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Muslim Personalities
| Iqbal - Politician and Poet
Muhammad Iqbal was born in the Punjab on February 22, 1873. His ancestors, who were Kashmiri Brahmins, had embraced Islam two hundred years earlier. Iqbal's own father was a devout Muslim with Sufistic bent of mind.
He received his early education in Sialkot. After passing the entrance examination, he joined Intermediary College. Mir Hassan, a great oriental scholar, had a special aptitude for imparting his own literary taste and to his students. Under his influence, Iqbal was drawn towards Islamic studies, which he regarded to be an outstanding favor that he could not forget it all his life.
Passing on to the Government College of Lahore, Iqbal did his graduation with English Literature, Philosophy and Arabic as his subjects. At the college he met Prof. Arnold and Sir Abdul Qadir. Iqbal's poem, Chand (moon) and other early poems appeared in the journal (which belonged to Sir Abdul Qadir) in 1901 and were acclaimed by critics as cutting a new path in Urdu poetry.
To read more, click here.
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Islam in the News
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A Bronx Tale
Near the corner of Westchester Avenue and Pugsley Street in Parkchester, just off the elevated tracks of the No. 6 train, Yaakov Wayne Baumann stood outside a graffiti-covered storefront on a chilly Saturday morning. Suited up in a black overcoat with a matching wide-brimmed black fedora, the thickly bearded 42-year-old chatted with elderly congregants as they entered the building for Shabbat service.
The only unusual detail: This synagogue is a mosque.
Or rather, it's housed inside a mosque. That's right: Members of the Chabad of East Bronx, an ultra-Orthodox synagogue, worship in the Islamic Cultural Center of North America, which is home to the Al-Iman mosque.
"People have a misconception that Muslims hate Jews," said Baumann. "But here is an example of them working with us."
Indeed, though conventionally viewed as adversaries both here and abroad, the Jews and Muslims of the Bronx have been propelled into an unlikely bond by a demographic shift. The borough was once home to an estimated 630,000 Jews, but by 2002 that number had dropped to 45,100, according to a study by the Jewish Community Relations Council. At the same time, the Muslim population has been increasing. In Parkchester alone, there are currently five mosques, including Masjid Al-Iman.
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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Zainabiya Child Sponsorship Scheme - Haiti | 5 year-old Augustine is happy to be at school, be able to play and to be a normal child because being with other children allows her to forget about the poverty that she and her family live in everyday. Be the reason for Augustine's happiness by sponsoring her today so that she can continue to grow with the teachings of the Al Mahdi School. As part of the ZCSS Scheme, you have the opportunity to sponsor and enrich poor and orphan children in Haiti 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 a child in Haiti a life by a sponsorship of $20 per month or $240 per year. Donate here.
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Qum Summer Camp 2012 | "Being in harams of Bibi Fatima Masuma (as), Imam Ali Al-Ridha (as), and Masjid-e-Jamkaran, you could almost feel the presence of the Imams and their family around you, quite surreal moments indeed. The serenity and peace is exhilarating. Praying under the open sky, surrounded by Allah's creations is another feeling entirely." (Fatima Sohawon, Qum Summer Camp attendee, 2011)
The Bab and Madinah Qum Summer Courses held by NASIMCO and The World Federation are always an inspirational journey for those who participate. Many return describing the experiences that changed them. Information on the upcoming course will be available soon. In the meantime, please help students participate in the course by donating here. Thank you.
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Madrasah Center of Excellence LAUNCH | After the Madrasah Retreat that took place in May 2011, the Madrasah Center of Excellence (MCE) was developed to address some of the global challenges facing Madaris in our communities. Among these challenges is the lack of global or regional consistency and the lack of a universal teacher training methodology.
The MCE will be launched in Jamaats all over the world on the occasion of Eid-e-Zehra (AS). Watch out for the presentation in your Jamaat.
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The World Federation - Voluntary Opportunity |
The World Federation is pleased to announce an exciting voluntary opportunity to head its Islamic Education Publications portfolio. The Head of Publications will lead and coordinate The World Federation's publications agenda in line with the WF Islamic Education action plan for 2011-2014. The new position will enable the publications portfolio to reach a new and higher level.
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Community Event - Miami Jamat
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The youth of Islamic Jaffaria Association of Miami organized an event called Project Downtown. The youth volunteers helped make sandwiches and distribute food and bottled water to those in need.
The volunteers were able to feed over 100 people and provide donated clothing to keep them warm during the cool nights. The program captured a lot of interest and was a great success.
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Academy of Learning Islam Courses
| The following courses are available from the Academy of Learning Islam in the months of February and March 2012:
ALI 206: Duas from Saheefa Sajjadiyyah, Part 2 ALI 207: Quranic Arabic - Level I ALI 208: Quranic Perspective on Bibi Maryam (a)
All classes will be held at Jaffari Community Center in Toronto and cost $50 per student. To register, email: academyofislam@gmail.com
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Shia Toolkit Application for Android Devices
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A new Shia Toolkit application allows access to supplications, ziarat and salaat taqibaat on all android devices. The application also displays important Islamic dates, and information on our Imams and Masoomeen (as). Most of the sections are available in Arabic along with the English translation and the option to play the audio files simultaneously.
To download similar applications for iPhone, click here or here
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Imamia Medics International - Conference
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Imamia Medics International is holding its 5th International Conference in collaboration with Kufa University in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. The conference will be centred on the theme of Advancement through Learning and Integration (ALI): integrating society, medicine and spirituality, combining our commitments to enhancing health, education, capacity building, economic empowerment and the integration of community and spiritual approaches to medicine and health.
People from all medical and allied medical professions, along with all interested non-medical professions are welcome to attend. For more information regarding the conference program including the agenda, accommodations and ziarat arrangements click here.
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