By Ismail Ocasio

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72781187208

July 22, 2010

As Salaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu

Peace be onto you my dear brothers and sisters. I am sure most of you have noticed the change in the settings of this group. This letter will better explain the changes that were made and the reason behind them. When I first created this group it was in response to an event I attended with our brothers and sisters in the North Hudson Community (May Allah accept their Islam and their efforts). As a Latino born and raised in this deen, especially coming from a family who has been active in the dawah for Latinos in the past, the issues and concerns that were brought up were a revival of sorts.

The initial objectives as stated in the description of this group (which you can find under files “tristatelatinomuslims.pdf) were the following:
1) To invite the Latino community to Islam, Allah’s Perfect way of Life, by presenting this deen in a familiar and appealing way, eliminating misconceptions and removing barriers to their acceptance of Islam.
2) To create a forum for Latinos in the Tri-State area that facilitates our common objectives and creates stronger bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood.

I had this vision of a network of Latinos working together, pooling resources to address the issues of their respective existing Latino Muslim Communities as well as confronting the challenges in the dawah outreaching to the communities we live in. A movement is only as potent as the directive behind it. Sometimes it takes years for that directive to be purified and perfected- not in words but in understanding. Our Prophet SAW exemplified this strategy in Mecca with 13 years of training and development of the companions, which ultimately lead to the success of Islam. La Illaha illallah was perfect from the moment it descended from the heavens but the correct application of it in our daily lives is something that takes a lifetime.

The priority for us right now is to connect and grow a closer relationship as brothers and sisters for the sake of Allah. A very important but overlooked part of what made the Messenger a great leader and guide for his community was that he had already gained the love and trust of the people. You need to have a relationship built upon trust to make any Islamic work you do together successful. With this in mind some of our brothers and sisters have taken the initiative to set up a BBQ get together to do exactly that.

I am suggesting that I mock up some workshops and conversational exercises to really take full advantage of this get together.

The date is August 7th 12PM and the Location is Prospect Park Brooklyn. (Exact location to be given when you rsvp).

To make it enjoyable for everyone we would like to make it a collaboration. If you would like to contribute food, games, or manpower, you may respond to this email with a message and contact information.

Feel free to comment. May Allah forgive me if anything said was incorrect. I hope to see you there. Jazakullah Khayran.

Related links:
Facebook Group for Tri-State Latino Muslims:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72781187208

GoogleGroup for Tri-State Latino Muslims:
http://groups.google.com/group/tristate-latino-muslims