Sept. 1995 "Touring" the Ummah

by Yasmin Inal

All ready? Get on board! In this section you will have an opportunity to "tour" the Muslim ummah. Muslims from communities within and around Columbus will invite you to take a peek at some of the "happenings" within their fold. through these brothers and sisters you'll "meet" Muslim students, "visit" Muslim businesses and "greet" Muslim families. We hope that these brief "tours" will help you feel at home here in mid-Ohio. The first stop will be Athens, Ohio.

Athens is a small county isolated in southeast Ohio. It is located about one and a half hours from Columbus. Although, it is basically a "university town" the MSA chapter is quite active. It is hard to find settled Muslim families in Athens. The people that constitute the Muslim community are mostly students. There are approximately 300 Muslims in Athens.

Many activities take place in the Islamic Center especially during the school year. In my opinion, the one that all Muslims in Athens look forward to is Ramadan. During this month, Muslims gather in the Islamic Center every night to break their fast. Then everybody tastes the joy of celebrating this holy month together. At the beginning of Ramadan, a cooking list is passed around. Everybody chooses the time that suits them to prepare some food for dinner.

During Ramadan the MSA organizes "Open House Dinner". Non-Muslims get the chance to see the Islamic Center of Athens - a place they feel intimidated to step in any other time. During their visit, the guests get to meet Muslims and ask them any kind of questions about Islam. Last year, we received a big number of students who were interested in these open house dinners. Therefore, we repeated these events a few times which is a great opportunity to make Da'wah.

After a month of fasting and Tarawih prayers, Muslims gather in the Islamic Center for Eid break-fast and dinner. Besides the Ramadan and Eid celebrations, there are several other activities that go on. For instance, every Friday night a lecture is given at the Islamic Center. After the lecture a dinner is served where Muslims socialize and exchange ideas about the lecture. As for the halaqahs (circles), there are several that are currently going on. There is an Arabic and English halaqah for brothers. For the sisters, there is an Arabic halaqah and a Quran recitation course. There is also an Arabic school for children that teachers them Quran, prayer, and the Arabic alphabet.

Whenever a new baby is born in the community, aqiqah dinner is held in the Islamic Center to welcome the newborn Muslim. International Muslim women union, an organization that aims to inform people about "women in Islam" and about the issues that relate to women. It aims to erase the image that in Islam women are oppressed and suppressed and to show that, on the contrary, Islam liberates the woman.