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Northern California Islamic Council: A Historic Struggle
April 15th 2007
For over 30 years, Muslim leaders and activists of Northern California have been striving to establish a Council in Northern California to create some sort of coordination and cooperation among mosques and Muslim non-profits through collective consultation or Shura
Shura is an Arabic word for "consultation". It is the method that Allah has prescribed to the believers on how to handle matters among themselves. Shura or collective wisdom is rooted in a central idea that people are equal in their rights and responsibilities, that collective deliberation is more comprehensive, accurate and stands a better chance of leading to a sound and fair judgment than a decision made by a minority or an individual.
Mutual consultation can include legal, political, social, and economic or items of general interest to a community. Muslims have been commanded to undertake consultation (Shura) and Allah has praised "...those who conduct their affairs by counsel" (Quran 43:38)
During the consultation (Shura) process, relevant opinions are thoroughly debated and discussed. The process must include and respect the professional or scholarly opinions and advice in relevant areas of the expertise. The consultation can be with the masses or with the representatives of the community. It is the duty of the governing body to consult the professionals or scholars on matters not known or clear to them.
The process of consultation and the final decision must be respected and followed. If a decision went against an individual or a group, they must not only support it, they do everything in their capacity to see that it succeeds
There are estimated 300 to 500 thousands Muslims living in Northern California with over 80 mosques and 25 small to large organizations, including Islamic schools.
The first known attempt in Northern California to establish an Islamic Council was during 1976 in San Francisco that started with four Islamic organizations. The leaders of the local Islamic Associations were called together to discuss the importance of cooperation and coordination among the Islamic organizations. The active participants were Sacramento Mosque, Islamic Center of San Francisco, Fiji Muslim Jamaat in South San Francisco, and American Turko Tartar Association in Burlingame. The early discussions involved coordinating the dates for Ramadan and the Eids and to help with political and civil rights problems greater than that which an individual organization can handle.
The organizers were Dr. Ali Kettani, Salim Khan, Mertze Dahlin, Musa Ratadia and Tahir Devletsah. They later worked with the Susanville prison authorities to arrange visits to Muslim inmates. The group established that incarcerated Muslims be recognized as a separate religious entity and be granted the freedom of worship. Inmates to be provided Islamic reading material and provisions for daily prayers - legal privileges they did not have before.
The council members approached the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington DC in reference to accommodating employee's religious needs at their workplace. Eleanor Holmes Norton, then Chair of the Commission, included a resolution into H.R. 7814, in which the House of Representatives provides for compensatory time off for religious observances. It is now a commonplace occurrence in both public and private employment
The group agreed that both Fresno and Los Angeles became member of the council and visitations were made. In March, 1988, Lodi Muslim Mosque became member. Changes in representation and organization's financial crunch contributed to the meetings becoming less attended and finally not attended.
Reorganization was attempted in June, 1993 by inviting 16 organizations to meet at the South Bay Islamic Association. 11 individuals representing just a few organizations attended. Two meetings were held. However, stake holders did not feel that the council was a priority. People were still on the subject of their own particular organizations and their financial needs. A council such as this was still probably too early for the community.
In 1998, another attempt was made with a meeting of around 35 organizations including CAIR, ING, Rahima, MCA, ISEB, Oaklnad and San Francisco mosques.
During 2003, a working document was adopted and a council was formed at the formational meeting - no second meeting took place
Meanwhile, there has been limited success in the Sacramento Valley. In March, 1999, the Council of Sacramento (COSVIO) held its first meeting at Masjid Ibrahim. The members included Presidents and the Imams of each mosque. They decided to meet each month on a rotational basis. Initially, members failed to agree on unified Eid celebration. The following month, council leaders discussed membership criteria, council structure and governance. They also discussed sponsoring and coordination of activities and projects and press releases during major national or international crisis.
Today, the Greater Sacramento council is a coalition of around 12 mosques. They have been successful in organizing a single annual Eid picnic and a joint cemetery project. During December 2006, a Bay Area organizer met with Farouk Fakira of COSVIO to discuss the future of the Northern California Islamic Council that could include Greater Bay Area, North Central Valley and Central Coast. COSVIO is tax exempt 501C3 organization
The most successful California experience has been in Greater Los Angeles area. In 1994, local Muslim leadership agreed in principle to establish the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. The formal establishment was realized in April 1995 with council becoming a tax-exempt 501C3 in May 1996. From the inception, they insisted the council to comprise of all schools of thought & diverse ethnicities. The internal strategy was to foster an environment of cooperation & collaboration among members at all levels, including leadership development and standardization of best practices. The external strategy included coalitions and alliances with NGOs, interfaith and government agencies. Other services and products are Islamic Arbitration Council, open mosque days, interfaith dinners, civil rights workshops with ACLU and major events coordination.
The most recent attempt was during a meeting in August 2006 in which 28 community leaders and activists agreed to form an ad hoc committee to revive the Northern California council. 13 Mosques and organizations become founding members since then. The steering committee has started a membership campaign in South and East Bay, published a directory of Northern California non-profits (www.norcalcouncil.org) and a centralized event calendar, originally founded by ING.
On December 8th 2006, 40 community leaders and activists from diverse ethnicity and schools of thought met with Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi (Chairman) and Shakeel Syed (Executive Director) of Southern California Shura Council in Newark. Shakeel Syed presented 10 year history and achievements of their council and commitment to work closely with Northern California council
Other notable Shura or coordination councils are Muslim organizations of greater Washington DC area (www.ccmodc.org) , Shura Council of Southern California (www.shuracouncil.org), Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater (www.ciogc.org)
Contributors: Mertze Dahlin, Farouk Fakira, Shakeel Syed, Dr. Rajabally, Fouad Khatib, Manzoor Ghori, Abid Malik | 
