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The purpose of this guide is to assist masjid understand what best practices are being

implemented in other masjids and other religious institutions. These best practices of

these institutions and masjids will include best practices on:

Website

This includes web design, template layouts, content, ease of access to information,

transparency, etc.

Structure, Location and Facilities

This includes the actual masjid facilities: bathrooms, offices, prayer space,

Event Logistics and Set Up

Governance, Policies and Procedures

Community Communication and Outreach

Programs

Services

If you or your masjid have any great masjid procedures, processes, practices or policies

please email: themuslimprofessional1@gmail.com and we’ll add it in the next version of

this document.

You may be asking why we’re starting with best practices for websites. The

simple answer is that a website is reflective of the quality of a masjid’s

organizational structure, policies, procedures, leadership, services, programs,

and resources. The purpose of a masjid website is to be a place in which

community members can find the following information:

Masjid Mission, Vision and History

Masjid Leadership Names, Positions, and Board Structure (Email

Address and Phone Number)

Masjid Programs

Masjid Services (Zakah Distribution and Collection, Marriage

Counseling, Marriage Contracts (Nikkah), Janazah, Daily

Prayers)

Masjid Community Resources

Masjid By-Laws and Constitution

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Masjid Contact Information and Physical Address

Masjid Prayer Times

Imam Contact Information (Email Address and Phone Number)

Sadly, many masjids lack good websites with all of the above information in an

easy-to-access layout. This can be extremely frustrating for community

members seeking resources, help, or personal assistance if a masjid’s website

is not functional. It also reflects poorly upon a masjid if their website is not

functional and not useful to community members. If we were to take the

example of many major brand names and popular websites like Google,

Wikipedia, Facebook, Amazon, Ebay, etc. we see that they are designed to

ensure that they are user-friendly and all information is easy to find. In

addition to this many major corporations and businesses have websites which

information about the services, mission/vision, board structure, board

member information, staff information, etc. can all be found easily. This

information is crucial for any business to function, gain the confidence and

gain loyalty of their customers. Many masjid leaders overlook this crucial, yet

simple solution to help their masjid function, gain the confidence of their

community members, and best serve their community members.

One example we can look at as an excellent example of a website is the McLean Bible

Church website: http://www.mcleanbible.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=80351

This church’s website has a lot of great features which can be adopted by masjids. The level of

professionalism and transparency of this church is excellent and a model that masjids in America

should adopt. A few areas that will be discussed will be the

A. HOMEPAGE

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In this example taken from the McLean Bible Church website which will be the model website

used as a model website to be studied. What is excellent about this site are the following:

1. Logo

A masjid needs a bold and professional needs to be on a website and is crucial for branding,

marketing and a masjid identity. A great example of a good logo is the Islamic Center of

Irvine’s logo which is easily printed and used on any marketing material or videos:

2. Menu Bar Tabs

A masjid website needs to have a very organized and have all basic information regarding the

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basic information, which includes: About Us, Resources, Services, Contact Us and one

particular menu tab that is great on this site is the “I’m New” tab which is designed for

individuals new to the Mclean Bible Church.

3. Slider

The slider on this site is excellent and allows for a visitor to the site to get the main and

important information needed on a slider like the slider has in it on this site.

4. Social Media Buttons

Social media buttons and social media in general are crucial for masjids to have to be better

connected to the community and to best conduct outreach and communication.

B. I’M NEW

This particular section on the McLean Bible Church website is excellent in the sense that it’s

design for individuals new to the community. A simple section like this is crucial to individuals

new to masjids to get better acquainted to what the masjid is, what they teach, etc.

C. SERVICES

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This is a crucial section to have to clearly lay out what the masjid offers and what it doesn’t’ offer.

An excellent example of a Services section is the ADAMS Center’s services section

(www.adamscenter.org) as seen below:

D. NEWS & EVENTS

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This is an excellent way to keep your community informed. When you click on the News & Events

section a calendar of events comes up for you to search through. The calendar is well integrated

into social media and can be added to your own personal calendar. Any updates about events are

uploaded via their email listerve, Facebook and Twitter which keeps everyone aware of the

upcoming events at the church.

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E. ABOUT

This is probably the most important section of a masjid website. In order to help people

understand what the masjid stands for, who they are, what they do, how they do it, why they do it

and ways for individuals can get involved. This section is an excellent reflection on a masjid’s

transparency. In this section a masjid’s board member, titles, and biographies should be clearly

displayed as well as contact information. In addition to this information the mission and vision

statements should be in this section as well as a history section explaining how the masjid began

and how it has developed over time.

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Above is an excellent example of how the About Us section should look for masjids. The

transparency shown in this example is excellent and allows for the McLean Bible Church

membership to better understand who is who and what each of the roles each of the individuals

play in the church.

F. RESOURCES

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Another good section a masjid should have is a resources section. This section can have the

khutbahs, community resources including places to find a house, local Muslim organizations, etc.

G. CONTACT US

Lastly, the Contact Us section is crucial so community members understand who to call or

contact for various questions or concerns of community members. Many masjid websites lack

this simple, but crucial section to ensure that their community members know who to contact for

any questions, needs or concerns they may have.

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A. Parking Lot

We will start off with the outer space of a masjid and work our way into the actual

masjid space itself. Masjids that effectively use their space to create organized parking

spaces avoid several logistical problems. Some effective uses of space include the

Al-Farooq Masjid in Atlanta, which has a multi-level parking garage (pictured below).

An well-built parking lot will have good lighting and accommodate several cars and

take into account overflow parking situations. A masjid doesn’t necessarily need a

parking garage, but a parking garage can help save space for masjids facing space

restrictions on their properties. As long as a masjid has adequate parking and takes

into account overflow parking and takes into account the space restrictions it should

be sufficient. Masjid leadership should keep in mind if expansion is needed for a

parking lot, the plans must be far in advance by either purchasing neighboring

property or planning ahead to ensure that there is room to expand the parking lot.

One excellent feature that the Al-Farooq Masjid has in it’s parking lot are QR barcode

scanners. These barcodes allow those with smartphones to scan the barcode and be

routed directly to the masjid website or social media platform, see the sample

pictures below from the Al-Farooq Masjid parking lot:

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These are great ways to allow community members to remember to stay connected

and donate easily to your masjid.

B. Entrance

The entrances of various masjid differ and may have separate entrances, but what is

important is that the entrances are equally accessible and safe for community

members. In addition to equal access and safety masjid entrances should keep in

mind that they may have handicap community members who may need access to the

masjid.

Two great examples of masjid entrances that have handicap access are the ADAMS

Center in Sterling, Virginia and the Al-Farooq Masjid in Atlanta, Georgia (pictured

below in the second picture).

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ADAMS Center (Sterling, Virginia)

Masjid Al-Farooq (Atlanta, GA)

C. Masjid Sign and Name

In order to better ensure that community members can best find the

masjid location masjid signs with the masjid name are crucial to have and

make it much easier to find and identify the masjid for community

members. A few good examples are below:

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Islamic Center of East Lansing

Islamic Center of North Fulton

Islamic Center of Northeast Florida (ICNEF) (Jacksonville, Florida)

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A. Shoe Racks

This may be an obvious requirement for masjids, but well-built shoe

racks are crucial to keeping a masjid clean and organized. The following

picture is from the Al-Farooq Masjid in Atlanta:

B. Wudu Area

Well-built wudu facilities help community members easily perform wudu

and ensure that water wastage is minimal. The picture below is of the

ISBCC (Islamic Society of Boston Community Center). The features of this

wudu area include seats to do wudu, taps, and water drains. Additionally,

to minimize the environmental impact of paper wastage installing air hand

dryers are an excellent addition to any wudu area.

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Air Hand Dryer

Another good installment in the wudu area or bathroom are bathroom

sprayers on the toilets which are pictured below. These will reduce the

need for bathroom vessels and save water.

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A. Musallah Area (Prayer Area)

One great example of a musallah area that is aesthetically pleasing and

well-designed is the Al-Farooq Masjid in Atlanta, Georgia. The space is

beautifully built and has architectural elements that create a great prayer

environment.

Masjid Al-Farooq (Atlanta, Georgia)

In this particular masjid the women’s area is above the men’s area behind

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the musallah area (prayer area). The women can see the congregation

below during prayer times and during Friday prayers (jummah prayers)

and have TVs in the women’s prayer area to see the khateeb or imam.

Another great example is the Islamic Center of Irving which has glass

windows which the women can see the speaker or imam clearly:

Islamic Center of Irving (Irving, Texas)

Many masjids lack equal facilities for both men and women including the

prayer areas. A great example of equal facilities is the ADAMS Center

during their jummah prayers. Their dividers are at waist-length and allow

women to see the imam or speaker when they are speaking (see picture

below):

ADAMS Center (Sterling, Virginia)

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B. Multipurpose Room

Masjids with space restrictions should look into having a multispace room in

which can be used for events and prayer space. Two good examples of this

are the ADAMS Center, which has a basketball court which is used as a

prayer space during Friday prayers (jummah prayers) and the Roswell

Community Masjid in Alpharetta, Georgia.

ADAMS Center (Sterling, Virginia)

Roswell Community Masjid (Alpharetta, GA)

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C. Donation Boxes

Every masjid should have donation boxes. However, the correct type of

donation boxes should be used to instill confidence in a community.

Professional masjids that have donation boxes with locks and safety codes

instill confidence in their community members and ensures that donations

are kept safe.

Also clearly labeled sections on the donation boxes should have labels that

clearly say: Zakah, Sadaqah, etc. Stationary donation boxes should be

placed at strategic locations in the masjid where there is high traffic

(usually at the entrance areas of the masjids).

A. Iftaar Dinners

The best and most organized masjid iftar dinners are those that are quickly

set up and quickly cleaned up and have the least amount of environmental

impact and wastage.

In addition to this, a separate area outside the masjid would be the best

option for masjids to have iftar dinners in. This would require purchasing

outdoor event tents, circular or rectangular tables and foldable chairs. This

would allow masjids to avoid wastage and damage to the masjid interior

facilities and prayer areas.

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Outdoor Event Tent

If a masjid cannot afford to do this, a good option is to use tarps to cover

the prayer area similar to this:

B. Jummah (Friday Prayer) Donation Collections

Fridays are often the days masjids solicit donations for the masjid. The

best way to do this without disturbing community members is to have

volunteers go up and down each prayer line with a bucket prior to the

jummah prayer starting. Collecting donations quickly can avoid

disturbances later on after prayer. This method has proven effective at the

Islamic Center of Northern Florida.

C. Jummah (Friday Prayer) Announcements

The best jummah announcements are the ones that are kept short and

cover the maximum of three announcements. To reinforce announcements

made volunteers should stand at the entrance/exits to pass our fliers and

handcards with the events that are upcoming in the community.

D. Video Recording Khutbahs (Sermons)

Many community members would like copies of khutbahs and the

khutbahs may benefit others outside of the community. Khutbahs can be a

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great way to show community members and new community members

what is being taught and be a great educational resource. Masjids should

purchase professional cameras to do this and assign someone from within

the community to film, edit and upload khutbahs. Some sample khutbah

recorded images can be seen below. The khutbah video recordings should

have the masjid logo, the topic of the khutbah, and the name of the imam

or speaker and the date.

Islamic Center of Irvine (Irvine, California)

Masjid Al-Farooq (Atlanta, Georgia)

E. Video Recording Classes, Events and Halaqas

Another great masjid policy is recording any educational events, programs

or halaqas. This is a great way to create a collection of educational

programs and events to educate the community and help display the great

programs that occur at your masjid. An example below is from Masjid

Al-Farooq in Atlanta, Georgia:

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A. Email Listerve

A masjid’s best way to keep in touch with it’s community members is to

have an email listserve. A professional email listerve can effectively help

advertise for events, announcements, programs and projects the masjid is

engaged in. This will not only help keep in touch with the community, but

help keep community members aware of programs, events and projects

happening at the masjid. Masjids should send out weekly announcements

every Sunday and critical announcements can be sent out as needed.

B. Texting Service

Another great masjid practice is using texting service to keep community

members up-to-date with crucial news, updates and event information

and emergencies. Below is a texting service you can use for your masjid:

http://www.eztexting.com

C. Social Media

In order to keep better connected to community members a masjid

should have a presence on social media. The most important social media

platforms are Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

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A. Weekly Halaqas

An active masjid should have weekly halaqas or educational programs

including but not limited to tafsir, seerah, and other educational topics.

Having weekly halaqas allows for the entire community to benefit on a

regular basis.

B. Post-Fajr Tafsir

Another excellent practice is post-fajr tafsirs done by imams after the fajr

salah. The tafsir would be a short one which would explain what the imam

recited. This is done at the ADAMS Center and this is done everyday until

the entire Quran is covered in these tafsirs after fajr salah (pre-dawn

prayer).

C. New Muslim Classes

Every masjid should have a new muslim/convert class which teaches the

basics of Islam to converts. This will assist in ensuring converts get the

information they need and the masjid can become a resource for converts

and can become a support system for converts.

D. Youth Programs

In order to assist youth development and education every masjid should

ensure that they have youth programs and a youth group to help develop

Muslim identity and cultivate new leadership for the masjid.

E. Special Workshops and Seminars

Masjids should ensure that they act as a platform to not only educate their

community members about Islamic knowledge, but civic engagement,

domestic violence, parenting, etc. Masjids should build relationships with

national and local Muslim and non-Muslim and even government

institutions and departments to help educate their communities about

special topics.

F. Health Clinics

Masjids should conduct free health clinics for the community and advertise

them widely as many masjid community members.

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Garden Grove Masjid (ISOC)

A. Zakah Collection and Distribution

The most important service after prayer a masjid should provide is zakah

collection and distribution. One of the best processes of distribution of

zakah is at the ADAMS Center which has a form which is well organized

and an easy to understand process. ADAMS Center Zakah Form:

http://www.adamscenter.org/files/zakah_application_new.pdf

B. Marriage Services

A masjid should provide marriage services which includes nikkah

(marriage contracts) for couples seeking to get married. In addition to this

a masjid should provide pre-marital counseling services. However, if a

masjid or imam doesn’t feel comfortable doing so they should refer couples

to counselors to get pre-marital counseling. One of the best marriage

services is done by the ADAMS Center:

http://www.adamscenter.org/services/marriage

C. Funeral Prayer Services

A masjid should provide funeral prayer services (janazah) and also assist

grieving family members in identifying cemeteries and Muslim funeral

services to help assist with the funeral preparations prior to burial

including the ghusl of the body and payment of funeral services.

D. Social Services

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A masjid should provide social services including temporary financial

assistance, counseling, etc. However, if a masjid doesn’t have the capacity

or doesn’t feel comfortable providing these services at the very least they

should have a list of social service organizations that community members

can reach out to.