Faith Groups

The 1960s brought a new generation of Muslims to America In 1963, Muslim student life in America found a new expression with the founding of the Muslim Students Association of the U.S. & Canada (MSA) at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. The MSA developed chapters at campuses coast to coast, embodying its motto of unity and togetherness. The growth in chapters was facilitated by the growing numbers of Muslim students from many countries seeking higher education in the U.S.

A new Muslim American generation was taking shape and many of the graduates of American colleges and universities had outgrown the MSA. However, they still sought an organization to serve their spiritual and social needs. It was this need that led to the MSA leadership to evolve into the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in 1981. Out of ISNA, American born generation developed the Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) which focuses on the interests and needs of the pre-college students. In 1977, ISNA established its headquarters in Plainfield, IN , close to the Indianapolis International Airport. During the following two decades the organization became an umbrella organization for many Muslim communities across North America. Today, some 300 communities and professional organization are affiliated to ISNA. Constituent organizations of ISNA include the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE), the Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA), the MSA, and the MYNA. ISNA, in its capacity as an organization representing American Muslim citizens, is committed toward projects that will contribute toward a viable Muslim future in North America. The North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) was created by the MSA in 1973 to oversee the development and growth of infrastructures—mosques, community centers, and schools—required by Muslim families. In 1973, NAIT founded American Trust Publications (ATP) to publish Islamic books that are geared to the needs and lives of American Muslims. Since its founding, ATP has published more than 260 titles that include both Islamic literature developed in America and the selected classical texts that relate to the needs of their community. ISNA publishes a bimonthly magazine “Islamic Horizons” with a circulation of 60,000. According to a survey conducted by “Muslims in American Public Square” sponsored by the Pew Trust in 2001, there were 7 million Muslims in America, some 3,000 Islamic centers and mosques, and 300 Islamic schools.

ISNA serves the Muslims of America by organizing an annual national convention in a major American city—the 38 th annual convention held in Chicago in 2001 brought together some 40,000 Muslims from the U.S. and Canada. Each year, ISNA also hosts specialized conferences such as Islam in America, Islamic Education Forum, Community Development Conference, Islamic Perspectives on Counseling, Islam in American Prisons, Muslim Refugees in America, Seminars on Conflict Resolution and Domestic Violence, and so forth which bring together Muslim and non-Muslim academicians and specialists in these fields.

ISNA has served as incubator of many organizations and is a leading association of Muslim organizations and individuals in North America. Serving as a platform of expression for Islam, to develop education, social services and to enhance Islamic understanding in the society at large.

Contemporary American Religion (Volume 1) edited by Wade Clark Roof, Published by Macmillan Publishers 2000, pp.334.

ISNA pamphlets:

• ISNA in 25 years
• ISNA Commitment to a Mission
• ISNA Services and Projects
• From Vision to Reality
• ISNA annual reports 2000,2001
• www.isna.net

Learning to Give wishes to express appreciation to Dr. Dwight Burlingame, editor/author of Philanthropy in America, a Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia of Philanthropy Information, and the publisher ABC-CLIO for graciously sharing this resource information with Learning to Give. The complete encyclopedia may be purchased through ABC-CLIO.