DNF Profile: The Young President of Jamaica Muslim Center, New York

This year an interesting development took place in Jamaica, Queens. The members of Jamaica Muslim Center changed their constitution and elected a young community leader as its President--Khawaja Masood Hassan (Mizan). Mizan works for the Queens District Attorney's Office. He received his Master's in International Law from St. Johns University in New York during the 80s.

He has been with the Jamaica Muslim Center (JMC) from its early days, when it was a basement run mosque. When asked, "How do you feel now about leading the Center?", his reply was simple and humble, "It's a responsibility, and an opportunity to further the cause of the Muslim community in this area and to fulfill the obligations in the path of Allah."

As a student at St. John's, he was very particular about offering his prayers, fasting and the activities at the Center. He was part of JMC and saw it blossom to a large Center. Today the center has two private buildings merged into one and is involved in many Islamic activities. Three years ago, JMC took a bold step forward in starting the Al-Mamoor School. Mizan has the responsibility of running the school. He was chosen to be the the first president of its Executive Committee.

Today the school is running well with pre-K, K and First grades that have a curriculum with emphasis on the study of Arabic, the Holy Quran and Islamic etiquettes and manners. Jamaica Muslim Center has parallely build a Quran Memorization section, where every year students graduate after memorizing the Quran. Besides these, there are weekend Quranic study classes and lessons in Islamic history and the life of Prophet Mohammad.

Mizan commenting on the running of the Center said, "It's to the credit of Jamaica Muslim Community that it has built a pool of dedicated and committed workers for the Center. It's Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee comprises of successful professionals, educationists, engineers, pharmacists, medical doctors, and businessmen. There commitment for Islamic causes and Islamic education is complete."

"To make things go efficiently, this year we have appointed a Program director, so issues and seasonal topics are properly addressed. Imam Shamsi Ali has done his Masters in Islamic studies in Islamabad, and has experience conducting Islamic activities in New York. Before joining JMC, he was Imam at the Indonesian Islamic Center in New York. He is an expert on the study of the Quran and Islamic thought".

Mizan said, "to make JMC activities more vibrant and dynamic, we have started a youth wing and a sisters' wing, where both men and women receive guidance from scholars and Islamic leaders in the community".

"From time to time, we have programs for different Islamic occasions and months. During the month of Ramdhan, we have arrangements for breaking the fast, and we organize Eid-ulFitr and Eid-ul-Adha prayers. This time we had four congregations for the prayers. Nearly eight to ten thousand people offered their Eid prayers. The neighborhood precinct offered us excellent services in regulating the traffic."
"...in working with JMC I feel happy that Muslims from all over New York have done a great job in the cause of Allah and Islamic unity, by building Masjid Al-Mamoor, the Muslim Al-Mamoor school, the Hafiz Madrasa, and seminars/educational meetings for those, who plan to go for Haj/Umra."

"Finally, it is our effort, to promote Islamic Dawah(work). We sincerely want other communities to understand us, so that we can share our values, thoughts, and the message of Islam with them i.e. that God is one and Prophet Mohammad is his Messenger, and we will be judged on the Day of Judgment by our deeds and intentions."

"This year we are on the drive to purchase a building for the Al-Mamoor School. May Allah help us in understanding the truth and treading on the straight path. Amin!"

Mizan is available at the Center during prayers and is available for any queries that you may have.

Official Website of the Jamaica Muslim Center