The Women's Mosque of America

Q&A with Maheen Abbasi (9/27/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- Maheen Abbasi answers questions from the congregation on how to naviagate free will vs. faithful trust, and she shares candidly from her experiences to help the congregation forge a deeper, more personal relationship with God.

Q&A with Tasneem Farah Noor (8/30/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- Tasneem F. Noor leads the congregation in a clarifying discussion on what it means to own our power without fear of stepping into arrogance. She answers one question in particular in a surprising way that puts a smile on everyone's face.

Adthan by Jessika Kenny (8/30/19)

Returning mu'adthinah Jessika Kenney calls the adthan in her beautiful Javanese recitation style for the 56th jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on August 30, 2019.

"Power & Humility" by Tasneem Farha Noor (8/30/19)

Tasneem Farah Noor is a speaker, facilitator, Life coach, and the author of the book “The Faith Connection: Your Journey Starts with Knowing Yourself.” She has her Masters in Education from UCLA; and her coaching certification from the Life Mastery Institute. She has worked on university campuses like UCLA and Cal State LA. After a rewarding career in higher education for seven years, Tasneem transitioned to Life coaching and facilitating interfaith dialogue as her full-time career. She is the lead Muslim facilitator for NewGround: A Muslim Jewish Partnership for change, and sits on five different interfaith boards including the Interfaith Council at the Islamic Center of Southern California. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, CA in 2000, she lived in India, Pakistan, and Dubai.

Adthan by Abrafi Sanyika (7/26/19)

Former Khateebah Abrafi Sanyika steps up to the role of Mu'adthinah as she delivers the adhan for the 55th jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on July 26th, 2019.

"Language, Gender, and the Historical Evolution of the Khutbah" by Dr. Irum Shiekh (7/26/19)

Bio: Dr. Irum Shiekh's work combines oral history with visual arts to advance social justice at local and transnational levels. Her documentary, Matrilineal Muslim Women of Minang, provides narratives of Muslim women of Minangkabau—the largest living matrilineal society in the world, which happened to be Muslim. By presenting interviews of strong Muslim women who are wearing headscarves, this film disassociates the widely mistaken image of women’s oppression with Islam. Dr. Shiekh was a Fulbright scholar in Palestine where she developed courses about Palestinian Cinema and its significance in writing a counter-narrative through artistic expressions that articulates multiple histories and the day-to-day perspectives of Palestinians. Her photo exhibit, Palestinians Envision Life Without Occupation, examines the power of imagination as a resistance strategy for Palestinians living under occupation. Her current book research project, Women’s Mosque Movement of the 21st Century, promotes the development and dissemination of Islamic knowledge for gender and social justice. Dr. Shiekh enjoys learning from people, experiences, and the world around her. In her life journey, she is constantly juggling a balance between creating a sense of belonging and staying detached. She has completed fieldwork in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, South Africa, and Trinidad. Currently, she teaches in the departments of Ethnic Studies and the Honors College at the University of Oregon.

Q&A with Dr. Irum Shiekh (7/26/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- In this enlightening discussion, Dr. Irum Shiekh goes into more detail about how the label of "khutbah" evolved in meaning over the centuries -- from its origin as the general term to describe "speech," including the speeches famous early Muslim women delivered -- to eventually becoming a word that describes the religious Friday prayer sermon only.

 

Adthan by Sophia Alone (5/31/19)

Mu'adhinah Sophia Alone delivers a beautifully melodic calling of the adhan for the 53rd jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on May 31st, 2019.

"The Rest of Ramadan: Prayer as Rest & Restoration" by Desiree F. Magsombol (5/31/19)

Khateebah Desiree F. Magsombol shares her journey of recovering from workaholism in “The Rest of Ramadan: Prayer as Rest & Restoration.” In her khutbah, Desiree talks about how her journey out of burnout helped her discover a beautiful new way to value herself through built-in Islamic worship practices that mandate daily rest and taking breaks.

Bio:
Desiree F. Magsombol, JD is a Resilience Toolkit Facilitator with Lumos Transforms and a Training and Technical Assistance Provider for the National Prison Rape Elimination Act Resource Center with Impact Justice. Her personal experience with violence early on drove her to seek spiritual refuge. She converted to Islam her sophomore year of high school, finding community amongst her Muslim classmates and those at her local mosque in Long Beach – Masjid Al-Shareef. She is deeply grateful for the first Muslims she met, who taught her a loving, kind, and expansive Islam that was inherently American in its connection to the Black/African-American community.

Through observing the character and practice of her dear late Imam Omar Amin, she saw how work could be elevated to an expression of faith, and what it meant to truly serve the community. This, along with her personal experiences, led her to advocacy work with foster youth in residential care, LGBTQ survivors of domestic violence, and survivors of sexual violence in prisons and jails throughout the country. Her work with prisons and jails made her particularly fascinated in how individuals experiencing stress and trauma impact whole organizations and their cultures. With Lumos Transforms, Desiree facilitates community workshops and provides consultation, subject matter expertise, training, program design, and delivery for organizational clients about growing resilience, stress and burnout management, and trauma-informed approaches.

Desiree enjoys discovering how the never-ending well of Islam continues to be related to all things she cares about, from anti-violence to feminism, from community healing to the neurobiology of stress, and everything in-between. She loves watching babies push their own strollers, walks in the local nature center, and spending time with family and friends.

Q&A with Desiree F. Magsombol (5/31/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- In this interactive discussion, Desiree F. Magsombol shares how she converted to Islam at the age of 15 and how the religion was presented beautifully to her in a way in which she was given the freedom to explore it at her own pace. Desiree also discusses and demonstrates more somatic therapy healing techniques, such as the Butterfly Hug, which was developed in the 1990s for survivors of Hurricane Pauline in Mexico when there were not enough therapists available to provide comfort for the children.