Basharaat-E-Ahmadiyya Newsletter December 2012 - The Lahore ...

19 Basharaat-E-Ahmadiyya Volume 2012 • December 2012
LOCAL ACTIVITIES OF THE USA JAMAAT
Samina Malik also attended the
ISNA Annual Convention this
year, which was held in
Washington, DC. This year, our representatives
took the opportunity to
attend the actual programs and
events offered throughout the 4-day
convention. Masha Allah we were
able to address various issues with
ISNA leadership and also engage in
dialogue with well-known scholars
in the American Muslim community.
In addition, Fazeel was personally
invited to ISNA’s prestigious
Interfaith Unity Banquet which is
held each year in conjunction with
the annual convention. This interfaith
unity banquet has been one of
ISNA’s main features for over a
decade. It offers an opportunity to
celebrate interfaith achievements
with the American Muslim community
and to recognize interfaith leaders
and institutions that have contributed
to the advancement of
interreligious understanding. The
theme of the presentation at this
year’s banquet was “A Pluralistic
Vision: Upholding the Rights of
Religious Minorities Across the
World.” We were very thankful for
this invitation as it served as a valuable
opportunity to build relationships
with American Muslim leaders
engaged in interfaith work as well
as network with leaders of other
faith traditions in the USA.
A wonderful blessing from our
participation at the ISNA conference
this year was making acquaintances
with Prof. Michael Birkel.
Prof. Birkel teaches religion at
Earlham College in Richmond,
Indiana and has a special interest in
Islam. The author of several works
on the Quaker tradition and religion
in general, Prof. Birkel is currently
working on a book titled “The
Quran from North American
Muslim Leaders”. As the title suggests,
the project entails presenting
understandings of various passages
of the Quran from Muslim
leaders in America. Fazeel and Dr.
NICC Community Leaders
Recognition Dinner.
Noman Malik coincidentally (or as
Prof. Birkel put it, “by divine providence”)
sat next to Prof. Birkel at
one of the lSNA main events, in
which several thousand people
attend. Again, by coincidence (or
divine providence) Fazeel once
again met Prof. Birkel at the
Interfaith Unity Banquet. Prof. Birkel
was quite impressed with his discussions
with our representatives
and, especially, with copies of the
Holy Quran and Religion of Islam
which we had gifted to him. Upon
returning home from the convention,
Prof. Birkel contacted Fazeel
requesting that he participate as
one of the Muslims to be interviewed
as part of his book. Prof.
Birkel graciously came to Columbus
and spent an entire afternoon and
evening with Fazeel at Masjid-al-
Urooj for this purpose. Fazeel
chose the topic of “finality of
prophethood” to be the focus of his
discussion. Others that Prof. Birkel
interviewed for purposes of this new
book are Dr. Jamal Badawi, Dawud
Walid, Hassan al-Qazwini, Su’ad
Abdul Khabee, Jimmy Jones,
Sohaib Sultan, Zeki Saritoprak, etc.
The National Headquarters of
CAIR also holds an event in conjunction
with the ISNA annual convention.
This year, Fazeel was invited
to attend. The CAIR national
headquarters is located in a prime
location on Capital Hill. The event
commenced with a reception with
food and drinks, followed by a tour
of the 2-storey office and then a discussion
and question/answer session.
Fazeel introduced the Lahore
Ahmadiyya Islamic Society and
mentioned, as a civil rights attorney,
the collaborative work he does with
the local chapter of CAIR in
Columbus. Copies of Maulana
Muhammad Ali’s Holy Quran
Translation/Commentary and his
Religion of Islam were also provided
to the co-founder and executive
director, Nihad Awad. Masha Allah,
CAIR is diligently working for the
protection of rights of Muslims in the
USA and our relationship with an
Islamic organization engaging in
such valuable work is a blessing.
INTERFAITH INITIATIVES
Each year the St. James Episcopal
Church offers an Interfaith Iftar
Dinner during Ramadan for local
Muslims. The purpose of the iftar
dinner is to display solidarity with
Muslims in the holy month in which
they stress achieving closeness to
Almighty God. Because of the generous
gesture by the Church, members
of the USA Jamaat make all
attempts to participate. This year,
Fazeel, Dr. Noman Malik, Sr.
Samina Malik and our guests from
Turkey (Sr. Ayse Ackur and Br. Sadi
Ackur and children, Zainip and
Yamur) all attended. The event also
presents the opportunity to build
bonds of friendship with other local