Money and the Masjid

It has been over one week of Ramadan and I have been going to the masjid everyday. This is a new masjid for me since I just moved into the area. Obviously, they do things a bit differently here and I am still getting used to it. One thing that surprised me most is the frequent calls for fund raising. If it is not for the masjid then it is for some other Islamic organizations.

Once or twice over a seven day period would have been enough, but calling for donations every day and sometimes several times a day is just too much. Even when the talk is about something else then end up by hinting, not too subtly, about the donation. E.g. a talk on respect for parents ended with how you can help your dead parents (if they are dead) by giving money to the masjid in their name since it will be sadqa-e-jariya or you can help yourself by feeding iftar to those who fasted.

Most masaajid in the US have regular iftar program which helps students, singles, or those looking for free food. But here too, the call for donation for funding iftar is on a regular basis and the price tag is too much for one person to even consider thinking about it. They expect 100 people to show up but demanding $1000 for it. Come on, people! This it not a wedding dinner, it shouldn’t cost more than $2-3/head. So, I suspect they want to fund other activities though they collect funds for Ramadan iftar.

This brings me to the next point, why there are no income and expense statements in any of our masaajid? I know of very few masajid who regularly put out regular statements telling public how much money they earn and how they spend it. If our accounts are transparent and people know exactly how their donation is going to be spent and it sounds reasonable, more will be willing to donate.

Till then, I will be a bit besharm and continue to enjoy the free food of iftar.