The Women's Mosque of America

Adthan by Abrafi Sanyika (6/21/19)

Former Khateebah Abrafi Sanyika steps up to the role of Mu'adthinah for the first time as she delivers the adhan for the 54th jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on June 21st, 2019.

"A Hard Pill to Swallow: Substance Abuse, Mental Health & The Family Unit" by Ayhan Aslam (6/21/19)

*NOTE*: If you or anyone you know is in need of immediate emotional support, please don't wait -- reach out to this anonymous helpline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

In this groundbreaking khutbah, Khateebah Ayhan Aslam bravely talks to us from the first-hand perspective of a survivor on the topic of drug abuse in the Muslim community, and how we can best help our brothers and sisters who are suffering in silence. In the first half of her khutbah, Ayhan talks about her mother's lifelong battle with pill addiction which led to her untimely death; in the second half, Ayhan opens up about her own use of marijuana to numb her feelings, and how she finally found her way out to freedom from all drug use.

Bio: Ayhan Hatunan Aslam is a New York City based spoken word artist, writer and inner-city youth educator. Her parents split apart when she was seven. At that time she, along with her older brother, was sent to live with their aunt, uncle and three cousins in a small town in Massachusetts while her single mother worked to get back on her feet. Due to her mother’s inner turmoil and struggles, Ayhan spent much of her life moving around from city to city, country to country. This molded her into a culturally aware and sensitive individual who understands the nuances of the human condition, despite cultural barriers that may exist amongst differing communities.



Ayhan has devoted much of her professional career to serving underprivileged and marginalized youth in the New York City area including The South Bronx. She enjoys studying English literature and using hip hop education framework theories to build authentic relationships with her students and herself. She also has spent many years on the front lines organizing in the community for different social justice issues and events. Aside from her professional career aspirations, Ayhan has a deep passion for health and wellness, in particular, holistic healing modalities that include aromatherapy, skincare and building a healthier relationship to food and body. 



She loves taking nature walks, listening to music, painting, writing poems and playing sports. She is currently attaining her yoga teacher certification and hopes to heal others through yoga and breathing practices.
In the upcoming fall of 2019, Ayhan will return back to her hometown of NYC and begin her master's program in school counseling, where she hopes to go back to her roots of working with inner-city youth, in the new role of a school counselor.

Q&A with Ayhan Aslam (6/21/19)

*NOTE*: If you or anyone you know is in need of immediate emotional support, please don't wait -- reach out to this anonymous 24/7 hotline: 310.392.838.

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- In this deeply vulnerable discussion, Ayhan Aslam's family members come together to remember her late mother, the person she strived to be, the emotional needs that went unmet, and how we as a community can do better to be supportive of those who are struggling with addiction and depression.

Quran Recitation by Sarah Dar

Our mu'adthinah Sarah Dar starts off our program for the evening with a beautiful recitation of the Qur'an, including the opening chapter, "Al Fatihah." // On the evening of May 10, 2019, The Women's Mosque of America held its fifth annual co-ed iftar & qiyam during the holy month of Ramadan, featuring all women speakers and a chance for the greater public to benefit from the spiritual insights of its Muslim women leaders.

"Choosing Resilience in the Face of Violence" by Nurjahan Boulden

Khateebah Nurjahan Boulden returns to share her amazing khutbah on surviving gun violence in a speech format for the men in the room to hear. // On the evening of May 10, 2019, The Women's Mosque of America held its fifth annual co-ed iftar & qiyam during the holy month of Ramadan, featuring all women speakers and a chance for the greater public to benefit from the spiritual insights of its Muslim women leaders.

Bio:
Nurjahan Boulden was 21 years old when she was shot with an assault rifle in an attack that killed the man next to her. That one night changed the trajectory of her life. Even as she moved on to become a teacher and mother of three, she continued to suffer in silence with depression, anxiety, and physical complications from the bullet wound. It wasn’t until ten years later that she shared her story publicly for the first time. It was there that she found the community and support she needed in order to finally recover. Having worked in education and in the non-profit sector for most of her career, she is now the world’s leading coach and healer for shooting survivors who are ready to feel safe again. In addition to individual and group coaching, she is a public speaker, hosts support groups and community resilience workshops, and has been featured in a number of publications, including Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health Magazines. Her most recent project is a collaboration of mental health professionals bringing gun violence prevention and recovery programs to schools and organizations across the country.

Nurjahan was born and raised in rural Massachusetts before moving to the West Coast in 2003 to attend Pitzer College in Claremont. With a Tanzanian mother and a White American father, her family was one of only two Muslim families where she grew up. She now enjoys living in a diverse area of Rancho Cucamonga, CA with her husband and three young children.

"Singing A Shining Steed: The Mystical Origins of the Buraq" by Jessika Kenney

In this unique speech, Khateebah & Mu'adthinah Jessika Kenney delves into the many different understandings of the buraq, or shining steed, that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) rode on his Night Journey. She explores the more mystical and folklorish renditions of the buraq as a winged animal with a woman's head, to the more metaphysical and scientific theories of the buraq as electricity or light. At the end of her speech, Jessika treats us with an interactive singing performance in which she invites the audience to participate in chanting beautiful poetry in the background as she sings the main verses. // On the evening of May 10, 2019, The Women's Mosque of America held its fifth annual co-ed iftar & qiyam during the holy month of Ramadan, featuring all women speakers and a chance for the greater public to benefit from the spiritual insights of its Muslim women leaders.

Bio:
Jessika Kenney is a vocalist, composer/improviser, and teacher. Jessika’s singing can be heard on Ideologic Organ, Black Truffle, Weyrd Son, SIGE, Present Sounds, and other labels. She performs regularly with writers/scholars Red Pine (Bill Porter), Fatemeh Keshavarz, and Anne Carson. At international festivals, Jessika has performed her own compositions as well as music of Annea Lockwood, Hossein Omoumi, Morton Feldman, Giacinto Scelsi, and others. In 2015, her LP “ATRIA” (based on writings attributed to Sunan Kalijaga, who brought Islam to Java in the 15th century CE) was released alongside a sound, calligraphic score, sculpture, and video installation filling five rooms at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle.

Jessika taught from 2007-2015 at her alma mater, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She has studied sindhenan with many great musicians of Javanese gamelan in and outside Indonesia, particularly the late, great pesindhen Nyi Supadmi (d. 2015). She has studied Persian radifs with Ostad Hossein Omoumi (UC Irvine) since 2004. Kenney received the 2014 James Ray Distinguished Artist Award, and for collaborations with her husband Eyvind Kang, the 2015 Stranger Genius Award. She is VoiceArts faculty at California Institute of the Arts and lives in Pasadena, CA.

In 1997, Jessika had her first masjid experience in the Kauman neighborhood of Surakarta, Central Java, and she has been involved in Islamic and Sufi culture ever since.

Adthan by Mahasin Shamsiddeen (4/26/19)

Returning mu'adhinah Mahasin Shamsiddeen calls the adthan for the 52nd jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on April 26, 2019.

"With Hardship Comes Ease" Khutbah by Dr. Laila Al-Marayati (4/26/19)

Returning Khateebah Dr. Laila Al-Marayati gives insightful commentary on the famous verses 94:5-6 in the Qur'an that repeat, "Verily, with every hardship comes ease." Dr. Laila provides compelling examples from a medical perspective of how our bodies generate ease and healing in the midst of physical pain and injury. She explores the issue of how this same phenomenon can manifest at the mental, emotional, and social levels, and how we can use these lessons to draw on faith during difficult times.

Bio:
Dr. Laila Al-Marayati has been an activist in the American Muslim community for many years, having co-founded the Muslim Women’s League (MWL), an organization dedicated to strengthening the role of Muslim women in society. She spearheaded the MWL’s efforts on behalf of rape survivors from the war in Bosnia and was a member of the official US Delegation to the UN Conference on Women in Beijing. She also served as a Presidential Appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Her activism is centered around women’s rights in Islam, reproductive health and sexuality, and violence against women. As the chairperson of KinderUSA, Dr. Al-Marayati helps provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinian children in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon. Currently, she is the Medical Director of Women’s Health at a community clinic in Los Angeles and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Q&A with Dr. Laila Al-Marayati (4/26/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- Congregants share their own perspectives on how to understand the concept of "with hardship comes ease", and even challenge the notion by questioning how it may apply in different situations they are struggling with. Dr. Laila and the congregants consider the stories of hardship endured by Prophet Moses, Joseph and Muhammah (Peace be upon them all) for even deeper insights on how we can experiance ease even in the midst of pain and hardship.

Adthan by Sophia Alone (3/29/19)

Returning mu'adthinah Sophia Alone calls the adthan in her beautiful singing style for the 51st jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on March 29, 2019.