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Muslim Personalities
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Lotfi Zadeh - Creator of Fuzzy Logic
He was born in 1921 in Baku, Soviet Azerbaijan; but in truth, as creator of the concept of "Fuzzy Logic", Lotfi Zadeh belongs to a world where there are no boundaries limited to time or place. He really is best characterized as an internationalist. He's quick to shrug off nationalism, insisting there are much deeper issues in life. "The question really isn't whether I'm American, Russian, Iranian, Azerbaijani, or anything else," he'll tell you. "I've been shaped by all these people and cultures and I feel quite comfortable among all of them."
It's a vivid example of how in real life Zadeh shuns abrupt absolute categories that don't take into account life's complexities. It's the same kind of thinking that characterizes Fuzzy Logic, an unorthodox theory which he invented which is impacting computer technology.
To read more, click here.
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Islam in the News
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Wham! Bam! Drawing on Islam
Batina the Hidden may fight crime and battle evil, but she is no ordinary superhero. Sure, she can become invisible and hide people or things just by touching them, but there are no voluptuous corset tops or knee-high red boots. Not only is this modern-day Wonder Woman from Yemen in the Middle East - a world away from the stomping ground of the Justice League superheroes - but she covers herself with a burqa.
Batina is one of The 99, the world's first Islamic-inspired comic-book superheroes, who each have powers loosely based on Allah's 99 attributes, such as love, power, healing and generosity. The animated television series, which has just been acquired by the ABC and will screen here next year, is not overtly religious. Its creator, Kuwaiti psychologist and entrepreneur Dr Naif Al-Mutawa, hopes The 99's lessons will be learnt vicariously, the way he learnt race was no big deal watching The Cosby Show growing up.
''The Cosby Show never discussed race, here was an affluent family who just happened to be black,'' Mutawa says. ''Even though The 99 come from different countries and have different skin colours they never discuss religion or country - what matters is the power they have and whether or not it's useful based on the problem. That's how you negotiate each other's differences and learn tolerance.''
To read more, click here.
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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 unified and caring environment for all. If you have anything you would like to include in this newsletter, contact us at info@nasimco.org.
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| NASIMCO Skills and Census Data |
If you are looking for ways to market your skills or business to people within the community, then you need to fill out the NASIMCO Skills and Census Data Form. Let the community know what you have to offer by being part of the NASIMCO Skills directory. Click here for more information and to fill the form.
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| Blood Donation Drives - Muharram 1433 | Making a donation to save a life is an embodiment of the spirit of Imam Hussein (as)'s message. NASIMCO encourages donating blood especially during these months of Muharram and Safar. This year, more than 165 pints of blood were collected in North America, with the following Jamaats organizing blood drives at their centers. The youngest donor was 16 years old Br Hasan Mulla of Minnesota.
- Ithna-Asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest (Seattle)
- Muslim Foundation Inc (New Jersey) - Husseini Islamic Center (Orlando) - Islamic Shia Ithnasheri Jamaat of Toronto - Ahlul Bayt Islamic Center (London, ON) - Al-Mahdi Al-Muntadhar Union (London, ON) - Shia Ithnasheri Jamaat of New York - Anjuman-e-Asghari (Minnesota) - Shia Ithnasheri Islamic Jamaat of Los Angeles - Shia Ithnasheri Jamaat of Pennsylvania - Islamic Jaffaria Association (Miami) - Jaffarya Center of Niagara Frontier, NY, Inc.
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| Ashra-e-Zainabiya Reciters for North America | |
Jamaats in the United States:
Allentown (SIJPA) - Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli of UK and Sr Sharmina Kermalli of Vancouver
Los Angeles (SIJLA) - Sheikh Abdul Jalil Nawee of Virginia
Minnesota (Anjuman-e-Asghari) - Sheikh Vinay Khetia of Toronto
New Jersey (Masjid-e-Ali) - Maulana Rizwan Rizvi
Orlando (Husseini Islamic Center) - Sheikh Norrodin of Florida and Zakir Raza Dungersi of New York
Minnesota (Imam Husain Islamic Center) - Sheikh Mohamed Subhani and Sheikh Ahmed Ali and Mulla Qassim
Miami (IJA) - Br Ali Al-Najjar of Michigan and Br Farman Ali
Boston (IMF) - Maulana Mukhtar Abbas
Buffalo (Jaffarya Center of Niagara Frontier) - Maulana Muslim Mehdi Chawla
Jamaats in Canada:
Bathurst (Jaffari Community Centre) - Br Akil Karim and Dr Liyakat Takim
Edmonton (ISIA) - Sheikh Mujaheedali Sheriff of UK
Kitchener (ISIJ-KW) - Sheikh Faheem Naqvi
London (Ahlul Bayt Islamic Centre) and (Al Mehdi Al Muntathar Union) - Sayyed Hassan Abu Taam
Ottawa (ISIA) - Janab Piyam Azmi
Brampton (Masumeen Islamic Center) - Sheikh Jaffer Jaffer
Vancouver (Az-Zahraa Islamic Center) - Dr. Akber Mithani
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ZCSS Haiti
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 NASIMCO in partnership with The World Federation is pleased to introduce the Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme (ZCSS) in Haiti during this Ashara-e-Zainabiya 1433 AH.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and the Al Mahdi Islamic School is the only Shia Muslim School in the country. Children who are turned away from the school end up on the streets. Some of these children are orphans. All of these children live in poverty.
During Ashara-e-Zainabiya this year and as part of the ZCSS Scheme, you have the opportunity to sponsor and enrich these children immeasurably by infusing their minds with knowledge and their hearts with the love of the Ahlul Bayt (as). Imam Ali (as) said: ``Knowledge is Life``. Give child in Haiti a life by sponsorship of $20 per month. Write to NASIMCO Secretariat for more information or donate online.
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Member Community - Appeal
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The Shia Ithnasheri Jamaat of Pennsylvania (SIJPA) has launched an appeal to communities across North America to participate in an effort to expand their parking facilities.
SIJPA has grown consistently since the completion of the Al-Ahad Islamic Center Project, which began in 1999. With approximately five hundred people attending the center during the auspicious nights of Muharram and Ramadhan, the parking allocation (originally intended for two hundred cars) is no longer sufficient. The Jamaat has therefore embarked on a project to build an additional forty-five parking spaces to meet the needs of the community. The total estimated cost of the project is US Dollars $150,000.
Individuals wishing to contribute online towards the project can do so: Here
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| Member Community - Media Productions |
Our coming to this world is simply a short stay to allow us to evolve spiritually in preparation for our final abode - Paradise. But to survive this planet's experience, we must live in a physical body driven by a natural instinct (Tabi'ah) that is animalistic yet necessary to support our physical existence. To ensure we do not forget our true identity, Allah has wired us with another, far more superior, nature - an innate divinely-inspired natural disposition called Fitra. If we can recognize the difference between these two 'natures' of Man, our spiritual transformation is potentially no less radical than the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
These lectures expound on the characteristics of the Fitra and the Tabi'ah of Man; how they complement and oppose each other; the pain and suffering of becoming a 'butterfly'; how to recognize the tabi'ah-oriented (worm) individual from the fitra-oriented (butterfly) individual.
This is the synopsis of the series of lectures by Sheikh Khalil Jaffer and produced by Masumeen Media Works available: Here
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| Tahajjud Salaat App - For iPhone & iPad |
 It said that on the tragic and fateful day of 'Ashura, when bidding farewell to his family, Imam al-Husayn (a) requested his sister Zaynab to mention him in her Tahajjud salaat, showing the importance of this salaat.
To this end, the Academy of Learning Islam has introduced a Tahajjud Salaat App for the iPhone and iPad, some of the features include:
- Mp3 of recitations by Haj Usama Al-Atar
- Record names of believers of your choice for remembering them in Salat Witr
The App can be downloaded from the App Store for a nominal price of $0.99. The cost of research, translation, publication and designing of the App was significantly higher and donations towards the project can be made: Here
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