This is a dilemma that many progressive Muslims face, how to be critical while maintaining a tangible association with Muslims in their given geographic area despite their opinion being unpopular or deemed controversial/promoting "fitnah."

As for the khutba reviews, though they are insightful, a single mosque and its selection of speakers is not representative of the countless mosques known in America or those that sprout out like tumble weed (the store front mosque).

The store front mosque is usually an all-male space that adheres to the strictest interpretations of Islam which basically dichotomize human behavior between the permitted (halal) and the forbidden (haram).  Muslims who cater these spaces may not be as financially well-endowed, they may prefer an austere lifestyle over material accumulation and societal status/approval.

The splashy Islamic center on the other hand, prides itself on being multi-cultural and devoid of cultural trappings, but from my subjective experience, this is not the case.  In reality, most Islamic centers have foreign influences that are more than overt, the "Old Guard" is the cultural guardians, who will choose a revert (usually white heterosexual male) for the purposes of being their media liaison.  What better way to normalize Islam than to appeal to America’s race-consciousness.  In Islamic societies, religious identity trumps racial/ethnic identity.  The "Old Guard" are usually well-to-do immigrants who are professionals with at least an undergraduate degree, they are concerned with Dawah (proselytization of the faith) but do so in a simplistic manner that does not allow the novel Muslim to explore his or her options, etc.  This mosque is all about propaganda and fitting in, whereas the store front mosque does not care about being an outsider or outcast in the "infidel" West.

The community resource center mosque, usually ethnic based, is based on providing resources to new Muslim immigrants from war-torn societies and countries.  These mosques also cater to "homeless" Muslim ethnicities who do not have a nation-state of their own like the Palestinians or Kurds.  These mosques are places to seek job networks and find an apartment or possibly sell a used vehicle.  These mosques focus on zakat to the ancestral homeland usually via monetary contributions.

The blackAmerican mosque focuses its attention on the lived experiences of African American reverts and those born in the faith, who constitute the largest component of the Muslim community in the United States.  This mosque is unique to the social dynamics of the United States, and may not be appropriate in discussing Canadian Islam.  Many members may have affiliations with the Nation of Islam or other forms of indigenous black Islam (e.g., Moorish Science).  These mosques exist because of differences that exist between the immigrant elite and native born Muslim black folk.

The non-traditional mosque is rare, but these are mosques that may engage in same-sex nikahs and blessings, have no pre-determined allocation of male and female worship space, and may even allow women a greater role in the community as a whole spiritually like leading men to prayer or delivering a khutba from the minbar.

These categories are not fixed boundaries.  Fluidity in any social dynamic exists.

Muslims may be united on the basis of the unitarian nature of God and a succession of prophets and their revealed scriptures, but beyond that, differentiation is natural and inevitable.  This is exhibited in nature, so Muslims should not be caught off guard by differentiation in the Ummah.