Sept. 1995 Columbus: A Jewel in the Heart of Ohio

by Iman Griffin

Welcome to Columbus! And for those from out-of-state, welcome to Ohio, "the heart of it all", is a bit overstated if not arrogant. Therefore, we plan to enlighten you on the many attractions that await you during your visit. We know that your main reason for coming to Columbus is to attend the Islamic society of North America's (ISNA) 32nd Annual Convention, however there is a wealth of attractions within walking distance or a short drive for you and your family to enjoy and experience. the city of Columbus has a slogan also, which is "more than you dreamed" and it was this diversity as well as the city's serenity and hospitality that attracted ISNA's convention planners. Br. Altaf Wani, a member of the Columbus Convention Steering Committee, stated that the Columbus Islamic community did nothing to influence the ISNA convention planners. Columbus was one of three cities suggested by the National Convention Bureau, and because of our modern convention center and the city's active and thriving Muslim community, Columbus was an easy choice.

Within walking distance of the Convention Center you can visit the Santa Maria, a carefully created replica of Christopher Columbus' flagship that sailed from Spain in 1492. the ship is docked at Batelle Park on the Scioto River. Batelle Park also offers row boats and paddle boats to take in the skyline of Columbus from the river. Also within walking distance is the Short North neighborhood which offers a variety of art galleries and cafes. For those who would like to do some serious shopping, the City Center Mall has 150 stores and several restaurants located on three levels.

If you have access to an automobile, you may want to visit the prestigious Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in the country. The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) offers fun for children and adults alike: the Columbus Zoo, spread over 400 acres, has the nation's largest collection of reptiles and amphibians; and for history buffs, there are German Village (founded 1813) and Victorian Village.

Br. Altaf Wani says the mayor of Columbus welcomes visitors to the convention and that "the city has been very supportive and helpful, expecially the hotels", Br. Altaf and the Columbus Steering Committee also hope that "Columbus will receive a nice impression of Muslims, especially if everyone will give their best Islamic image".

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Greetings from the Elected Officers;

Mayor Gregory S. Lashutka of Columbus, State Treasurer L. Kenneth Blackwell, and a representative of Governor George V. Voinovich will extend their greetings to members of ISNA Convention 1995 in the Main Hall at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 2. Everyone is welcome to attend.
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32nd Annual Convention of the Islamic Society of North America

Interfaith Session

You are cordially invited to attend the Interfaith Program titled "Muslims and People of the Book: How to work Together For a better World"
Location: Columbus Convention Center
Date: Sunday, September 3, 1995
time: 2:15 to 4:25 pm
for additional information contact: Mazhar Jalil at XXXXXXXX or Bonnie &Saleem Awan at XXXXXXX

Sept. 1995 Welcome to ISNA Convention 95

by Ghada Al-Tarazi

Iqra! presents the INA Convention Newsletter for this year. The local community knows IQRA! However, for our dear guests coming from out of Columbus, here is the story.

IQRA! is the monthly newsletter of the Islamic Society of Greater Columbus. It has been published regularly for the last 15 months. When representatives from ISNA came to Columbus to organize this convention, the Muslim community of Columbus felt honored that it had been chosen to host the convention this year. We felt so excited that our humble newsletter will be opened up, spread out to be the Convention Newsletter. IQRA! is at the service of the Islamic Society of North American. we are working hard and doing our best to make this convention a success and specifically this newsletter because it is the mirror of the Convention. Working together towards achieving this goal has brought the local Muslim community closer towards achieving another goal: UNITY. ...

July 1995 Islamic Society of North America Convention

Columbus convention Center, September 1-4 this year (Labor Day Weekend)

by Norma Tarazi

So what's going on? Imagine 20,000 Muslims in downtown Columbus! (That's twenty thousand.) Since over 15000 attended the convention last year in Chicago, that's about what organizers are expecting.

Speakers! You ought to see the list!! there are 99 speakers on the planning list, a Who's Who of leading American and World Muslims. Dr. Jamal Badawi, Aminah Assilmi, Imam Jamil Al-Amin, Imam Warth Deen Muhammad, Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Imam Siraj Wahaj, Imam Hamza Yusuf, and Dr. Aminah McCloud are only a handful of the distinguished speakers.

Book editors, writers, medical doctors, fiqh specialists, youth specialists, psychologists, educations, international charity representatives, a U.S. army chaplain, a Muslim social worker, an astronomer, a whole array of concerned dedicated specialists who work for the sake of Allah (SWT) daily helping Muslims. Come expecting to be inspired.

So what's on besides speeches? The biggest bazaar of any Islamic convention in American. One of the 2 large convention halls will be reserved just for the bazaar. then there are the children's programs. Muslim Youth of North America, an organization for teens, will be having its convention at the same time, with an exciting program for kids 12 and up. For younger children, ISNA has a babysitting center and a kids program, so children can enjoy the convention too.

Registration is cheaper if you sign up before August 11th. And don't think you have to be Muslim to attend. Bring your non-Muslim relatives or co-workers! Meal programs are available, with halal food, of course, so convention guests can just relax and concentrate on all the interesting ideas being discussed.

July 1995 Computers in the Islamic Weekend School

by Souhail Khan

We at the Islamic Weekend school are pleased to inform you about the use of the computer as a learning/teaching tool starting this summer. A computer lab has been established. With the use of a 486DX equipped with two software, i.e., AL_QARI (a voice-activated, Arabic language tutorial software) and ALIM (an Islamic knowledge database containing Quran, hadith, fiqh, Islamic history, life of great Muslims, etc.) we hope to better educate our children. A pilot project is planned during the summer school starting Sunday, July 9th for six weeks at the Islamic Center on East Broad St.

For further information call br. Sohail Khan at XXX XXXX.
We are also looking for your ideas and suggestions to make the computer application at the IWS more useful. It is hoped that by generating interest among our young people we will be able to enhance their learning and to channel their interest into creating software that can be used in Islamic education.

Let us think, together, in new ways. New directions bring new horizons.

July 1995 ISGC summer School

by Katie Abdullah

This summer, the Omar Ibn El-Khattab Mosque will be sponsoring the annual summer program for Muslim children. Beginning on Tuesday, July 4th, the school will continue every Tuesday and Thursday for the next five weeks. The program will be from 11 am to 3 pm on these days so children should be at the Omar Mosque before 11 am. Children between the ages of 5 years and the teen years are invited to attend. You can register your children at the Omar Mosque when you bring them on the first day. tuition is just $25 per child, and financial assistance can be provided. Students are asked to bring a sack lunch, and a light snack will be provided. The goal of the summer program is to provide Muslim children with an opportunity to learn and play with other Muslim children, Inshallah, reinforcing the Islamic environment of their homes. The summer school has been designed around this goal, so that in discussions, field trips, and play activities, Islamic values, behavior, and etiquette can be demonstrated and modeled.

The three components of the program are as follows:

1) Quranic recitation, memorization, and meaning, according to each child's ability.
2) Activities and discussions with Islamic themes.
3) Games and play utilizing Islamic etiquette and behavior.

The participants will be divided into age groups. The youngest children will spend more time with organized social activities, while the seven to 10 year olds will be participating at "challenging tables" with puzzles, mind games, etc. Children over the age of ten will be divided into girls and boys. The boy's group will engage in sports activities, while both groups hope to have lectures and discussions pertaining to current issues for Muslim American youth.

Several field trips are planned for this summer. Field trips are always popular events for the children. In addition to the fun of making short trips, they have an opportunity to be together as Muslims in the American environment, Inshallah, further reinforcing their Islamic values and behavior.

The coordinators of the program hope to have available for the children a library with materials for their reading level in English and Arabic. The more the students know about Islam, the more they will understand their families and themselves, and they will Inshallah, feel more confident being Muslim in America.

Volunteers are welcome and needed. You may volunteer for the whole program, certain parts of the program (such as Quranic recitation, discussions, crafts, or sports) or certain days you are available. The children enjoy seeing a familiar friendly face. May Allah (SWT) reward you for your sincere efforts to hlep the Muslim children! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Sr. Rima XXX XXXX or Sr. Farida XXX XXXX.

July 1995 Dear Editor

This Ummah is a Single Ummah

by Sr. Hiba Nasser

And verily this Ummah of your is a single Ummah and I am your Lord and Cherisher, therefore fear Me and no other. But people have cut off their affair of unity, between them into sects: each party rejoices in that which is with itself. (23:52-53).

After much planning, discussion, and voting, we have finally achieved a structure that is set up to represent everyone and to help us all to work together and to stay balanced as a Muslim community. The ISGC can do that if we use it properly. In the past, a lot of things did not get done or were not clear because no one talked to anyone else, and because the officers kept changing every year under the MSA (which is fine for students, but not conducive to growth as a permanent community). Now that has changed. Different people know what others are doing, who to contact regarding a particular issue, women are listened to for the first time, women and men can each feel that they are truly represented in a governing and administrative body. Now it is possible that we are being asked to consider a step backwards. It has been proposed by a few that women separate themselves into a sub-organization. Let me explain why I think we should stay intact as a unified organization.

For those of you who do not know, there has been a long history of almost no communication between men and women on the business of the masjid, planning major events, working towards common goals (i.e. full-time school, programs for everyone, both social and educational etc.) There was no one representing all the women (or all the men). Men and women did not know what was going on with the other even when it was a common concern or an Islamic project on which we could collaborate. When it comes to the community needs, goals, and other projects, there needs to be some clear, regular, and timely communication so that everyone who wants to can work together wisely. Also, there are ways now in which we are successfully collaborating without attending meetings together for everything.

It may be that some small groups feel that they are not here permanently and do not have a vested interest in a structure that focuses on permanency. That's a valid feeling but they can meet, study together, socialize, whatever they want and not have to be a separate or "sub' organization of the ISGC. The nature of the ISGC is to be all-inclusive but it allows for some separateness now if we want it. A proposal to separate ourselves from it formally is moving backwards. Nothing in Islam teaches separateness in the Ummah. we are to be a unified community.

The ISGC has a structure that allows for personal differences. Women and men can have separate study groups, separate meetings, and other events. We can pray in separate rooms or the same room, as you like. there is representation for men and women. We can go to a GBR (woman or man) or the Executive Committee or even the Board of Trustees - whoever is appropriate. We can offer help, complain, work, ask questions, literally anything we want to do that is Islamically correct.

The ISGC has not been in place for very long. we need to at least try the system. We can challenge each entity to do something different or better. We have the structure to do anything!

I truly believe that the BOT and the Executive Committee will keep the checks and balances in place so that no one goes too far in any direction. If they don't, you and I can challenge them to do the right thing. The current structure allows for correction from the general membership.

The ISGC is not an entity that came in, imposed something strange on us, and now we have to protect ourselves. No, this is an organization that the majority voted in, and in which we still have a voice. Let's try working with them and help each other to grow in the right direction. We have a lot to accomplish and we must do it together. Let's wait and give everyone a chance to develop. They are inviting our help and criticism - that's part of the structure we have voted in.
Keep in mind, that in the end, we are not meeting just for the sake of meeting; we are not studying Islam just to fill hours: we are trying to establish an Islamic community. The ISGC is one vehicle to do that.

May Allah guide us. May we grow together into a stronger, unified community and, Insha'Allah, make the ISGC the beginning of a true Islamic society beyond our walls.

July 1995 Shame on Perez

by Tarek Jalil

Muslims have grown complacent and sluggish. Actions and deeds have been replaced by excuses and living room, rhetorical talk. Islamic values and rules have slowly melded into cultural concepts and norms. The obvious question is, what does it take to prevent these things from happening? Apparently, a good amount of persecution and turmoil.

The invitation of Shimon Peres to Ohio State University's June 9th commencement was a slap in the face to every Muslim in the world. Peres' contribution and leadership in the Israeli government has contributed to the displacement, persecution, and killing of Muslims in Palestine. What is surprising, is that The Ohio State University, the self-proclaimed institution of diversity (in President Gordon Gee's words) which contains over 50 nationalities invited Peres.

In anticipation to Shimon Peres' arrival, a small, makeshift committee was formed in order to protest his arrival. The five member committee consisted of members of the Islamic Society of Greater Columbus (ISGC), one member of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), and several other members of the community. The committee was able to draft a letter to the OSU newspaper, (The Lantern). In response, two Non-Muslim OSU students declared that the MSA has a "violent" agenda and is only telling half-truths about Israel. flyers were also distributed after Friday prayer containing phone and fax numbers of various OSU officials. The reaction was less than admirable.

Peres' arrival proved to be damaging and detrimental. Part of his speech was dedicated to "fundamentalism" which he declared, "spread among 1 billion and 300 million Muslims with the same old philosophy as communism. Namely, that Muslims believe that goals justify means, that they have permission to terrorize, kill, cheat, and but on a double face." Peres' intent is obvious and debasing. His guise of peace is constantly destroyed by these type of comments, and more detrimentally, his government's actions. Around 5 or 6 brothers walked out of the ceremony, while at the same time, others stayed.

How can a whole community let this type of situation go unheeded? Lack of action now, will lead to more instances of slander, abuse, and humiliation in the future.
Currently, the ISGC and the MSA have formed a new committee to deal with a response to Peres' visit. This time, an effort to recruit support from national and local institutions is under way. On the university level, obtaining a meeting with President Gee and the Director of University Communication, Malcolm Baroway, is crucial for two reasons. First, to explain to President Gee why this decision was irresponsible and biased. Second, to learn how to prevent this in the future. Attempts to arrange a meeting with President Gee have thus far been unsuccessful. It took consistent calling to get a response from President Gee's secretary that his schedule was "up in the air". Hopefully President Gee's decision to stay at OSU stabilized his schedule.

Brothers and sisters can help by writing letters to President Gee requesting he meet with the MSA and explaining the unfairness of the situation. Also provide your name and phone number. ...

Hopefully, the Muslim community will respond quickly and effectively so that these type of events will not happen again. Inshallah, in the future, our supposedly neutral institutions will not take such obvious sides.

Allah (SWT) says, "Do men think they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and not be tested?" (29:2). Of course, Allah knows best.