About Us

The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a charitable, religious, social, cultural, and educational, not-for-profit organization. It is a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival, and reform movement that uplifts the individual, family, and society.

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The Muslim American Society (MAS) traces its historical roots back to the call of the Prophet Muhammad ( Peace be upon him). Its more recent roots, however, can be traced to the Islamic revival movement which evolved at the turn of the twentieth century.

This movement brought the call of Islam to Muslims throughout the globe to reestablish Islam as a total way of life. The call and the spirit of the movement reached the shores of North America with arrival of Muslim students and immigrants in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

These early pioneers and Islamic movement followers established in 1963 the Muslim Student Association (MSA) of the U.S and Canada as a rallying point in their endeavor to serve Islam and Muslims in North America. Other services and outreach organizations soon followed, such as the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), the Islamic Medical Association (IMA), the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) and the Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA), to name a few.

Twenty years later, Islamic movement followers and sympathizers in North America launched the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as an outgrowth of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) to serve the needs of the ever-growing number of indigenous and immigrant Muslims who had opted to reside permanently in North America.

Since its inception, ISNA, and other organizations affiliated with it, worked diligently with those who were to become the founding members and future leadership of MAS, towards the advancement of the cause of Islam and Muslims in North America.

Mindful of the dynamic changes that are taking place within the Muslim community and its surroundings, and keeping an eye on the future, a number of Islamic workers and Islamic movement followers decided in 1992, after a painstaking measured and tedious process of soul-searching and consultation, to launch the Muslim American Society (MAS) in order to complement the work accomplished over the last three decades, and to lay the ground for the Islamic effort needed to face the next century’s challenges.

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To present the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims, and promote understanding between them,
To encourage the participation of Muslims in building a virtuous and moral society,
To offer a viable Islamic alternative to many of our society’s prevailing problems,
To promote family values in accordance with Islamic teaching,
To promote the human values that Islam emphasizes: brotherhood, equality, justice, mercy, compassion, and peace, and
To foster unity among Muslims and Muslim organizations and encourage cooperation and coordination amongst them.

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Mission

To move people to strive for God consciousness, liberty, and justice, and to convey Islam with utmost clarity.

Vision

A virtuous and just American society.

Membership

As a grassroots organization, MAS gains its strength from its members and volunteers.  Becoming a MAS member instills a sense of responsibility in an individual and provides a sense of community in the form of geographic chapters.

Membership entitles an individual to participate in the decision making process of their local chapter, to hold key leadership positions, and gain access to numerous resources provided by their local chapter and MAS National.   Membership in MAS is open to all Muslims in the United States who are committed to the MAS mission and vision.  A membership fee is required to sustain MAS programs.  The majority of MAS activities and programs are open to the public, with some being limited to members to ensure sustained commitment and active participation.

Milestones

• Recipient of a U.S. federal grant as part of the President’s Faith Based Initiative Program.
• Along with other national organizations, MAS participated in meetings with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to discuss joint efforts against domestic violent extremists, and to work with the government to address community concerns about DHS policies, such as racial, ethnic, and religious profiling at airports and borders.
• Trained over 1,500 federal, state and local law enforcement officers in an outreach effort to build healthy relations between law enforcement and the American Muslim community; Outreach Director awarded by the Justice Department for the quality of these trainings.
• First American Muslim organization to hold a Citizen Civil Rights Hearing on Capitol Hill which was co-chaired by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers.
• Trained over 7,000 civic and community activists.
• Commended by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee for outstanding services through the “MAS Boots On The Ground,” a project that provided assistance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
• Established MAS Service Corps, which holds an annual meat drive that provides food for shelters, food banks, soup kitchens and other social service groups serving the poor.
• Received recognition in local and national media for civic and electoral achievements through MAS Freedom’s Center for Civic Empowerment and the Voting is Power (VIP) program.
• Cited by CNN and other media outlets for positive programs dealing with youth on the key issues of extremism, violence, hate and intolerance.
• Presented at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia (December 2009).  Plenary speaker at an international conference on nuclear abolition, peace, and sustainable development in New York City (April, 2010).
• Developed and distributed, for congressional staff members and representatives, the first American Muslim “Four Year Legislative Agenda.”
• Hosted a Muslim Community Action Forum with the Governor of Massachusetts with the attendance of over 1,000 community members.
• MAS leaders serve on the boards of a number of major nonprofit organizations and councils, including: 
  • Steering Committee of Religious Non-Governmental Organizations at the United Nations
  • Harvard University's Islam in the West Program, Muslims in Boston Survey,
  • The Interfaith Alliance
  • Inter-religious Council for Public Life
  • Center for Jewish Muslim Relations
  • Religions for Peace
  • Interfaith Workers Justice
  • Washington D.C. Mayor’s Office on Metropolitan Ministries
  • The Temple of Understanding (hosted by the United Nations)

Contact Information:

P.O. Box 1896

Falls Church, VA 22041

Telephone: (703) 998-6525

FAX: (703) 998-6526

Electronic mail:

General Information: mas@masnet.org
Inquiries by non-Muslims: sg@masnet.org