What is MAS?
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 uplifts 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
MAS YOUTH DEPARTMENT
MAS methodology and programs have always attracted Muslim youth. And after a short transition period, MAS is once again a hub for youth who aspire to fulfill all their potential and who are not satisfied with occasional and/or nominal participation in Islamic (community) activities/functions: those who subscribe to the belief that reform (enjoying what is good and forbidding what is evil) is an essential part of Islam and is both mandatory and necessary, and requires collective and organized efforts. MAS Youth Division has established dozens of chapters led by well-trained youth workers.
Long Term Vision
MYD as a division of MAS is giving roots, nurturing, and establishing organized and efficient, movement oriented, Islamic work amongst all segments of Muslim youth based on the comprehensive understanding of Islam.
MYD as a division of MAS
This means that the youth work is merely a part of the overall organization. It is not a separate entity, nor will it take on any characteristics as such. People do not join MYD; they join MAS. MYD does not sponsor activities, MAS does.
Is giving roots, nurturing, and establishing
This means that our work involves imparting tarbiya to the youth, through murabbis and not merely teaching youth Islamic knowledge. This tarbiya aims to establish organized and efficient, movement oriented, Islamic work and nothing less. Not only must we be organized, but we must be efficient as well, a characteristic that unfortunately we seem to have lost over time. And this work should be Islamic movement oriented, i.e. work that will help move us into the future, and break our stagnation and decline.
Amongst all segments of Muslim youth
This means that we will not fall prey to nationalism or racism and work with only a segment of the Muslim population. This is critical to the survival of our da’wah in North America that our members are truly North American, and not simply people transplanted from other parts of the world, unable to fully convey the message to the masses.
Based on the comprehensive understanding of Islam.
This defines the balanced path that our Creator has chosen for us, as He (swt) reminds us in Surah Al Baqarah: “Thus have We made you a just and balanced nation, that you may be witnesses over mankind, and the Messenger be a witness over you” (2:143)
Mission Statement
To develop committed Muslim youth capable of spreading and giving root to the comprehensive understanding of Islam, and to prepare them to be at the forefront in the development of their communities.
In our view, the tarbiya produces the personality of the “true Muslim activist” described by the Messenger, peace be upon him, when he said, “People are like a hundred camels, you can hardly find amongst them one rahila (one capable of sustaining energy throughout a long and arduous journey).” We want to produce al-Rawaahil. Our objective is that within 8-10 years all of the youth work is transferred to a new generation of du’aa who are part of the fabric of this society but are the embodiment of the understanding of MAS methodology.
MAS Core Tarbiya Programs:
MAS Halaqa: a weekly meeting, or study circle, of a few brothers or sisters. It follows a strict and thoroughly reviewed educational program and timetable, and serves as a nurturing ground for educational, spiritual, and intellectual development. The Halaqa mechanism helps joining hearts by developing true brotherhood and sisterhood (acquaintance and solidarity), trust and mutual understanding, loyalty and a sense of belonging, and commitment to the service of Islam and the community.
Night prayer (overnight): usually a monthly program where all the halaqas of one chapter spend the entire night or part of it in prayers, recitation of the Qur’an, supplication and remembrance of Allah, thus recharging the members spiritually, softening their hearts, purifying and nourishing their souls, rekindling/reinforcing the spirit of sacrifice, and preparing the individual to shoulder the burdens of the Islamic Call under all circumstances.
Scouting Trips and Camps: They allow for interaction in an open and free atmosphere, thus strengthening the ties of relationships and love for the sake of Allah. They also train participants on patience, courage, tolerance, endurance, discipline and forbearance over a long period of time, thus rejuvenating the spirit, renewing the commitment, and revitalizing the body.
Workshops/Seminars: MAS offers a broad range of seminars and workshops to empower youth with full understanding of relevant themes/concepts and mastership of important skills (leadership, political activism, media skills,…).
Conferences/Conventions: These are large national and regional gatherings where prominent leaders and speakers translate the conclusions of their diligent researches and studies into practical solutions and guidelines for action plans. They usually focus on a particular theme, and provide a unique opportunity for the development and acquirement of new ideas.
MAS Youth Centers:
MAS has been spearheading the establishment of Youth Centers across the States. It is a place that the youth can call theirs and that is equipped with all needed facilities to host various youth activities. We believe that this project is critical if we are serious about raising a generation of committed and disciplined Muslims who will not only preserve their identity but also impact mainstream America.
MAS VALLEY is one of four MAS chapters within the Southern California area. Other regions within the Los Angles chapter are Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire.
Mission
The mission of MAS Valley is to develop committed Muslim capable of spreading and giving root to the comprehensive understanding of Islam, and to prepare them to be at the forefront in the development of our communities.
History and Purpose
Since 1996, MAS Valley has been working with our youth to help them maintain their identity as Muslims and be productive members of the society. Our goal is to provide the young muslims with valuable social and educational activities resulting in a higher level of Islamic awareness and a sense of community.
Some of the methods we have utilized to help us achieve our goals are weekly classes for the youth, study circles, seminars, retreats and a wide range of other educational activities to help bring our youth closer to Allah (swt). Along with educational programs, we also organize social activities to help the local muslims know one another and develop a sense of community. Opportunities such as weekly sports, camps, carnivals, and other such activities help us to bring local muslims together outside the formal setting of a classroom or a study circle, and give them a chance to develop relationships with each other and feel the importance of brother/sisterhood.