Islamic Society of North America
| Islamic Society of North America | |
|---|---|
 Islamic Society of North America logo |
|
| Abbreviation | ISNA |
| Formation | 1982 |
| Purpose/focus | To be unifying Islamic organization and to contribute to the betterment of the Muslim community and society |
| Headquarters | Plainfield, Indiana |
| Region served | North America |
| President | Mohamed Magid |
| Affiliations | Muslim Student Association (MSA); the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT); Canadian Islamic Trust (CIT); Muslim Community Association (MCA); American Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS); American Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE); The Elkadri Fund (TEF); Islamic Medical Association (IMA); Islamic Teaching Center (ITC), and Foundation of Internanm,lklikltional Development (FID). |
| Website | isna.net |
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), based in Plainfield, Indiana, USA, is a Muslim umbrella group. It has been described in the media as the largest Muslim organization in North America.[1][2][3]
Contents |
[edit] History
ISNA traces its origins to a Muslim student organization in 1953, which emerged as the Muslim Student Association in January 1963. ISNA regards the MSA's 1963 convention as its first one. ISNA was founded in 1982 by individuals.[4][5][6] In 1983, ISNA completed a $21 million ($46,292,895 today) headquarters complex in suburban Indianapolis using funds raised in part from Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Nada and the Emir of Qatar.[4] In 2008, it claimed 400,000 members.[7]
[edit] Goals
ISNA's goal is "to be an exemplary and unifying Islamic organization in North America that contributes to the betterment of the Muslim community and society at large." ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities, and civic and service organizations.
ISNA includes under its umbrella: Muslim Student Association (MSA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), Canadian Islamic Trust (CIT; NAIT's counterpart in Canada), Muslim Community Association (MCA), American Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), American Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE), Islamic Medical Association (IMA), Islamic Teaching Center (ITC), Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) [8] and Foundation of International Development (FID).[9]
[edit] Services
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ISNA provides various services for Muslim immigrants and Muslim communities in North America. It publishes information about Islam to be distributed with the intention of informing Muslims and non-Muslims about various issues in the religion. They provide a forum for discussing aging and mortality as well as domestic violence. ISNA also certifies food service and consumer products companies as Halal, and issues Islamic marriage certificates to couples with a marriage license who have performed the religious ceremony.
Although only a small percentage of mosques are official members, mosque membership in ISNA is an important step for many small communities trying to grow.
ISNA holds an annual national convention, typically on the Labor Day weekend in early September, which is generally the largest gathering of American Muslims in the United States. In the last few years, it has been held in Chicago, Illinois, with increasing numbers attending including people from outside of North America. The convention features Islamic lectures, discussions, debates, nasheeds, and Muslim comedy. A notable comedian who has repeatedly performed at ISNA is Azhar Usman.
Its President is Mohamed Magid, and its Secretary General is Safaa Zarzour. Muzzamil Siddiqi was president until November 2001, and he and Imam Siraj Wahhaj serve on ISNA's board of directors. Dr. Sayyid Syeed is the National Director for the Office of Interfaith & Community Alliances for ISNA.
Islamic Horizons is ISNA's bi-monthly publication.
ISNA is associated with the Islamic Society of North America Elementary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
[edit] Interfaith dialogue
ISNA invited Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, to speak before its 44th annual meeting (2007). Reform Judaism is the largest Jewish denomination in the US. Yoffie denounced "opportunists" who demonise Islam, and called for an end to racial profiling and legal discrimination against Muslim Americans. Yoffie drew frequent applause, and a standing ovation. David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, criticized Yoffie.[10]
ISNA also invited Rick Warren to address the 2009 annual ISNA convention. Rabbis, evangelical and Catholic leaders were also present.[11]
ISNA has participated in interfaith dialogue with the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
[edit] Legal issues
ISNA was one of a number of Muslim groups investigated by US law enforcement for possible terrorist connections. Its tax records were requested in December 2003 by the Senate Finance Committee. However, the committee's investigation concluded in November 2005 with no action taken. Committee chairman Charles Grassley said, "We did not find anything alarming enough that required additional follow-up beyond what law enforcement is already doing."[12]
In the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorist financing case, the United States Department of Justice named ISNA, along with Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the North American Islamic Trust, as an unindicted co-conspirator and one of a number of "entities who are and/or were members of the US Muslim Brotherhood."[13][14][15] According to columnist Rod Dreher's interpretation of court documents, "ISNA is an integral part of the [Muslim] Brotherhood's efforts to wage jihad against America through non-violent means."[16]
[edit] Controversies
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has asserted that the Islamic Society of North America is "accused of ties to Islamic extremists",[17] and Steven Emerson accused ISNA of ties to terrorism.[1]
[edit] Allegations of Wahhabism
In his testimony before the US Senate in October 2003, Dr. Michael Waller told Senators that “The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) refers Muslim clerics to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Islamic Society of North America is an influential front for the promotion of the Wahhabi political, ideological and theological infrastructure in the United States and Canada." Claiming that ISNA has connections to 50 to 79 percent of mosques on the North American continent, he accused the organization of "dominating Islam in North America."[18][19]
Similarly, Stephen Schwartz described ISNA in Senate hearing testimony as one of the chief conduits through which the radical Saudi form of Islam passes through to the US.[20]
[edit] Other controversy
A speaker at the 2009 national convention, Warith Deen Umar, a New York imam, asserted that the Holocaust happened to the Jews "because they were serially disobedient to Allah." He went on to allege that a group of Jews close to President Barack Obama "control the world."
ISNA immediately condemned the comments.[21]
In an article, Sheila Musaji has responded to criticism raised by Umbreen Shah. She states that she searched the ISNA print publications and information on the their website for any claim that they were “the only representative of Muslim Americans from all walks of life", and could not find any. She also points out that many African-Americans may not have been represented in large numbers at the ISNA convention because of the convention by W.D. Muhammad during the same weekend.[22]
A audit of the ISNA's Canadian arm found only a quarter of the funds donated to the organisation went to help the poor. Charity donations were misdirected to private businesses.[23]
[edit] See also
- Islam in Canada
- Islamic Supreme Council of Canada
- Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Muzammil H. Siddiqi
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Top Reform Rabbi Gives Watershed Address to Largest U.S. Muslim Group," Marc Perelman, The Forward, September 5, 2007
- ^ "ISNA's Change Convention". Islamonline.net. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout&cid=1219723079239.
- ^ "10 minutes with … Mohamed Magid". 2010-11-03. http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/tenminutes/10_minutes_with_mohamed_magid1/.
- ^ a b "In Search Of Friends Among The Foes", The Washington Post
- ^ What You Need to Know about Islam and Muslims, p. 166, George W. Braswell, B&H Publishing Group, 2000, ISBN 0805418296, 9780805418293, accessed December 13, 2009
- ^ Transplanting religious traditions: Asian Indians in America, p. 166, John Y. Fenton, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1988, ISBN 0275926761, 9780275926762, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ The new encyclopedia of Islam, p. 251, Cyril Glassé, Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, ISBN 0742562964, 9780742562967, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ [www.myna.org]
- ^ The Muslims of America, pp. 16–17, Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Oxford University Press US, 1993, ISBN 0195085590, 9780195085594, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ Marc Perelman (September 5, 2007). "Top Reform Rabbi Gives Watershed Address to Largest U.S. Muslim Group". Jewish Daily Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/11554/.
- ^ "Rick Warren Speaks at Muslim Interfaith Event". 2009-07-06. http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/godingovernment/2009/07/rick_warren_talks_interfaith_at_muslim_event.html.
- ^ Indiana-based Islamic Society cleared in Senate investigation by King, Robert, Indianapolis Star, November 15, 2005
- ^ [1]
- ^ Muslim Groups Oppose a List of ‘Co-Conspirators’ – New York Times
- ^ Immigration policy and the terrorist threat in Canada and the United States, p. 147, A. Alexander Moens, Martin Collacott, The Fraser Institute, 2008, ISBN 0889752354, 9780889752351, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ Surrender: Appeasing Islam, Sacrificing Freedom, p. 82, Bruce Bawer, Random House, Inc., 2009, ISBN 038552398X, 9780385523981, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ Infiltration: how Muslim spies and subversives have penetrated Washington, p. 200, Paul E. Sperry , Thomas Nelson Inc, 2005, ISBN 1595550038, 9781595550033, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ J. Michael Waller (October 14, 2003). "Statement of J. Michael Waller (Annenberg Professor of International Communication Institute of World Politics) Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, Senate Committee on the Judiciary". US Senate Judiciary Committee. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080212073904/http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=960&wit_id=2719.
- ^ Stupid Black men: how to play the race card-- and lose, p. 228, Larry Elder, Macmillan, 2008, ISBN 0312367333, 9780312367336, accessed December 12, 2009
- ^ Schwartz, Stephen. "Wahhabism & Islam in The U.S.". National Review. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/207366/wahhabism-islam-u-s/stephen-schwartz.
- ^ Antisemitic Rant Causes Red Faces at Islamic Confab , Nathan Guttman, The Jewish Daily Forward, July 15, 2009 [2]
- ^ Through the Looking Glass: ISNA? Thugs (2005 ISNA Convention), by Sheila Musaji, The American Muslim, September 11, 2005
- ^ http://www.thestar.com/news/article/924865--muslim-charity-squandered-money-for-poor
