The Believers Are Like One Body
We learn from the Messenger of Allah that the believers are like one body. When one part is hurting, the entire body responds. But in order to respond, we must remain connected.
As a national organization, MANA has a responsibility to listen and stay informed.
So we asked our community what it needed.
Hundreds of African American Muslims from across the country responded with clarity: invest in our youth, strengthen our marriages, and connect our young adults. Those were the top three priorities.
So what did MANA do?
For the past two years, we focused on those priorities.
We launched three program cohorts to respond. Our team visited African American Muslim youth programs from Florida to California and convened experienced leaders to produce a practical guide for starting youth groups. We brought together specialists in healthy marriages to host six months of marriage town halls and a two part Healthy Marriage Summit. We collaborated with Howard University MSA and Muslim Culture Con to design a new professional network for Black Muslim young adults.
In addition, MANA ensured we were present on the ground by partnering with MASCON in Chicago in 2024 and 2025 to host a dedicated track focused on the needs of Black American Muslims. We also partnered with ISNA to connect with community members in the Atlanta area.
All of this was accomplished on a $50,000 budget with one part time staff member.
Imagine what deeper connection could look like with greater resources.
My mother introduced me to Muslim youth camps when I was 12 years old. I have spent 40 years serving this community. MANA carries that same spirit. We show up. We listen. Then we do the work.
With Allah's help, and with your support, we will continue.
Building What Our Communities Deserve
MANA was created to build stronger bridges between African American communities and organizations. We do not replace local leadership. We strengthen it by amplifying the work of others, connecting the community, and sharing best practices.
Family First
Healthy marriages, youth development, and young adult connection were the top priorities of the community.
Programs, Not Slogans
We build cohorts, manuals, platforms, and convenings that partners can carry forward.
National Reach, Local Roots
We organize across cities and states while honoring what makes each community unique.
Our Vision
An America where justice, equality, and righteousness reign and where the legacy of Islam lives on.
Our Mission
To grow and maintain a broad-based alliance of Muslims dedicated to strengthening African American Muslim communities and institutions.
"When we started MANA, we aimed to create an agenda that catered to the needs of that segment of the Muslim ummah that hasn't been focused on. We asked ourselves who will look out for the interests of those Muslims in the inner city?"
— Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Founding President
Each One, Reach One
"Each one, teach one" comes from a time when our people were forbidden to read. When one person learned, they turned and taught another.
Today, MANA continues this tradition to strengthen the African American Muslim community. One individual, one family, one masjid, one organization reaching out to support one another. One city connects to the next. One generation reaches for the one behind it.
Before We Built, We Listened
In 2023, MANA partnered with four other African American Muslim organizations to conduct a national survey. The organizations included Conveners of Imams of Imam W. Deen Mohammed Community, Muslim Journal, Al-Umma and Muslim Wellness Foundation. Dr. Ihsan Bagby compiled the results.
Who Responded
Only 11% of respondents were under 35. That number alone explains why youth programming ranked first.
Top Priorities (Scale 1–5)
Greatest Challenges Identified
- Divisions & lack of community12.2%
- No national network or shared agenda11.3%
- Institutional financial struggles10.8%
- Youth & young adults8.5%
- Islamic knowledge & education8.4%
The top two challenges — divisions and the absence of a national network — speak directly to MANA's reason for existing.
Three Priorities. Three Cohorts.
In direct response to the survey, MANA created ITSFAAM — the Initiative to Strengthen Families of African American Muslims.
Healthy Marriage
Six months of town halls. A two-part Marriage Summit. Honest conversations about singlehood, monogamy, polygamy, and financial harmony. Co-founding Matchwell, a platform for cultivating African American Muslim marriages.
Youth (Ages 5–17)
Leaders from Kamp Khalil, Jawala Scouts, Young Muslims, and SAVE Institute built a Youth Group Training Manual.
Young Adults (18–35)
MANA is launching a Black Muslim Access Platform in collaboration with Howard University MSA and Muslim Culture Con. A professional network, knowledge hub, and nationwide connection point launching in the summer of 2026.
When you give to MANA, you invest in the connective tissue of the African American Muslim community.
Give This RamadanReal People. Real Places.
Kamp Khalil — Paisley, Florida
Founded in 2003 by Imam Hanif and Sister Baiyina Khalil, Kamp Khalil gives Black Muslim kids ages 12–17 five days to be unapologetically Muslim and Black. The 2025 theme: "Conscious Living for Collective Progress."
Our team served on the ground at the 22nd annual session.
Muslim Culture Con — Clayton, Georgia
Four days in the mountains. 200+ young Black Muslims. Marriage discussions, Fajr in congregation, hiking with Shaykh Adeyinka Mendes, field day, open mic poetry, and an immersive nasheed circle.
MASCON — Chicago, Illinois
At MASCON, MANA created space for African American community members to gather, exchange ideas, and deepen connection across regions.
"In a world where our mere existence is threatened, Kamp Khalil allows youth — and adults — to thrive, to experience joy, to feel, to be."
— MANA Team Member
Our Community, Up Close
Kamp Khalil — Paisley, Florida
MAS-ICNA Convention — Chicago
MASCON Social — Overflow Coffee, Chicago
Raising the Tide for All of Us
MANA's strength is the network itself. The camps, retreats, and counseling programs already exist in our communities. MANA connects them, amplifies their reach, and makes them all stronger.
"We don't fix one boat. We raise the whole tide."
That's what MANA does — connecting organizations, amplifying what works, and lifting every community in the network.
— Joshua Salaam, MANA President
"Getting involved with the MANA network has really propelled our organization to another level. In just a short time, we have been connected to other organizations working with youth from around the country."
— Kamp Khalil
2023–2025 in Numbers
"MANA is a historical organization that has done great work in the past. We want to empower, we want to educate, we want to uplift indigenous Muslims of this land so that together we can build a future for our deen, our religion, and for humanity."
— Imam Zaid Shakir, Past President
2026 – 2027
Help Us Set a Bigger Table
MANA runs lean. No bloated staff, no luxury overhead. A $50,000 annual budget and every dollar goes directly into the work.
Monthly Giving
One-Time Ramadan Giving
Every Dollar. Accounted For.
MANA operates on a $50,000 annual budget.
No bloated staff. No luxury overhead.
MANA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All contributions are tax-deductible.
Fund the Work"As an African American Muslim woman, I recognize our community's reliance on its leadership, institutions, and resilience, often without adequate resources. I invite you to support MANA's mission to honor our past and respond to the present with clarity, commitment, and care."
— Akanke Rasheed, Vice President
This Ramadan, be the one who reaches. Every dollar you give goes directly into building the network African American Muslims deserve.
Donate NowEach one, reach one.
Be the next one.
Dr. Joshua Salaam, President ·
Akanke Rasheed, Vice President
Imam Nadim Ali, Secretary ·
Malika Umar, Network Coordinator