Meet our Jersey Muslim of the Month: Muqaddas Ejaz
by Amatullah Shaw
Muqaddas Ejaz is based in Voorhees, New Jersey (NJ). Her upbringing in Pakistan was shaped by her family’s political activity as well as their belief that both boys and girls should be well-educated. She went on to receive her BA in History and International relations from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ.
Muqaddas describes her current community work as “well connected” to her past life experiences, ranging from politics to religious studies to her time as a grant writer. “A desire to serve is all tied to what I am doing at the moment.”
While Muqaddas has become a strong advocate for people with disabilities, that wasn’t always the case. “I used to belong to the majority of the Muslim community members who did not have any experience with the disabilities community at all. Even when I saw them around, I cared less about how challenging their lives must be, what emotional roller coaster their parents and families might be going through.”
She said, “As an active community leader, it never crossed my mind that we should create resources for the Muslim community members with disabilities as the numbers are increasing. It all occurred to me when my child was diagnosed with autism.” Now, when visiting local mosques or Muslim community gatherings, it’s often that she meets what she calls her “old self” in the form of an imam, masjid board member, or community member who lacks empathy and understanding of my child’s needs to make her a normal member of the Muslim community.
She’s been working with Muhsen, an Islamic organization dedicated to supporting Muslims with disabilities, for the past three years now. Muqaddas serves as the Muhsen facilitator at the GCLEA aka Cherry Hill Mosque. The chapter had a slow start but has since been making progress. She said, “We have held a Muhsen event almost every other month and working on starting a weekend Special Needs Islamic school soon at the GCLEA.”
When asked if there was a project she was most proud of, Muqaddas said she’s proud of every single one. “At this point in my life, I am grateful to Allah subhana o tala for exposing me to the projects that came in my life at the right time to teach me a skill that is just adding to my experience and giving me a broader understanding of His creation.”
She may not have a specific project that she feels most strongly about but her tireless work hasn’t gone unnoticed. She received the MLK Freedom Medal in 2018 from Camden Country and her work was even recognized by the Philadelphia Inquirer, in which Imam Starling of GCLEA praised her as “the forefront of building social capital within the community.”
Muqaddas believes that in an ideal world, a Muslim community that is striving towards learning Allah’s deen and internalizing its teachings should and will have the insight to better support Muslims with disabilities, but as we know, that’s not the case in the slightest. Time and time again, we see that Muslims with disabilities are not treated as a priority and that our spaces are not accessible. From things like braille Qur’ans and sign language interpreters to ramps and elevators, it’s clear that able-bodied Muslims are treated as the default.
But Muqaddas added, “In America, we are blessed to have an abundance of resources and we can incorporate them into our Muslim communities, providing speech, social skills, behavior, and sports activities to [those with disabilities].”
In terms of creating resources for the disability community as well as for the new immigrants, she stated , “The mosques can partner [with each other] to provide language translation services, create virtual or in-person information sessions and trainings about the disabled community for the mosque boards, Imams and volunteers, create information sessions about the people with disabilities in languages [other than] English such as Urdu, Arabic, Punjabi, Hindi, etc. for the mosque attendees.”
This will not only bridge the language gap but “address the stereotypical attitude that some community members may have towards a person with a disability.” Muqaddas expressed, “The Muslim community is diverse and so are the challenges, [especially when it comes to] meeting the needs of the special needs community.”
She continues to be a shining example of what it means to be an active ally while holding others accountable for not prioritizing accessibility and empathy towards differently-abled Muslims. And she reminds us that it’s not only our duty to do so as Muslims, but as human beings.