Islamic Society of Boston

Decent Mosque. My main concern is the Jumma Khutbah. All the Imams give the Khutbah first in Arabic and then in English. Working people like me who are on a tight schedule keep looking at clock instead of concentrating on the Khutbah itself, which kills the spirit of attending Jumma Prayer. I really wish they can do something about it coz every Friday, I have to rush back to work without performing Nawafils.

This is a very immigrant-dominated mosque and not completely representative of the Muslim population in Cambridge which also includes a lot of students and young American-born professionals. The imam is a great guy (masha'Allah), very knowledgeable. However, I'm not a fan of going there for jumah because its extremely crowded and if you're in the women's section its a real zoo. I do like going there for other prayers because I pray in the main (men's) section, and the imam is fine with it. A random guy might try to put a partition in front of you, but you can take care of that. And yes, it is pretty MAS-dominated, much to my chagrin (not that I think MAS is bad, but I think a major mosque like this should be independent).

I don't recommend this space for mothers with children on Fridays. There is a separate children's room, but the masjid gets so crowded on Fridays that you're virtually squeezed in like sardines. Friday parking is crazy. Masjid is very MAS-centric, and some people there can get a little upset if you suggest activities outside of MAS or instead of MAS. The women there are often not welcoming to new comers, esp. non Arabs. Outside of Jumu'ah, many tend not to require their children to behave, so you may put up with screaming, shouting, loud videos, etc. during the other prayers if there are mothers present.

The place is clean, quiet, and well-run (for a mosque), but the separate prayer areas and increasingly conservative agenda turn me off.

This is really the only option for prayer in Cambridge if you are not going to go to one of the university MSA musallahs. And as another brother mentioned it is pretty accesible - short walk from the Central Square subway station and it has ample parking. The masjid is beautifully decorated on the outside, pretty plain and utilitarian on the inside. It gets a lot of use and that shows with things such as the carpeting, particularly in the women's area, where little children tend to run wild and spill juice and food in the prayer space. The men's prayer space is much better maintained. Because men and women pray on different floors if the PA system is not working it is not possible to hear the imam. Women sometimes pray or sit (to listen to lectures) on the main (men's) floor behind dividers. The core congregation is strongly Arabic - mostly from the Maghreb and Egypt, but there are of course other ethnic groups represented. Because the mosque demographic is widening more programs led by native English speakers would be welcome. It is not uncommon for brothers to use the "women's entrance" at the back of the masjid and it can sometimes be difficult to get simple things done or draw attention to matters when brothers are reluctant to deal with, even in a cursory way, unrelated women. Given that women and their children make up a good portion of the mosque's users it would be good to have women represented more in the mosque administration.

Major mosque in the Boston area, located near Central Square in Cambridge. Has all prayer services, easy to get to, has a good community, and strives to maintain it as such.