Islamic Shura Council of Southern California

From 2007 to 2011, the council was involved in a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for alleged illegal surveillance of Muslim communities in Southern California. In 2011, the Islamic Shura Council won the case, with the courts levying sanctions on the federal government for its surveillance and dishonesty in court during the trial. ⁶

History

The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California was founded in 1995 as an umbrella organization representing and advocating on behalf of mosques and other Muslim organizations in Southern California. ⁷ Its membership as of 2025 included 75 organizations. ⁸ The Islamic Shura Council was co-founded by Ahmed Azam, chairman of the board of Islamic Relief USA, one of the largest Islamic charities. ^{9  10  11}

Throughout its history, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California has had a mostly regional influence, organizing fundraisers for local and global Muslim organizations and events that affect Muslim communities, including the Kosovo, Kashmir, and Chechnyan conflicts from 1998 to 2000. ⁷

Initiatives

The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California maintains three central projects. The Prison Outreach Program represents the council’s efforts to coordinate with county, state, and federal prison systems to minister to the needs of Muslim inmates in Southern California. Through this initiative, the council provides religious texts and materials as well as teaching from council-affiliated imams and religious scholars. ¹²

The Islamic Council of Southern California also organizes an annual Open Mosque Day. Since 2000, the council has welcomed thousands of non-Muslims into its mosques and Islamic centers in Southern California to learn about the Islamic faith, its practices, and Muslim cultures. ¹²

The council also maintains the Muslim Speakers Network, a series of lectures to promote religious literacy and mutual respect through on-site presentations and interfaith dialogues to schools, colleges, universities, churches, and other community organizations. The council seeks to organize presentations by well-known Islamic scholars to improve how students in public and private schools view their Muslim classmates. ¹²

The Islamic Council of Southern California has also been a regional dialogue partner in ongoing interfaith efforts between the Roman Catholic Church and Muslims across the United States. ²

Member Organizations

The Islamic Council of Southern California has over 75 member organizations, including the American Muslim Community Foundation, the American Relief Fund, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Los Angeles, a subchapter of CAIR-California, and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief. ¹³

Advocacy

Pro-Palestinian Activities

The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California hosts events and fundraisers for Gaza and expresses its support for Palestinians on its social media accounts. ^{14  3}

In December 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) met over Zoom with Muslim leaders, including representatives from the Islamic Shura Council, to discuss California’s response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023. Ahmed Soboh, then-chairperson of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, stated that Newsom listened to the concerns of the Muslim community in California but ultimately did not agree to “a solid action plan that he will strongly publicly stand up for the rights of Palestinians.” Soboh and the other Muslim leaders on the call demanded an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid, and to address civil rights violations and of freedom of speech of Californians who spoke in support of Palestinians. ¹⁵

Criticism of ICE

In its June 2025 newsletter, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California offered its members advice on what to do if ICE shows up at a mosque or Islamic center. The newsletter linked to a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) California article that urges Muslim congregants to protect “noncitizens without immigration status and noncitizens who have violated the terms of their immigration status” and to refuse ICE agents entry into mosques. ^{4  5}

FBI Surveillance Controversy

In September 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Islamic Shura Council of Southern California filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to prove FBI surveillance of Muslim communities in Southern California. In 2011, the federal courts ruled that the government had lied about the existence of documents concerning its surveillance of Muslims in Southern California. The courts ordered the government to pay fines to the ACLU as a disciplinary sanction against the lawyers who lied to the Court. ⁶

Leadership

As of 2025, Deana Helmy was the board chair of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, and the director of counseling services at Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief’s Crescent Counseling Center in Fullerton. She also works for the County of Orange in Mental Health and Recovery Services. Helmy holds a Master of Science in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton, and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. ¹⁶

As of 2025, Waqa Syed was the vice chairman of the board at the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. He was first elected to the Shura Council board in 2016. Since then, he held several roles, including board secretary, PR Department lead, Intrafaith Committee lead, and others. He sits on the national Boards of ICNA, the North American Indian Muslim Association (NAIMA), and the United States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO). ¹⁷

Financials

In 2023, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California reported $852,212 in total revenue, $465,895 in total expenses, and $1,913,513 in total assets. ¹⁸