The American Mega Masjid -- Exploring Congregational Models of American Sunni Suburban Communities

The Mega Masjid is both a physical space and an institutional variety. It boasts key features of Sunni masajid, producing a sense of universality while iteratively reimagining the American Masjid as a location of placemaking and cultural innovation. This paper explores how the Mega Masjid responds to and adopts features of American Protestant congregationalism to produce a unique and culturally salient masjid model. Through a comparative analysis of the Mega Church, the Mega Masjid emerges as more than a product of Protestant Hegemony, but rather a space aimed at meeting the ever-evolving spiritual and material demands of an American Muslim future. It is designed and redesigned to serve as an oasis retreat for American Muslims, a break from the aggressive heat of protestant hegemony, secularist pressures, and anti-Muslim racism. A ‘one-stop-shop’ for the American Muslim Family, Mega Masjids reimagine and redefine masjid space, programming and amenities beyond traditional ritual worship.