New
York's famous Madison Square Garden,
April 13th turned into a showcase of
Muslim unity, when Muslim scholars and
national and community leaders gathered
to celebrate the inauguration of the
Internet Islamic School sponsored by
Islamic Internet University (IIU).
The
event delivered on its promise, a "Grand
Display of Muslim Unity". The idea
was a simple one, to bring all those
leaders, scholars and speakers who hold
an influence over the various Muslim
populations together, on one stage,
in a show of unity. Perhaps, in the
history of North America a total of
about 75 Muslim leaders of national,
regional and local leaders plus scholars
of Islam, irrespective of their color,
ethnicity and school of thoughts, were
seating together on the stage.
The
year old IIU (www.studyislam.com), started
on the right foot by acknowledging the
contributions of Imam Warith Deen Mohammad
to Islamic learning with an honorary
doctoral degree-the first such diploma
awarded by this fledgling institution-offered
words of advice that Muslims should
"administer the medicine of the
Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet."
Hosted
by the management of the Islamic Internet
University (IIU), the task of making
this one-day a reality took a year of
careful deliberation, unwavering persistence
and a profound sense of obligation.
The work of Zaheer Uddin, the founder
of IIU, Dr. Sulayman Nyang of Howard
University, Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Dr.
Abdalla Idris Ali, the part of management
of IIU, along with some sixty volunteers
was not in vain. For a few hours on
a beautiful Sunday afternoon, in midtown
Manhattan, the diversity of some 5,500
attendees of all ages and backgrounds
was matched by the diversity of the
leadership seen onstage.
The
other honoree of the evening was author
Yahya Emerick, whose latest creation
is the Idiots Guide to Understanding
Islam, accepting the Award of Excellence
stated that, "the Award of Excellence
should be given to all the sisters who
where their Islam like a badge, no brother
will ever know what that is like."
The
purpose of the event as introduced by
the master of ceremonies, Saffat A.
Catovic was to demonstrate the need
for an accessible and structured Islamic
education for all Muslims. Emphasizing
the importance of education, Catovic
stated that there are four types of
people adored by Allah (swt): the scholar,
the student, the listener of knowledge
and the lover of knowledge.
IIU
is an example of the great strides Muslims
have made in bringing Islam to the public.
There was a time when students used
to travel great distances to sit at
the feet of scholars, sometimes to listen
to just one hadith. Today, thanks to
the IIU, with the click of a mouse in
the comfort of our home, we can now
imbibe the knowledge of scholars from
around the world.
"We
need something like this annually, to
celebrate every year that the University
grows older." exclaimed Ayesha
K. Mustafa, the editor of The Muslim
Journal "It's about creating unity,
forming alliances and building networks."
Sr.
Ayesha Mustafa along with Sr. Ayesha
Al-Adawiyah, President of Women in Islam,
and Sr. Debbie Almontaser, a cultural
diversity trainer and consultant for
the NY Department of Education, were
among those invited to sit onstage.
Both agreed that the success of this
event was in that broke down the barriers
of nationalism and egotism while focusing
on education as a tool to further the
prominence of the Muslim community.
Among the guests were Imam Zaid Shakir,
a renowned speaker, Shaikh Mohammad
Nur Abdullah, President Islamic Society
of North America (ISNA), Dr.Mazammil
Siddiqui, former President of ISNA,
Dr. Mumtaz Ahmad of Hampton University
and Vice President of Center for American
Muslim Research and Information, Shaikh
Mukhtar Maghraoui, a well-known speaker
and da'ee, Shaikh Ibrahim Najm, a well-known
scholar from New York, Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus,
first President of ISNA, Dr. M. Yusufuddin,
President of ICNA New York, and Imam
Jamil Abdul Latif, Ameer of New York
Majlis Shura. Speakers included Maulana
Yusuf Islahi, a renowned scholar and
author on many books in Urdu, Imam Ibrahim
Dremali, Imam, Islamic Center Florida,
and Ashraf Zaman Khan, former Vice President
of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
who spoke in their native languages
showing how knowledge, Islamic knowledge,
transcends nationalism.
Sheikh
Dremali made an impassioned speech denouncing
the concept that any one nationality
is superior, "There is no faith
without brotherhood and without brotherhood
there is no faith." He stressed
that superiority only comes to those
who possess the most knowledge and taqwa
(piety).
The
urgency of the day's message lay in
the necessity to empower and encourage
the Muslim youth through education and
activism. Who better to espouse these
ideals then Imam Zaid Shakir who has
for years advocated the role of the
young in the course Islam must run.
"Move
confidently into the future, do not
be intimidated because no one can do
anything to hurt you when Allah (swt)
is with you" implored the Imam.
"Preserve your religion. By being
the moral conscience and the moral voice
for this country, you will be the moral
conscience and moral voice for this
world. REMAKE THE WORLD!"
While
it was the youth that were given this
challenge, those who spoke made sure
to promote the need to incorporate the
work of the sisters. Imam Shakir stated,
"Put our sisters talent, skills
and knowledge to use. No more tokenism
or marginalization, but use the valuable
resources that the sisters represent."
The
thought provoking moment of the evening
came when IIU president Zaheer Uddin
told the true story of a young girl
who could not discern between whether
her grandmother was doing push-ups or
praying. Although it elicited a bit
of laughter, it brought to everyone's
attention how dire the state of Muslims
are when the youth are loosing out on
an Islamic education.
The
benefits of the IIU are not only that
it can teach Islam at all levels and
for all ages, but that it also is to
a tool to disseminate reliable information.
Zaheer Uddin showed a multimedia presentation
that outlined several stark points about
the passivity of the Muslim community
in acquiring knowledge. Not only are
their many well-designed web sites on
the Internet created by non-Muslims
to aggravate the misconception of Islam,
but that these sites underscore many
a Muslims own lack of knowledge. Even
more disturbing is that the combined
circulation of the five major Muslim
publications adds up to only one hundred
thousand when the Muslim population
in North America is over seven million.
The presentation ended with a brief
demonstration on how the IIU works,
by providing an easy, affordable way
to learn and to stay active in learning
about Islam.
Dr.
Abdalla Idris Ali, and Imam Siraj Wahhaj
both Vice Presidents of IIU, conducted
a fundraising for IIU. Before the conclusion
of the program three resolutions were
presented and approved by the audience.
One of them was a vital resolution that
challenges all Muslims to improve and
increase their da'wah making efforts.
The event started with a young boy stepping
up to the podium just after the Qari
had finished reciting verses from the
Quran. He stood there, small in stature
but confident nonetheless, in front
of the massive Madison Square Garden
theatre. In his soft voice, he read
the translation. Behind him about 75
seated scholars, speakers and renowned
guests. It proved a remarkable moment,
as the audience looked toward today's
generation of Muslim leadership, while
catching a glimpse of what tomorrow
can bring if only we dare to pursue
our Islamic obligation of knowledge.
Saba
Ali is a rising graduate student at
Newhouse School of Mass Communication
at Syracuse University.
Click
here
to see the pictures of this event
