Al-Farooq Masjid — Attraction in Atlanta

assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh

This masjid is beautiful and immaculately cleaned. It is BY FAR the most beautiful masjid I have ever been to in America! This is even the Masjid where I said my shahadah. All the beautiful things about this masjid still can't cover up the issues.

There seems to be a lot of political tension in the masjid. People are always complaining about how money is spent, how much things cost, and how the masjid should be run but isn't. I personally am there to pray and worship Allah so these things don't bother me much and are to be expected with any large group of people. Alhumdullilah we are human :)

The issue I can't look past is my attempted wedding at this masjid. I am American so a vast majority of my family is Christian. This is the only masjid who wanted to make every woman, Muslim or not, wear the hijab just to attend. After that they then wanted to separate our families (read FAMILIES not women from men) and then divide the men from women with a bed sheet. Yes I said a bed sheet.

After looking through hundred of Muslim wedding pictures, even from Afghanistan and Pakistan, I cant find any "divided weddings". Other Imams even think I am making this up when I first tell them. And non of the weddings I have ever seen while in the middle east were divided.

Alhumdullilah we found Roswell community masjid which was GREAT! The Imam was very wise and made sure we, I especially since the culture was new to me, understood everything about every step. The masjid was beautiful and clean with a hint of roses and sandalwood when you entered. They greeted my non Muslim family with open arms and welcomed them as children of God, not serpents.

Personally if there is no compulsion in religion then I cant understand how forcing people to do things to fit into a specific mold, which was created by humans in the first place, isn't compulsion. The part I feel most Brothers and Sisters miss about this beautiful religion is the part about PEACE. Allah is the only judge. We can never know the path another child of God walks and this is why we are specifically forbidden from judgement.

I live very close to this masjid and plan to attend for prayers. I just post this in hopes of change. Inshallah, may these words only bring about good and never empower evil.

assalamualaikum...

This masjid is beautiful but unfortunately the administration at this masjid ruined this masjid. I've been coming to this masjid for many years and it's sad to see the downfall of this masjid. It's Ramadan and after Taraweeh is over brothers come to the sisters side to kick us out and tell us to go home. It's like you have to rush your prayers just to leave in time before someone from the brother's side come to tell all the sisters to leave. it shouldn't be like that. The least they can do is keep the masjid open an extra hour after Taraweeh is over so whoever would like to be in solitude after praying and talk to Allah swt they can or read Qur'an or honestly do anything they please that is permissible to do. No other masjid in Atlanta does this but this masjid.

It's also Sunnah to lie down in the masjid. The Prophet (saw) used to do this all the time so when the ummah at this masjid does it, the administration complains and says not to do it or they will have to leave. SMH. HOW SAD.

Then during Iftar there is a brother who feels comfortable coming to the sisters side (idk his name but he wears glasses) and honestly that's NOT ok to do. Idk why this brother feels so comfortable to do that but he needs to stop. They need to designate a sister who handles everything on the sisters side and the brothers should stay on their side.

Then during the prayers, a lot of the sisters enjoy praying with the lights turned off but for some reason they have an issue with that. Ok I can understand if it's for safety reasons, but the sisters should be able to dim the lights so the sisters can pray as they want to.

The attendance numbers has decreased drastically over the years but this year has by far been the lowest and it's because of how the administration is rude.

May Allah swt change the administration to a better one to save this masjid or change the hearts of the current administration and have them change a lot of things around here so it can feel more like a community feel. This masjid lacks that...

"I'm deeply saddened to hear about the negative experiences at this masjid, especially during Ramadan. The lack of respect and understanding from the administration and some community members is unacceptable. I'd like to share a similar experience my daughters had at this masjid. Despite being respectful and obedient, they were harshly spoken to by some sisters while breaking their fast. This incident left them feeling hurt and unwelcome.

The original reviewer's concerns about the administration's behavior, lack of community feel, and restrictive policies are valid. It's essential for a masjid to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all worshippers.

Furthermore, I've witnessed another concerning issue within the community. There is a sister who consistently behaves in an unacceptable manner, constantly hollering at other sisters and making demands. Her advanced age does not justify her behavior, and it's unacceptable for her to treat others with such disrespect, as if they were peasants. This kind of behavior creates a toxic environment and can be detrimental to the well-being and growth of the community.

I hope the administration takes these concerns seriously and works towards creating a more compassionate and respectful community. Our masjids should be places of solace, peace, and unity. May Allah guide us towards kindness, empathy, and...