by Rached Zantout
On the morning of Friday 3/3/1995, exit 115 of I-71 got very busy. What was happening? Lots of bearded men, women with scarves on their heads, and everybody had good looking clothes.
Going into the parking lot of the sports complex at that exit, you could feel you were going into another world. Suddenly, this area was transformed into a Muslims gathering area, a place to pray, enjoy and celebrate the end of our month of fasting, Ramadan.
The speakers were set at strategic places, the microphones were ready, one where the Imam would give his Khutbah and a wireless one with the brothers chanting the Eid chants. Lines were set on the floor for the first few rows so that brothers and sisters could make straight rows while praying. Donation boxes were set up at the entrance for different causes, Zakat-ul-Fir, as well as an Eid Hall fund.
Outside, tables filled with donut boxes and refreshments were setup. Two sites were designated, one for men and the other for women. Even IQRA! had its own table to collect donations, subscriptions, and distribute the Eid issue.
The announcements, the prayer and the Khutbah all went smoothly. Then the brothers and sisters went outside to take their issues of IQRA! and eat and drink, for on this day we were allowed, again, to eat and drink whenever we felt like it. Even children had fun outside with the balloons and the candy. Later on, the children and their mothers would celebrate in a party at Haggerty Hall [at OSU].
Every year we do this kind of activity twice, once at Fitr and once at Adha. Just how do the brothers and sisters prepare for Eid? Is it easy? How many brothers and sisters does it take and how long before Eid do they begin preparing for it?
According to Brother Khalid, [Farag], the president of the MSA, preparation for Eid starts with preparation for Ramadan. This year the MSA, Islamic Center and Masjid Al-Islam decided to use a facility similar to the one in which the MSA is holding its Jumma prayers. The facility was larger than the Whitehall Community Center (the place where we used to pray Eids previously). Also, the parking lot of the facility is much larger than any other facility they looked at.
After the middle of Ramadan, the brothers and sisters geared up for Eid preparation. according to Br. Fauzi Labidi, there were 8 brothers who helped set up the infrastructure for such a smooth Eid. Two brothers transported the tables, boxes, microphones, and speakers. Buying and bringing donuts, coffee, and tea also required 2 brothers. Setting up the line guides, the speakers, and microphones was done by one brother. It took 7 brothers to set up the tables outside, clean up the place after we left, and return everything to its original place.
Br. Fauzi estimates that a total of 50 hours went into preparing for Eid prayer. This number of hours was spent planning, laying out, and dismantling Eid prayer.
The organizers of Eid prayer also hired 2 policemen for traffic and security purposes.
According to Sr. Aalia [last name??], there were 10 sisters involved in the preparation for Eid. Two purchased balloons, rented the helium containers, and sold the balloons outside the Eid prayer hall. All 10 took part in organizing, acting, and singing during the Eid party at Haggerty Hall. It also took 3 sisters to buy the gifts for the large number of children that attended the party. Approximately the same number of hours spent by the brothers preparing for Eid was spent by the sisters preparing for the Children's Eid Party.
A simple mathematical calculation would tell us that on the average a brother or sister worked between 6 and 7 hours for us to have that smooth of an Eid. They all did that in addition to running a life with all its responsibilities of taking care of their families, working or studying. If you think this number of hours is too much for a single brother or sister, you can help. Volunteer to take a portion of thouse hours by contacting Sr. Aalia or Br. Fauzi before the next Eid.
One important task that was left out of the above jobs for Eid is the advice. This task is an obligation on all the Muslim community towards the brothers and sisters responsible for Eid prayers. What is your impression about the Eid prayer? Go to the brothers and sisters and congratulate them on the good things you saw or felt!
More important, go to the brothers and sisters and tell them about what you think went wrong. Do you have a better solution? Volunteer it. You will feel good if you get to implement it next Eid!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
April 1995 Muslim Networking
By Tabassum Rehman
In today's fast paced computer age, communication seems to be the key for survival and growth. Communication between the chapters of the Islamic Council of Ohio is what Br. Souhail Khan and other delegates had in mind when they established the Ohio Muslim Network on Saturday, March 18th, 1995.
The aim of this network is to connect all of Ohio's Muslim organizations. Right now, this includes organizations in Springfield, Akron, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and others. It can include the MSA in the future, but, as Br. Souhail explained, the Network is starting out in a simple manner. They will see how it works and evaluate it after 3 months. In the future, they may also add a bulletin board.
Why create an Ohio Muslim Network when we already have the MSA and Sisters' Nets? Br. Souhail explained that he and his colleagues wanted to be "proactive" to react to situations. "So we can take action before things happen." The example he gave of this proactive approach was monitoring bills in Congress and finding out how they are going to affect our Muslim communities. the network will also be used for da'wah work. All in all, it will provide a means for faster communication between Ohio Muslim organizations, and Insha'allah, if everything goes well, for all the Muslims in Ohio as well.
The current agenda is to publish a book with E-mail addresses of Muslims in Ohio. If anyone would like to include their E-mail address in the publication, please E-mail Br. Souhail Khan at *******.
May Allah (SWT) help their efforts.
In today's fast paced computer age, communication seems to be the key for survival and growth. Communication between the chapters of the Islamic Council of Ohio is what Br. Souhail Khan and other delegates had in mind when they established the Ohio Muslim Network on Saturday, March 18th, 1995.
The aim of this network is to connect all of Ohio's Muslim organizations. Right now, this includes organizations in Springfield, Akron, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and others. It can include the MSA in the future, but, as Br. Souhail explained, the Network is starting out in a simple manner. They will see how it works and evaluate it after 3 months. In the future, they may also add a bulletin board.
Why create an Ohio Muslim Network when we already have the MSA and Sisters' Nets? Br. Souhail explained that he and his colleagues wanted to be "proactive" to react to situations. "So we can take action before things happen." The example he gave of this proactive approach was monitoring bills in Congress and finding out how they are going to affect our Muslim communities. the network will also be used for da'wah work. All in all, it will provide a means for faster communication between Ohio Muslim organizations, and Insha'allah, if everything goes well, for all the Muslims in Ohio as well.
The current agenda is to publish a book with E-mail addresses of Muslims in Ohio. If anyone would like to include their E-mail address in the publication, please E-mail Br. Souhail Khan at *******.
May Allah (SWT) help their efforts.
Monday, April 19, 2010
April 1995 ISGC Constitution Vote
by Khaled Farag
The Muslim community in central Ohio has grown dramatically in the last few years. The average Jumma Prayer is now attended by at least 450 people. at least 3000 people attended the Eid prayer on March 3. During Ramadan, Omar Mosque was regularly occupied to its fullest capacity. Omar Ibn El-Khattab Children School had 132 children registered this fall. The school administration had to deal with multiple shifts to accommodate the lack of space.
The mosque structure itself is in its old age and the cost of regular maintenance required just to maintain it is increasing. In one year we learned that we need several thousand dollars to repair the parking lot's cracking pavement. Several thousand dollars are needed to change the carpet. Recently, it was concluded that a new roof, which will cost more than $7000, will be needed very soon.
The most serious problem the community is facing today is the dramatic change in the type of services the MSA does for the community at large and the massive demand for services. This is all happening while the number of willing volunteers to do the work is declining.
I told a friend once that I was the president of a student organization called the MSA. He then asked me what type of activities do we do as an organization. When he learned that this small humble "student" organization operates a "church" of 400 professional and student patrons coming from at least 80 different countries, marries people, buries people when they die, mediates family disputes and provides counseling, raises on average $100,000 a year for international relief, organizes every Friday two off-site congregational prayers, conducts at least 4 weekly study sessions "halaqas", operates a weekend school for 132 children... My friend interrupted me and asked, "Whom was I kidding?" He continued to say, "You are obviously not describing a student organization. What you have is a small independent community."
The fact that the community has outgrown Omar Mosque in size and capacity is not new news for many. For that reason, in 1989, the MSA executive committee commissioned a task force to plan and work on long term solutions for the administrative and capacity problems the community is facing. the task force developed a plan to expand the structural assets of the community to accommodate its growth. The task force studied primarily the construction, development and operation of a full time Islamic school and the acquisition of a new Mosque-Community center complex with all the associated administrative and financial needs.
The Muslim community in central Ohio has grown dramatically in the last few years. The average Jumma Prayer is now attended by at least 450 people. at least 3000 people attended the Eid prayer on March 3. During Ramadan, Omar Mosque was regularly occupied to its fullest capacity. Omar Ibn El-Khattab Children School had 132 children registered this fall. The school administration had to deal with multiple shifts to accommodate the lack of space.
The mosque structure itself is in its old age and the cost of regular maintenance required just to maintain it is increasing. In one year we learned that we need several thousand dollars to repair the parking lot's cracking pavement. Several thousand dollars are needed to change the carpet. Recently, it was concluded that a new roof, which will cost more than $7000, will be needed very soon.
The most serious problem the community is facing today is the dramatic change in the type of services the MSA does for the community at large and the massive demand for services. This is all happening while the number of willing volunteers to do the work is declining.
I told a friend once that I was the president of a student organization called the MSA. He then asked me what type of activities do we do as an organization. When he learned that this small humble "student" organization operates a "church" of 400 professional and student patrons coming from at least 80 different countries, marries people, buries people when they die, mediates family disputes and provides counseling, raises on average $100,000 a year for international relief, organizes every Friday two off-site congregational prayers, conducts at least 4 weekly study sessions "halaqas", operates a weekend school for 132 children... My friend interrupted me and asked, "Whom was I kidding?" He continued to say, "You are obviously not describing a student organization. What you have is a small independent community."
The fact that the community has outgrown Omar Mosque in size and capacity is not new news for many. For that reason, in 1989, the MSA executive committee commissioned a task force to plan and work on long term solutions for the administrative and capacity problems the community is facing. the task force developed a plan to expand the structural assets of the community to accommodate its growth. The task force studied primarily the construction, development and operation of a full time Islamic school and the acquisition of a new Mosque-Community center complex with all the associated administrative and financial needs.
The acquisition of such assets required clear and perfected plans to manage and operate such facilities. The task force recommended to the MSA general assembly the complete restructuring and the overhaul of the existing management style of the MSA. The idea was to reorganize the MSA to accomplish the following goals:
- Preserve all the excellent Islamic characteristics and actions the community has developed and accomplished in Central Ohio over the years.
- Expand the opportunity for the professional members of the community to undertake a more active role in the leadership and service of this community.
- Re-energize and enrich the Muslim activities in the local universities and colleges. Such activities have almost been abandoned due to the work load of the members of the MSA with community projects.
- Provide a flexible and stable platform for the establishment of the full time Islamic school.
Guard the Islamic assets (waqf) and guarantee that such assets grow and remain in Muslim hands. - Initiate financial investment plans for the community to financially sustain the operation of the organization.
In early 1994, the MSA General Assembly accepted a proposal to reorganize the MSA under a new name, The Islamic Society of Greater Columbus (ISGC), and approved a new management structure that included an elected board of trustees and an executive committee. The general assembly elected initial members of the board of trustees and made a recommendation that a new detailed constitution of the organization be presented for adoption in the near future.
[ed. note: Those were Ahmed Abdullah, Hany Saqr, Khaled Farag, and Mouhamed Nabih Tarazi. See June 1994 ISGC passes with flying colors By Rached Zantout]
The Board of Trustees of ISGC organized many informal meetings with many of the brothers and sisters to brainstorm and critique several outlines for a proposed constitution. Presentations and seminars were organized for the brothers and sisters to maximize their critique and hear all suggestions.
Many models were initially at hand. After each meeting, the BOT collected the suggestions and critiques of each model. Most of the suggestions were excellent, but many of them contradicted one another and had to be integrated together to form a complete draft constitution and a set of bylaws. The notes were reconciled many times and, slowly, a skeleton of a draft constitution began to emerge.
The draft constitution was debated again in many small groups whose purpose was to eliminate the contradictions and further perfect the proposal. Many participants started with opinions that were later changed by others who debated their points through constructive criticism and mutual respect. The depth and seriousness of the analysis that these brothers and sisters gave to the proposals reflected the maturity of the Muslim community in Central Ohio. The resulting document was a constitution in its embryonic stages. Although it contained many ideas from just about everyone, many people who drafted the constitution will not agree with every detail in it. That indeed reflects the multitude of differing views on some issues and the resulting compromises. The draft constitution was then posted in the Mosque in order to be circulated for further modification and change. Written suggestions were also encouraged. Many suggestions and modification were further debated and critiqued by the BOT and the person making the suggestion before being added to the proposal. After nearly 2500 man-hours of debate, editing and critique, a semifinal proposal was presented to at least 13 members of the MSA (10%) of the number of members to read it and formally presented to the MSA executive committee.
The proposed constitution was mailed to every member with a notification of the special general assembly to be held at 9:15 pm on Friday, April 7, 1995. Since absentee ballots will not be taken, the attendance of all members is critical.
Highlights of the Proposed Constitution:
Continuity of the growth of the Muslim Community in Central Ohio. this will be the result of stable Islamic leadership and will ease focusing on long term community goals.
The restructured MSA under the name ISGC will basically have the community manage its affairs by Shura practiced on every matter. the community will elect representatives to a shura council. The representatives are called General Body Representatives (GBR). The shura council elects a president of the executive committee. The president, once elected, will select the remaining members of the executive committee and seek their confirmation by the (GBR). The executive committee remains the manager of the day to day affairs of the community. The role of the BOT will primarily be the long term planning for the community and protection of the Islamic waqf entrusted to the community.
The new structure of the organization allows the creation of additional affiliate organizations to professionally manage and operate future projects such as a full time Islamic School, day care centers, Islamic cemeteries, and financial investments for the community to sustain its growth.
ISGC structure allows other Islamic Organizations willing to affiliate with or join ISGC by name or by effort to complement and accelerate the developed growth of the Muslim community. the student members of ISGC can focus on Islamic Dawah on the campuses in Central Ohio. Many additional MSAs will be formed while remaining inseparable parts of ISGC.
[Ed. note: Main differences between MSA and ISGC: non-student members, new General Body from which elections are made, Veto Powers to BOT, and Quotas for students]
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