Some Tips & Resources on Class Presentation about Eid From SoundVision http://www.soundvision.com/Info/misc/eidbreak.asp Some Thoughts on Eid-ul-Adha As the Islamic Calendar pages turn with each moon that passes, we are quickly approaching the end of the Islamic year. During the coming days many of our sisters and brothers will be graced with the opportunity of making Hajj to the Holy city of Makkah. Those of us not embarking upon the pilgrimage may be commencing preparations for our Eid ul-Adha celebrations. The Christmas season fell during our Holy month of Ramadan in December. Now with the approaching of spring, we see the
Read MoreBy Damir AhmadIslamOnline Correspondent http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-01/26/article03.shtml MOSCOW, January 26 (IslamOnline.net) Up to five thousand Russian Muslims undertake the holy journey to Makkah to perform hajj this year despite high costs. Many Russian Muslims complained about the highly-priced visa issuance, hajj costs and the hardships faced by pilgrims traveling by buses. Traveling by road costs about 36,000 Russian rubles ($1300), while by plane around 51,000 ($1800). According to the Saudi consul in Moscow, Abdal Razek Al-Kashmi, 3500 pilgrims were traveling by road this year. In sub-zero temperatures, the last 180-strong batch of pilgrims left the capital of Ingushetia Nazran Saturday, January 24,
Read MoreBy Hisham Aidi http://www.merip.org/mer/mer229/229_aidi.html Middle East ReportFebruary 2004 (Hisham Aidi, a research fellow at Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, works on the university’s Muslim Communities in New York Project, sponsored by the Ford Foundation.) “Seamos moros!” wrote the Cuban poet and nationalist José Martíí in 1893, in support of the Berber uprising against Spanish rule in northern Morocco. “Let us be Moors…the revolt in the Rif…is not an isolated incident, but an outbreak of the change and realignment that have entered the world. Let us be Moors…we [Cubans] who will probably die by the hand of Spain.” [1] Writing at
Read MoreBy Yahya Lopez The resolution As the day of Eid ul Adha (Dhul Hijjah 1423/ February 2003) approached, I had been inching closer to making the intention to attempt to sacrifice an animal this year with my very own two hands. Even though I was solely striving towards the intention at that time, the overall implications, nonetheless, created a potent, gut-wrenching dilemma within me that weighed heavily upon my heart and mind. On the one hand, there was the powerful feeling of duty and compliance. Out of His infinite, unfathomable wisdom, Allah, Most High, had commanded, by way of His
Read MoreBy Shinoa Day 1: January 18, 2004Sunday 5:30am We’re here at the Novotel Hotel in Cairo where we spent three hours sleeping. Originally, we meant to go straight to Jeddah but our entire group missed our flights. Needless to say, this is my first opportunity to write down a few thoughts. It’s about 5:30am, and I’m waiting for Brenda to finish getting ready. We just washed and entered into the state of Ihram for Umrah. The rest of the group should be already downstairs eating breakfast. My own flight to London the previous night was calm and without much turbulence,
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, seek His aid, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils in ourselves and from the bad consequences of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, there is none who can lead them astray, and whomever Allah leads astray, there is none who can guide them. I testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partners, and I testify that Muhammad is His last Prophet and Messenger. A Call to Patience During his
Read MoreBy Imam Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyyah http://www.muhajabah.com/poems/000056.htm By Him whose House the loving pilgrims visit,Responding with ihram at the appointed limit,Uncovering their heads in total humilityBefore One to Whom faces bow in servility.They exclaim in the valleys, “We have responded to You –All Praise is Yours, and Kingdom too!”He invited and they answered, with love and pleasure;When they called upon Him, nearer came the Divine treasure.You see them on their mounts, hair dusty and dishevelled,Yet never more content, never happier have they felt;Leaving homelands and families due to holy yearning,Unmoved are they by temptations of returning.Through plains and valleys, from
Read More“The months of the Pilgrimage are well known; so whoever determines to perform the Pilgrimage in these months should remember that there is to be no foul talk, nor any transgression, nor any quarreling during the Pilgrimage. And whatever good you do, Allah knows it. And furnish yourselves with necessary provisions for your journey and surely, the best provision is righteousness. And fear Me alone, O men of understanding.” – Quran 2:197. Narrated Abu Hurayrah, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said, “My similitude in comparison with the other Prophets before me is that of a man who has built a house nicely
Read MoreIn Central Park a savage dog attacks a young boy. A man happens to be passing by and comes to the boy’s rescue. He tackles the dog at risk to himself, strangling it to death. A newspaper reporter is watching everything and takes a few snaps for the front-page picture for the next day’s paper. Approaching the man, the reporter asks, “What is your name?”The man replies, “Yahya Gonzalez.” “Your heroic act will be published in tomorrow’s paper under the headline –‘Brave Nuyorican Rescues Boy from Savage Dog.’” Thinking that it would look better if ‘Nuyorican’ is replaced with ‘Latino
Read MoreBy Yasmeen Figueroa A good friend shared an interesting story with me. I would like to share the story with everyone. I hope that it will inspire, illicit thought, and perhaps produce change. After this story, I realized our “true” purpose in this life. It is not to eat and sleep, pray or even fast. We were created for a bigger purpose – “Kuntum Hkayra ummatin ukhrijat linnas.” Everyday 500,000 people die without the kalimah, and may go to Hell. Who is responsible for them? We are. Who will be blamed and questioned, them or us? Of course, they will
Read MoreFrom Bukhari 4.191 Narrated Abdullah bin Abbas: Allah’s Apostle wrote to Caesar (of the Byzantine Empire) and invited him to Islam and sent him his letter with Dihya Al-Kalbi whom Allah’s Apostle ordered to hand it over to the Governor of Busra who would forward it to Caesar. Caesar as a sign of gratitude to Allah, had walked from Hims to Ilya (i.e. Jerusalem) when Allah had granted Him victory over the Persian forces. So, when the letter of Allah’s Apostle reached Caesar, he said after reading it, “Seek for me any one of his people! (Arabs of Quraish tribe)
Read MoreBy Haneme Idrizi, MD The present state of children’s health in the United States is not favorable. Although Americans spend almost one trillion dollars per year on health care, the US still appears to lag behind other nations in providing for our pediatric populations. The US ranks 24th among industrialized countries in the number of babies that die within the first year of life. The US had 23.1 million children who went without health insurance for all or part of 1995 and1996. The US currently has more obese children than ever before. As discerning as these statistics may be, the
Read MoreBy Salma ElhamalawyIslam Online, UKOctober 26, 2003 http://www.islam-online.net/English/artculture/2003/10/article10.shtml The celebration of the month of Ramadan possesses an important religious and social meaning for the Islamic community and Latin America is no exception. In the Hispanic world, Muslims should adapt their schedules in order to break their fast, but at times, due to work difficulties, they have no choice but to delay it. They are limited to breaking the fast with a glass of water, and have to wait until they leave work to break the fast collectively as tradition states. Ramadan in Chile Fareed Maymoun, a Moroccan immigrant, is used
Read MoreLos Principios Islamicos en el Desarrollo de Latino America Por Yahya Juan Suquillo 19 – 21 Rajab 1.424 Hégira16-18 Sept. 2003 CE. Disertación entregada por Yahya Juan Suquillo, Imam del Centro Islámico del Ecuador, en la conferencia de representantes musulmanes de Latinoamérica, auspiciado por I.S.E.S.C.O. (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) & O.L.P.A.D.I. (Organización Latinoamericana para la Difusión del Islam). PREFACIOAntes del ocaso del segundo milenio EC. la gran mayoría de científicos y pensadores en el mundo occidental ya se dieron cuenta de que el consumismo, la fe absoluta en el razonamiento humano, el secularismo político y social, el fallido
Read MoreIslamic Principles in the Development of Latin America By Yahya Juan Suquillo 19 – 21 Rajab 1.424 Hijri16-18 Sept. 2003 CE. Given by Yahya Juan Suquillo, the Imam of the Islamic Center in Ecuador at the Fourth Annual Conference of Latin American Muslim leaders in Curacao. Sponsored by I.S.E.S.C.O. (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) & O.L.P.A.D.I. (Organización Latinoamericana para la Difusión del Islam). FOREWORD Before the end of the second millennium CE, most scientists and thinkers in the western world have began to question their assumptions about the theory of evolution, faith in human reasoning, consumerism, scientific revolutions, secularism,
Read MoreThe Third Meeting of the Heads of Islamic Associations andCultural Centres in Latin America and the Caribbean Islands From ISESCO websitehttp://www.isesco.org.ma/ Rabat: 18/9/2003 / 212 Praising the efforts extended by ISESCO The Heads of Islamic Associations and Cultural Centres in Latin America Call for Redressing the Image of Islam in the Region. The Third Meeting of the Heads of Islamic Associations and Cultural Centres in Latin America and the Caribbean Islands held its closing session yesterday in Curaçao Island. The participants in the meeting, representing thirty-five cultural centres and Islamic associations, have called for proceeding with the energization of the
Read MoreBy Rebecca Qaoud Assalam Waleikum brothers and sisters, I want to share a little about my own experiences about when I was still a new Muslim and also about how happy I am today. I was searching for a formal Latino Muslim community. As a convert, I desired to share my feelings, how happy I was for being a muslimah but I did not have the support from my own family. I was eager to learn from others how they were about to manage similar situations. Alhamdulillah, I had a wonderful husband who supported me in my transition to my
Read MoreBy Juan Galvan Assalaam alaykum,On October 18, Latino Muslims from the Dallas area hosted a mosque open house in Spanish at the Dallas Central Mosque. The open house was organized by Latino Muslim brothers and sisters who meet every Saturday for a halaqa session at the mosque. Upon entering the mosque, I quickly noticed flags from various South American and Caribbean countries. I was pleasantly surprised to a Mexican flag in a Texas mosque. Seeing the various flags was one more reminder of just how much our religion is unifying people from every part of the world. After signing in
Read MoreBy Ricardo L. Pena November 29, 2003 We’ve all heard the proverbial “apples and oranges” analogy at some point in our lives but not many of us experience it. As Latino converts to Islam, not only are we mixing apples with oranges, but we are mixing yet with another group. Maybe it would make more sense to describe ourselves as tacos living the lives of falafels in a world of cheeseburgers. Other than making you hungry, this is probably very confusing and maybe even uncomfortable. If this is the case, then this may begin to illustrate what it is like
Read MoreBy Mari Solano When I celebrated my first Ramadan as a Muslim here in the United States, my husband was happy to celebrate with me. However, he was suffering from homesickness and bouts of nostalgia at the same time. “It’s not the same here,” he said, “It’s not like back home.” He missed the huge gatherings of family and friends to break the fast of iftar. He also missed the visits for tea long after all the taraweeh prayers were completed late at night. On most nights, prayers seem abrupt and promptly finish before 10 pm in the U.S. But
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