NASIMCO Post
A Fortnightly Newsletter February 1st, 2010
Logo Color
In This Issue
*Qum Summer Camp 2010
*Ashra-e-Zainabiya Recitors
*International Volunteer Program
*Tabligh Shops - Toronto
*Abbas, the Olympic Torch Bearer
*The Origins of Shia Islam
*Imam Hussein Day
 
FEATURED CHARITIES
 
Donate towards the Haiti Relief Fund 
 
Donate towards the Al-Qaim Sponsor Our Seniors Appeal
 
  Make a Donation 
 
DISCOVERING ISLAM 
 

Karbala - The Story as Told by a Westerner  

"The place with the oldest history in the world, Iraq. In a way there is no history at all. The past is the present and then is now, which is why the story has such power."
 
This is how novelist and historian, Lesley Hazeleton, who has deep roots in both Catholicism and Judaism, describes the event of Karbala, the topic of her latest book, titled "After the Prophet: the Epic story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam".
 
If you would like to listen to a recording of Hazleton as she reads from her new book at the Speakers Forum on KUOW Seattle talk radio program, click here.
 
ISLAM IN THE NEWS
 
US Shiites Tentatively Make a Home in America 
 
"The aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror strikes, the war in Iraq and other world events have prompted some significant changes in the U.S. Shiite community in recent years. Shiite clerics and activists are pushing community members beyond the protective walls they built, encouraging them to fully embrace their American citizenship...
 
Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani isn't widely known in the U.S. outside public policy circles, but he should be. He is one of the most revered thinkers in global Shiism, a moderate in outlook and a powerful force in Iraq...
 
The grand ayatollah and his advisers lead lives dedicated to religious tradition, but they are also pioneers in using the Web to reach the globally dispersed faithful. They teach that good Muslims must be active citizens of whatever country they call home...I.M.A.M., the Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya, is the liaison office in America for al-Sistani."

To read more, click here.

Quick Links...
 
Join Our Mailing List
Salaam Alaykum!

As part of its vision and mission, the NASIMCO Post serves as a tool by which to bind our community together and promote a united and caring environment for all. If you have anything you would like to include in this newsletter, contact us at [email protected].
 
 
 
Qum Summer Camp 2010

NASIMCO, in conjunction with the World Federation, CoEJ, Africa Federation and various agencies in Qum, is organizing two courses to be held in the holy city of Qum again this summer. Madinah al-Ilm and Bab al-Ilm will run simultaneously but cater towards different age groups, 18-24 and 14-17 respectively. Both courses include an academic program and a cultural program giving students a holistic experience of hawza studies and life in Iran while facilitating a spiritual journey of self-discovery.

Qum Camp

The academic program includes studies in Aqaid (Islamic Theology), Ahkam (Islamic Laws), Akhlaq (Islamic Ethics) and issues affecting the youth. The cultural program includes Ziyarat trips to Qum, Mashhad and Tehran, visits to Masjide Jamkaran and excursions to the caves if Hamadan and the Caspian Sea. For more details, visit the NASIMCO website. 

Ashra-e-Zainabiya Recitors for North America

A variety of speakers are scheduled for Ashra-e-Zainabiya programs at Islamic Centers across North America. The reciters invited to speak at NASIMCO's member Jamaats are as follows:

Jamaats in United States:

 
- Allentown (Al Ahad Islamic Center) - Dr. Akber Mithani
- Los Angeles (Husseini Islamic Center) - Sheikh Jaffer Ladak
- Maryland (Imam Mahdi Center) - Dr. Abdu, Saheb Hashim and Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Shah
- Miami (IJA) - Maulana Raees Jarchavi, Maulana Tehzib-Ul-Hasan and Br. Faiyaz Jaffer

- Minnesota (Jaafari Islamic Center) - Syed Haider Bahrul Uloom

- New Jersey (Masjid-e-Ali) - Maulana Mohammad Jawad Shabbir

- New York (Husseini Madressah) - Sheikh Ali Nawab

- Orlando (Husseini Islamic Center) - Sheikh Nooruddin, Sheikh Abbas Virjee and Zakira Nargis Karim

- Seattle (IMAN) - Br. Jawad Khaki and Dr. Liaqat Takim

 

Jamaats in Canada:

 

- Bathurst (Jaffari Community Centre) - Sheikh Hassanain Rajabali, Dr. Kalbe Sadiq, Zakira Tahera Kassamali, Zakira Shyrose Jaffer-Dhalla and Begum Zainab Sultana

- Brampton (Masumeen Islamic Center) - Sheikh Muzaffar Qazwini

- Edmonton (ISIA) - Imam Dr. Syed Mohammad Jawad Hejazi

- Hamilton (Razavi Islamic Centre) - Dr. Liaqat Takim

- Kitchener (ISIJ-KW) -  Sheikh Shafiq Hudda, Sheikh Arif Jaffer, Sheikh Agha Raza Naqvi and Syed Asgher Saeed
- London (Ahlul Bayt Islamic Centre) and London (Al Mehdi Al Muntathar Union) - Sheikh Khuzair Abbas, Sheikh Wael El Zein and Syed Ali Murtaza 
- Ottawa (ISIA) - Maulana Jawad Jafferi
- Vancouver (Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre) - Sheikh Abbas Ismail              - Montreal (Shian e Haidery) - Dr. Sibtain Hasni 

International Volunteer Program

The Toronto Jamaat's Outreach Committee and Jaffari Islamic Youth Committee, in collaboration with Can Aid Africa, have organized an International Volunteer Program for youths of North America during the summer of 2010. The volunteer program will take place in Africa with placements at schools, orphanages and hospitals in Tanzania.

This worthwhile experience will not only provide the youth of the community with the opportunity to serve and help those in need but will also enable them to acquire skills that will be invaluable to their future careers.

Applicants much be 17 years or older, and should be available for at least two weeks during the summer months (May to August). For more details contact: [email protected].

Tabligh Shops at Jaffari Village
The Toronto Jamaat has expanded in its endeavor to provide Islamic merchandise available for the community members. Initially, this consisted of a small booth with a few books and multimedia products. Recently, the Jamaat opened two permanent Tabligh Shops, one in the ladies' section and one in the gents' section of the Jaffari Community Centre at Bathurst.
 

The goal of the Jaffari Tabligh Board is to increase awareness of the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt. The new Shops provide a variety of Islamic merchandise from Nawha CDs to prayer mats and mohrs to scarves to Islamic books, videos and DVDs for the convenience of the members.

Abbas, the Olympic Torch Bearer

Seventeen-year-old Abbas, son of Sukaina and Rashid Syed from Masumeen Islamic Center of Brampton in Ontario, Canada was given the opportunity to be an Olympic torch bearer. Abbas Syed represented his Jamaat, his school, his family and perhaps most importantly, individuals who live with Down Syndrome when he carried the bright flame for three-hundred meters down Bovaird Street.

In addition to playing basketball and baseball, Abbas loves to swim. He has been a part of the Special Olympics Swim Team for about nine years, and it was Abbas' teacher who submitted his name for the torch bearer selection. To read more, click here.
Course on the Origins of Shia Islam
The University of Alberta in Canada will be featuring a special course in Religious Studies for the spring semester, titled "Origins of Shia Islam" and will be taught by Husein Khimjee. This course will begin to respond to the new interest to understand Shiaism following the Shia resurgence in the Middle East after the overthrow of the Saddam regime in Iraq. It introduces and discusses the Shia thought, including the foundations that were laid in its early history for its current institutions and interpretation.
Imam Hussein Day

The Islamic Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada has organized "Imam Hussein Day" in memory of Imam Hussein (AS), who offered the greatet sacrifice on Ashura in 61 AH and saved Islam. Speakers include Shaikh Yusuf Badat (Islamic Foundation of Toronto), Fredie Mirza (Zoroastrian Society of Canada), Rev. Bill Bruce (Thornhill United Church), Dr. Hussein Khimjee (Islamic Ahlul Bayt Assembly of Canada) and Dr. Aman Haji (Shia Ismaili Muslim Community). For more details, please click on the poster. 

Imam Hussein Day