Islamic Society of Boston
Encyclopedia
The Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) is a mosque
and cultural center for Muslims in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. The current Imam
is Basyouny Nehela. ISB offers daily, weekly and annual programs for Muslims including Arabic and English
classes on religious and secular topics as well as a religious school for children and holiday programs. The society also organizes trips and summer camps for children and classes on Islam
for non-Muslims.
s at Harvard University
, Boston University
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology
, Suffolk University
, and Tufts University
. The organization's first location was a hall reserved at MIT where they held prayers and weekly seminars and classes.
In 1991, the ISB purchased a Cambridge building as a community center and in 1993 purchased a second location and began to renovate it. In 1994 they opened the second location as a Mosque. The ISB has also purchased a rental property to provide income for the annual operating expenses of the center (waqf
).
Reports of ties to radical Islam have been controversial. The society has brought suit for defamation against individuals and institutions issuing press and other reports of these ties.
In the summer of 2004, the ISB began construction on a new center on land purchased from the city of Boston adjoining the campus of Roxbury Community College
. The ISB agreed to compensate the city for some of the cost of the land through community service by donating books to and sponsoring lectures about Islam for the college, as well as maintaining local parks. The new facility is projected to accommodate 1600 individuals in prayer rooms, include an Islamic school for children, an Islamic library, a morgue with burial preparation facilities, administrative offices, a media center, store, a women's gymnasium, a kitchen, a hall for events, and an underground parking garage.
The building project has been surrounded by controversy. The purchase of the land valued at over $2,000,000 to the Islamic Society in return for only $175,000 in funds, as well as the dual role of Boston Redevelopment Authority
Deputy Directory Mohammad Ali-Salaam as official overseeing and managing the sale on behalf of the city and principle fundraiser for the Islamic Society of Boston. Issues related to the legality of the sale and the public's access to information surrounding the sale have been the subject of two lawsuits.
, or educating the public about Islam. As part of this, the community engages in an interfaith project with Temple Beth Shalom in Cambridge. The organization participates in civil rights work with the ACLU, and has received a grant from the National Conference for Community and Justice
(NCCJ) for civil rights and civics training for the Muslim community in Boston.
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
and cultural center for Muslims in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. The current Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
is Basyouny Nehela. ISB offers daily, weekly and annual programs for Muslims including Arabic and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
classes on religious and secular topics as well as a religious school for children and holiday programs. The society also organizes trips and summer camps for children and classes on Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
for non-Muslims.
History
The society was founded in 1981 by Muslim students as a consolidation of Muslim Students' AssociationMuslim Students' Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United States. It serves to provide coordination and support...
s at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wentworth Institute of Technology
The Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, technical design and engineering college located in Boston, Massachusetts...
, Suffolk University
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
, and Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
. The organization's first location was a hall reserved at MIT where they held prayers and weekly seminars and classes.
In 1991, the ISB purchased a Cambridge building as a community center and in 1993 purchased a second location and began to renovate it. In 1994 they opened the second location as a Mosque. The ISB has also purchased a rental property to provide income for the annual operating expenses of the center (waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
).
Reports of ties to radical Islam have been controversial. The society has brought suit for defamation against individuals and institutions issuing press and other reports of these ties.
Building project
Roxbury Community College
Roxbury Community College is a community college in the Roxbury Crossing neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. RCC offers associate degrees in arts, and sciences, as well as certificates...
. The ISB agreed to compensate the city for some of the cost of the land through community service by donating books to and sponsoring lectures about Islam for the college, as well as maintaining local parks. The new facility is projected to accommodate 1600 individuals in prayer rooms, include an Islamic school for children, an Islamic library, a morgue with burial preparation facilities, administrative offices, a media center, store, a women's gymnasium, a kitchen, a hall for events, and an underground parking garage.
The building project has been surrounded by controversy. The purchase of the land valued at over $2,000,000 to the Islamic Society in return for only $175,000 in funds, as well as the dual role of Boston Redevelopment Authority
Boston Redevelopment Authority
The Boston Redevelopment Authority is the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial developments.The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts legislature in 1957...
Deputy Directory Mohammad Ali-Salaam as official overseeing and managing the sale on behalf of the city and principle fundraiser for the Islamic Society of Boston. Issues related to the legality of the sale and the public's access to information surrounding the sale have been the subject of two lawsuits.
Outreach
The ISB is active in dawahDawah
Da‘wah or Dawah usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite"...
, or educating the public about Islam. As part of this, the community engages in an interfaith project with Temple Beth Shalom in Cambridge. The organization participates in civil rights work with the ACLU, and has received a grant from the National Conference for Community and Justice
National Conference for Community and Justice
The National Conference for Community and Justice is a national, human relations, non-profit organization in the United States. Its mission is to fight bias, bigotry, and racism and promote understanding and respect through advocacy, conflict resolution, and education.The NCCJ was founded in 1927...
(NCCJ) for civil rights and civics training for the Muslim community in Boston.