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

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