Throughout the years in San Diego, various mosques have been created on a socio-ethnic basis. English is the dominant language of both the land and the youth, and lack of English programming and proper guidance has resulted in a huge chunk of our young generation of individuals straying away from the path of Islam. We cannot expect to spread the message of Islam and the Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS), and aim to serve Imam Mahdi (ajtf), if we don’t have the right guidance ourselves. We encourage individuals of all ages, race, and levels of religiosity to learn about the teachings of Islam and the practices of the Ahl-ul-Bayt (A.S). We aim to provide the means for them to do so via weekly gatherings and programs, inter- and intra-faith discussions, community projects, volunteering opportunities, and access to online books as well as online lectures that can be downloaded to listen on-the-go.

Cultural heritage is very important to know about. However, between religion and culture, the former takes precedence. While more than most of the parents are immigrants, their children have been born or raised in America, and they have a better hold of English than any other language. If holding onto socio-ethnic mosques mean your children won’t attend the programs because it’s in a language they don’t understand (whether it be Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Urdu, etc.), and they stray away from the right path of Islam because of a lack of good role models or good friends or good upbringing, then who is really to blame? The vision of Noor Collective is to provide a safe space for learning, discussing, and practicing Islam and its teachings in a language known to the youth of America: English.

Born and raised in San Diego, Sayed Ali, has studied for 8 years at an Islamic Seminary in Qum. Well versed in the field of Islamic jurisprudence, he often has logical, rational, as well as spiritual answers to questions including modern controversial issues.

Seyed Ali Musawi