M. Hasna Maznavi (born circa 1985) founded The Women’s Mosque of
America, the first women-led Muslim house of worship in the United
States. Hasna is also a WGA comedy writer/director committed to
changing the way Islam & Muslims are represented in mainstream
American media. The Women's Mosque of America is her effort to uplift
the entire Muslim community by empowering the women within, and to
spark the pathway towards a worldwide women-led Islamic Renaissance
â€" one that is shaped by Muslim women’s voices, participation,
leadership, and scholarship. Maznavi had a childhood dream to build a
mosque before she died as her sadaqa jariyah (ongoing charity), and
she was further inspired by reading the Qur'an in English in entirety
and her own study of Islamic history which revealed a rich history of
female Muslim religious leadership before she decided to establish her
dream mosque with rotating women khateebahs (preachers), which sets a
precedent for women's leadership in American Islam.Maznavi is
currently the president of the women's mosque she founded. She is a
filmmaker and comedy writer, and she received an MFA in Film and TV
Production from University of Southern California's School of
Cinematic Arts and her BAs in Art and Mass Communications from UC
Berkeley. Maznavi was 28 years old when she established the first-ever
women's mosque in the United States.The Women's Mosque of America was
founded by M. Hasna Maznavi at the first public town hall meeting on
August 23, 2014. The Women's Mosque of America had precedents in other
countries in Muslim-majority nations and elsewhere, but this is the
first such space in the United States. Southern California Muslim
women meet for Friday prayers on a monthly basis, with some
programming during the week. Housed in rented interfaith spaces in
downtown Los Angeles, the mosque is led by women. The call to prayer,
speeches on Islamic scholarship, Quran classes, and Friday sermon all
come from women. The mosque permits men at some activities but is led
by women and has discussions and classes dedicated to their concerns.
The women's mosque represents the development of the Muslim community
in America both internally and externally. American mosques
established by new immigrant Muslims were sometimes ill-equipped to
accommodate the needs of Muslim women in America, due to cultural
interpretations of Islam which were limiting for women and not true to
Qur'anic teachings.After the mosque was founded, Maznavi published an
article in the Huffington Post to explain the motivation for her work
with The Women's Mosque of America. She tried to counter the image
that the women's mosque represented a rebellion against both Muslim
men and Islamic history. She wrote to clarify that The Women's Mosque
of America was a revival of Islamic tradition as taught by Muhammad,
and that Muslim men were involved and supportive of her work.
America, the first women-led Muslim house of worship in the United
States. Hasna is also a WGA comedy writer/director committed to
changing the way Islam & Muslims are represented in mainstream
American media. The Women's Mosque of America is her effort to uplift
the entire Muslim community by empowering the women within, and to
spark the pathway towards a worldwide women-led Islamic Renaissance
â€" one that is shaped by Muslim women’s voices, participation,
leadership, and scholarship. Maznavi had a childhood dream to build a
mosque before she died as her sadaqa jariyah (ongoing charity), and
she was further inspired by reading the Qur'an in English in entirety
and her own study of Islamic history which revealed a rich history of
female Muslim religious leadership before she decided to establish her
dream mosque with rotating women khateebahs (preachers), which sets a
precedent for women's leadership in American Islam.Maznavi is
currently the president of the women's mosque she founded. She is a
filmmaker and comedy writer, and she received an MFA in Film and TV
Production from University of Southern California's School of
Cinematic Arts and her BAs in Art and Mass Communications from UC
Berkeley. Maznavi was 28 years old when she established the first-ever
women's mosque in the United States.The Women's Mosque of America was
founded by M. Hasna Maznavi at the first public town hall meeting on
August 23, 2014. The Women's Mosque of America had precedents in other
countries in Muslim-majority nations and elsewhere, but this is the
first such space in the United States. Southern California Muslim
women meet for Friday prayers on a monthly basis, with some
programming during the week. Housed in rented interfaith spaces in
downtown Los Angeles, the mosque is led by women. The call to prayer,
speeches on Islamic scholarship, Quran classes, and Friday sermon all
come from women. The mosque permits men at some activities but is led
by women and has discussions and classes dedicated to their concerns.
The women's mosque represents the development of the Muslim community
in America both internally and externally. American mosques
established by new immigrant Muslims were sometimes ill-equipped to
accommodate the needs of Muslim women in America, due to cultural
interpretations of Islam which were limiting for women and not true to
Qur'anic teachings.After the mosque was founded, Maznavi published an
article in the Huffington Post to explain the motivation for her work
with The Women's Mosque of America. She tried to counter the image
that the women's mosque represented a rebellion against both Muslim
men and Islamic history. She wrote to clarify that The Women's Mosque
of America was a revival of Islamic tradition as taught by Muhammad,
and that Muslim men were involved and supportive of her work.
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