ICSJ Community Announcement: Leadership Transition
January 2021 - Palmyra, NJ
Dear community, friends, supporters, and members of ICSJ,
As-salamu alaikum / Peace be upon you,
It is with mixed feelings that we share with you the decision of Mufti Niaz Hannan, who served as the Imam of our Center, to leave the Center in December, 2020. We are saddened that a beloved member of our community and a leader in our mosque is leaving, but at the same time we are happy that other communities will benefit from his devotion to serve the community and his guidance. Mufti Niaz has accepted the position of Youth Director at the Muslim Center of Middlesex County. He started his new responsibilities in January 2021.
Mufti Niaz served as our religious leader and educator, tending to the spiritual and religious needs of the congregation, and representing Muslims in the South Jersey interfaith community. He led congregational prayers, taught children and youth Quran and Islamic classes during Sunday school, after-school program, and other courses over the years. Mufti Niaz connected and established relationship with many of our community members, as well as with other regional Muslim leaders, interfaith leaders, public and local officials. He demonstrated great scholarship and knowledge of Islam and represented South Jersey’ Muslims in the media and interfaith engagements. He helped our community to grow spiritually and assisted many of us during important life events. He delivered Friday and Eid khutbas, halaqas, qiyams, and classes of Islamic knowledge.
We wish him and his family all success in future endeavors. We thank Mufti Niaz for his kind service and his contributions to our community and to the South Jersey community at large. We will miss him at our center, but we are excited for his next step, and we hope and pray that he will continue to stay in touch with ICSJ.
Mufti Niaz has kindly agreed to continue supporting ICSJ for a transition period, since he will continue to reside in the South Jersey area until May 2021. We are focusing on ensuring a smooth transition.
We plan to hold a special Family Night in the upcoming months to recognize his many contributions to ICSJ, and to celebrate the beginning of this exciting new chapter in his life.
The Trustees and Executive Committee of ICSJ