M. Hasna Maznavi | |
---|---|
Born | 1985 (age 38–39) |
Occupation(s) | writer, director, founder |
Known for | founded The Women's Mosque of America |
Notable work | "9 Things You Should Know About the Women's Mosque of America -- and Muslim Women in General" |
M. Hasna Maznavi (Born c. 1985) is a writer, director, and founder. Maznavi founded the Women's Mosque of America (the first women-led Muslim house of worship in the United States) in 2014. Maznavi is a WGA comedy writer/director committed to changing the way Islam and Muslims are represented in mainstream American media. [1]
Maznavi is the president of the Women's Mosque of America.
She is a filmmaker and comedy writer, and received an MFA in Film and TV Production from University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts and her BAs in Art and Mass Communications from University of California, Berkeley. [1]
The Women's Mosque of America was founded by Maznavi on August 23, 2014. [2] Maznavi was 28 years old. [3] The Women's Mosque of America had precedents in other countries in Muslim-majority nations and elsewhere, [4] but this was the first such space in the United States. Muslim women meet at the mosque monthly on Fridays to pray. It has other programming during the week. [5] The mosque is led by women and housed in rented interfaith spaces in downtown Los Angeles. [6]
A mosque, also called a masjid, is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed, such as an outdoor courtyard.
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The Women's Mosque of America is a women's mosque based in Los Angeles, California. It is the first women-led Muslim house of worship in the United States, and it was founded by WGA comedy writer/director M. Hasna Maznavi to uplift the entire Muslim community by empowering the women within, and to spark the pathway towards a worldwide women-led Islamic Renaissance — one that is shaped by Muslim women's voices, participation, leadership, and scholarship. Maznavi had a childhood dream to build a mosque before she died as her sadaqa jariyah, and she was further inspired by reading the Qur'an in English in entirety and her own study of Islamic history which revealed a rich history of female Muslim religious leadership before she decided to establish her dream mosque with rotating women khateebahs (preachers), which sets a precedent for women's leadership in American Islam.
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