • the outgoing board members must be recognized and thanked but try to avoid thanking the current board members because the decision to recognize is usually made by them

• Special achievements: must be celebrated

  • Hifz Quran

  • Hijab

  • High school and college graduations

• Special occasions

  • Weddings

  • New borns

  • Death

  • Sickness to ask for prayers, visitations and support

Safety

• Secure facility

• Controlled activities especially children

• Anti-terrorism measures

Communication:

• Announcements are usually made by: emails, website, social media and occasionally by mail

• Regular Newsletter

• Calendar of events

• Regular meeting with members to explain policies, decisions, budgets and seek feedback and recommendations

• There must be a clear channel of voicing concerns and addressing them. The most important point here is to visit any member who is concerned and talk to him/her to understand his views and explain the board decision.

• No member should be ever alienated or labeled as trouble maker for voicing concerns

• Conflict resolution is a must and every effort should be made to communicate and lessen the differences

Services and programs

• Education and training

  • Islamic education: for non-Muslims, new Muslims and Muslims

  • Vocational training

  • Tutoring

  • College prep

  • Job shadowing

  • Job mentoring

• Sickness visitation

  • At home

  • At hospital

• Funeral arrangement and condolences

  • Funeral arrangement

  • Funeral assistance

  • Condolences

  • Family assistance afterward if needed

• Networking

  • Connecting professionals

  • Professionals educational events

  • Guidance and mentoring

• Matrimonial: get to know each other appropriately, nikah, wedding

• Health: health education, clinics, assistance

• Social: food, housing, government programs, and refugees

• Legal: civil rights and immigration

• Youth

• Women

• Family counseling

• Shelter

• Dawa: interfaith, open mosque day, volunteering, food pantry, health clinic

• Celebrations

  • Eids festivals

  • Completing Quran

  • Graduations

  • Hijab

  • Parents

  • Weddings

  • Graduations

Checking on system

• Develop a list of members

• If they do not come to the masjid regularly, contact them and check on them

• Make sure to visit them too

Groups of mentoring and checking-in

• This is to have groups of 3-5 people who get along or leave in the same street of subdivision

  • They check on each other daily

  • They pick up some of the group some days on the way to the masjid

  • They review Quran together

• The mentor of the group is the most active and he should belong to a higher group

• Each one of the group (after some training) would mentor another group or new group

Masjid Store

Masjid Library

This article is supported by Zaki Financial