Overview

 

The Guidelines for Best Practices of Islamic Centers underscore attitudes and actions needed to empower the Muslim community and allow it to make better use of the tremendous human and financial resources it possesses. The Guidelines aim at improving leadership effectiveness, harmony, and compliance with Islamic principles. Setting the Islamic center on firm footings is essential for allowing American Muslims to focus their energies on building their communities, enhancing public relations and interfaith understanding, and contributing to advancing services and charitable work.

The guidelines presented hear are based on both the practices adopted by some of the most organized and vibrant Islamic centers in North American, as well as on discussions with, and recommendations of, Muslim scholars, leaders, and persons involved in the hard work of building the leadership capacity of the American Muslim community.

The document should be considered a work in progress, as we will continue to refine it on the basis of the evolving experiences of the Muslim community, and the feedback we receive from Muslims throughout North America.

The Guidelines cover eight important areas the need the immediate attention of community leaders. Each set of guidelines is preceded by an overview to provide context and underscore the need that gave rise to their annunciation. The overview also points briefly to their Islamic roots.

To facilitate the implementation of the Guidelines, a number of resources, both human and material, are suggested for each area. Some basic materials are currently available at ISNA Leadership Development Center (ILDC) in print form, and will soon be available online. We, however, welcome additional information and resources.

ILDC is currently working on developing training sessions to facilitate the implementation of the Guidelines, and on the preparation of packages to make it easy for community leaders to apply the recommended Guidelines. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to contribute to this project, or are interested in training and consultation on building leadership capacity in your community.

Developing the leadership capacity of the American Muslim community is not only necessary to overcome the many challenges we all confront, but is the duty and responsibility we all have to make sure that Islam stand on strong footings for future growth and development in North American.

The Guidelines provide standards for performance, along with the resources and training opportunities needed for the realization of these standards. The standards cover the following areas:

• Good Governance
• Community Development
• Conflict Prevention and Resolution
• Women’s Participation
• Youth Involvement
• Public Relations and Services
• Interfaith Programs and Activities
• Sound Financial Base