Blending Muslim tradition with American reality

Uzma Siddiqi has visited many mosques, both locally and in other cities where she's lived.

But none felt quite right for her.

Some, for instance, devoted 90 percent of their space to men's prayers and activities, setting aside only 10 percent for women and children.

But when she went to the prayer and gathering place of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, or MAPS, she saw that the space was divided about 50-50 for men and women. There were women in leadership positions.

"Those are subtle but important things," said Siddiqi, 40, an engineer.

Leaders at the six-month-old MAPS, who are primarily younger Muslims on the Eastside working in the high-tech industry, formed the group because they want to encourage women to take leadership positions, hold regular social and cultural activities in addition to prayers and religious education, and organize activities for their kids that aren't necessarily focused on Islam. They want to be more involved in their larger communities.

MAPS, in part, is "trying to assimilate the Muslim into America," said board member Marlina Soerakoesoemah, co-founder of Azizah, a magazine for Muslim women. "For children, we are definitely trying to make them feel proud of their American heritage. They have to know this is their home."

At the same time, the group is trying to appeal to a broad spectrum of Muslims. So they discuss things like how to divide prayer and social space.

In that sense, they "reflect a larger set of issues that American Muslims are grappling with," said Kecia Ali, assistant professor of religion at Boston University. "Those have to do with the spectrum of practices among Muslims and the desire to be welcoming of people from both ends and the middle of the spectrum. That's a tremendously challenging task."

Certainly, MAPS is not unique among Muslim groups and mosques struggling with that task. And it's not unique in having women in leadership roles or offering community outreach activities. Indeed, MAPS leaders say their group is meant to complement, not compete with, those other organizations.

At the same time, they say they are open to members' ideas, allowing men, women or children to lead activities that are important to them.

"There was a group that said they wanted to create a youth group that feeds the homeless. So they did it," said Hyder Ali, 44, MAPS board president, and a manager at Microsoft.

"The entire spectrum"

At a recent women's potluck lunch at the MAPS Center in Redmond, about two dozen women suggested activities they'd like to do with their MAPS sisters: exercise, swimming, yoga, a fashion show, group preparation of meals that follow Islamic dietary laws.

Soerakoesoemah, 39, said it was like seeing her vision come to life.

"With Azizah, I'm writing about these strong and accomplished women. For me to take part in an organization that's doing that in real time — it was really exciting."

She was also excited about future activities for her two young boys. Some youth groups at MAPS already have taken part in feeding the homeless and visiting the elderly.

Such activities are a reflection of a growing trend of getting families with children engaged in Muslim community activities specifically to build stronger ties both within and outside their faith group, said Ali, the Boston University professor.

But given the broad cultural differences among Muslims, even planning fun family activities can involve debates over what is considered proper.

During a discussion about a MAPS family camping trip, for instance, a board member suggested separate activities for men and women. Others felt this wasn't realistic since men and women were bound to intermingle, such as while hiking and eating.

There have also been discussions over how the MAPS facility should be partitioned for prayers and social activities.

The practice of separating men and women during prayer dates back to the prophet Muhammad. In Muhammad's mosque, men and women prayed in separate groups in one undivided main prayer space, Ali said.

That practice has been continually followed in some countries, while in others that separation became more defined, including the use of physical partitions, separate rooms for men and women or the exclusion of women from mosques, Ali added.

At MAPS, which currently has about 200 members, some wanted a permanent partition between men and women. Others wanted a more open partition, such as tables with tall plants on top. The current solution: During prayers, a moveable partition along with a table, with plants on top, divides the space. There's still discussion over what to do for social events.

Such discussions are important since MAPS wants to appeal to "the entire spectrum of the Muslim family, as well as to the various ranges of Muslims from conservative to more liberal," said MAPS treasurer Kabir Jeddy, 39, an accounting supervisor at Microsoft.

At the same time, he acknowledges that many of MAPS' members are more open to changes.

Many of the already established mosques were founded by first-generation immigrants whose "mentality is to establish something that mirrors what they had back home," Jeddy said.

"Even though a lot of MAPS founders are first generation as well, we want to do more to look forward, especially looking at women and children."

Other organizations

Other Muslim groups say MAPS isn't necessarily unique in its activities and aspirations.

The Islamic Center of Washington, for instance, which runs Idriss Mosque at Northgate, has three women on its executive committee, its president said. It also holds social functions open to the community, and occasional programs for kids.

The Islamic Center of Eastside has an open house every two months, inviting different churches to come learn about Islam. Though there's no policy against having a woman on the board, there never has been one in its 13-year history, said the president of the Islamic Center of Eastside.

The issue has not come up, and if it did, he suspects, some on the board might support the idea and some may not.

Such talk over varying practices, traditions and expectations occurs in most mosques around the country.

While it hasn't become a topic of broad public debate yet, there is some "anxiety over whether Muslims will end up splitting into different denominations," said Ali, the Boston University professor.

"And I think there is among many Muslims a deep dismay over the notion of the community splitting over these lines."

Jeddy, the MAPS treasurer, said he's not aware of any talks or concerns here about such a split.

The group is forging ahead, looking to January, when Mohamad Joban, currently with the Islamic Center of Olympia, will become the imam at MAPS. The group plans elections for two-year board terms next October.

And it hopes to reach more Muslims beyond the Eastside. Ali, the board president said: "We want to provide a platform where people can pursue their dreams."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com