Editorial Team:
Samana Siddiqui
Taha Ghayyur

Sound Vision Board of Directors:
Abdul Malik Mujahid, President
Muhammad Khalid Riaz, Md., Secretary
Taufiq Ahmad, Treasurer
Hanna El-Amin, Director
Janaan Hashim, Director
Muhammad Fuad Lashkarwala, Director
Ahmed Murad, Director

• Facebook claims that 50% of active users log onto their accounts each day. That is at least  400 million users a day.
• The average Facebook user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events.
• More than 500 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices.
• Twitter has more than 200 million registered users. Using 140 characters or less, users “microblog”—sharing bits of information and links, providing a huge boost in traffic linked-to sites.
• LinkedIN has over 90 million members worldwide.
• Flickr hosts more than 5 billion images worldwide.
• Facebook, Twitter and video-sharing sites (Youtube, Vimeo, etc.) are the most widely used social media channels by nonprofits
• 84% of nonprofits said blogs were effective at enhancing existing relationships.
• LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are considered the most effective for fundraising.

Almost 1 in 3 Masjid-Goers are Converts

On average, one in three regular participants (29 percent) is a convert to Islam.  The fact that this figure of 29 percent corresponds well with the estimated number of 32 percent for African Americans and White Americans in mosques, bolsters the reliability of the estimate. (CAIR 2001)

This demonstrates the need for more convert-oriented programs and events in Masjids. If your Masjid hasn’t already made the continued spiritual well-being of converts a priority, please consider it at the next board meeting, and make sure to allocate a part of the yearly budget to their programming. 

Focus Both Parties on Future

When dealing with a conflict, you’ll notice that both parties’ focus is on the other party’s past mistakes, on a flare up that happened some day in the past.

Keep the emphasis on the resolution and the future. You could do this by asking, "But what's your proposal? What do you suggest? How do you want things to change?"

In so doing, you are placing emphasis on what each can do to resolve this issue and keep a similar conflict from arising in the future.

Share Your Best Practices!

Is your Masjid unique in a certain aspect of its administration? Share your best practice or a creative solution in your Masjid with regards to the following dilemma:

- Managing Parking

Please email us your experience or practice so we can publish it in the next newsletter @ masjidtoday@soundvision.com. Make sure to include the name and address of your Masjid. Photos are welcome!

How to Increase Volunteers in Your Masjid
By Sound Vision Staff Writer

Recruiting volunteers can be quite the tedious task sometimes. Whether you only need a few volunteers to work on a project, or a truckload to help pull off a successful fundraising dinner, here are a few tips to help you recruit volunteers more easily.

"When calling for volunteers, don’t let your expression or voice show how tired or frustrated you might be. If you’re excited, they’ll be excited. Express to them the benefits of being a volunteer on your project." Read More >

• Connect: Every Imam feels the need to connect, share ideas and learn from their colleagues. The Masjid Today newsletter provides you with Imams’ voices and an opportunity for your voice to be heard.
• Grow: Many of us choose to work in Masjids because we love our faith and want to teach others to love it, too. But our time is limited. The Masjid Today newsletter gets information and wisdom to your inbox, and we strive for quality and concision.
• Contribute: Being an Imam means that you’ve decided to give back to the community. We hope that the Masjid Today newsletter gives you many opportunities to grow to our collective wisdom that can help to build lasting institutions. We also hope many of you will contribute articles.