— Muslim Alliance of Indiana

A panel of medical professionals from the Al-Salam Foundation and Masjid Al-Fajr communities has determined a set of Mosque Reopening Guidelines that cover details from risk factors, resources and safety recommendations, and spiritual/mental wellness needs.

Note: This guidance seeks to advise Indianapolis mosque leaders on how best to resume congregational services safely from a medical perspective. It is understandable that every mosque board makes different decisions. These guidelines are intended to aid community leaders in making such decisions.

Committee Members:
Dr. Nadeem Ikhlaqee
Dr. Shamaila Waseem
Dr. Faisal Khan
Dr. Sakib Khalid
Dr. Rahila Qazi
Dr. Mohammad Alhaddad
Dr. Sarfraz Ahmed
Dr. Waqar Mahmoud
Dr. Eyas Raddad

This morning, the Muslim Alliance of Indiana was made aware of a drive-by shooting that occurred at an Indianapolis mosque, Masjid-E-Noor, on Sunday, May 24th after the evening prayer. While the building did retain some damage, we are extremely grateful that no one was hurt physically. No faith community should have to worship in fear for their lives, ever.

We understand that the Masjid-E-Noor leadership has been working with law enforcement to seek answers and ensure the safety of their congregation before making a public announcement. The mosque is also working on taking several precautions including installing bullet proof windows and arranging for police patrol/protection. We encourage anyone who has any information to reach out directly to law enforcement, and avoid spreading any information that has not been confirmed by the mosque’s leaders. However, this unfortunate incident must serve as a reminder for local mosques as well as law enforcement to work diligently to prioritize the safety of our faith communities, especially on days of religious celebrations.

For more information, please see the advisory issued by Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network below and tune in to the press conference tomorrow morning.

Apply for your absentee ballot form completely online in 2 easy steps:

1. Click to download and fill out this PDF to apply
2. Click to download this spreadsheet of county email addresses to find out where to email your form

The form must be received by Thursday, May 21 at 11:59pm in your time zone.

Visit indianavoters.in.gov for more info like:

• Check my voting status
• Who’s on the ballot?
• Campaign finance records
• and more!

Did you know?

• Roughly a quarter of American Muslims remain disengaged at the ballot box.
• Muslim young adults’ participation in the midterms is sluggish in contrast with their generational peers in the general population (52% vs. 72%) as well as compared to their elders in the community (71%).
• Some good news: The 2018 midterm elections witnessed historic numbers of Muslim candidates running for public office. That year, 23 Muslims declared candidacy for statewide or national office.

Source: American Muslim Poll 2019, ISPU.org

Implications to Indianapolis Area Mosques of Governor Holcomb’s Roadmap to Reopen Indiana

In light of Governor Holcomb’s multi-stage plan for reopening the state, religious institutions are left with a decision to make regarding their plans for resuming congregational services during the reopening plan. In response, a committee of medical doctors in the Muslim community of Indianapolis developed a medical advisory regarding the risks of relaxing the pause on congregational religious services in the Indianapolis area mosques and appropriate measures to control them.

The committee’s assessment is that the risks associated with congregational religious services remain too high for resuming them at any level at this time. The COVID19 caseload and the rate of new cases remain high and, although not accelerating, is not declining. The CDC recommends relaxing social distancing only upon 14 days of decline in new cases. Islamic religious services, performed in closed prayer halls in close congregant proximity, is bound to cause significant spreading of COVID19. No level of precautions and use of personal protective equipment can make this risk low enough to be acceptable at this time.  Therefore, the committee recommends extending the pause on all congregational services, including daily congregational prayers, Jumaa prayers, and Eid prayers, at least for a few more weeks.

The experience during the first few weeks of the state’s reopening plan can offer critical data to reassess the contagion risk and the level of preparedness of the state to test for COVID19, trace contacts, and provide an adequate capacity of health care facilities to manage the cases. Only then can the recommendations above be revisited.

This assessment will be revisited after Eid-ul-Fitr inshaAllah.

Committee Members:
Dr. Nadeem Ikhlaqee
Dr. Shamaila Waseem
Dr. Faisal Khan
Dr. Sakib Khalid
Dr. Rahila Qazi
Dr. Mohammad Alhaddad
Dr. Sarfraz Ahmed
Dr. Waqar Mahmoud
Dr. Eyas Raddad