Community News (V15-I51)

Emaad Abdul-Qadir and Hiba Khan honored by Naperville

NAPERVILLE,IL–kidsMatter, together with the Naperville City Council, honored 19 young people for their significant community service efforts during the 2013 Naperville Youth Service Awards celebration on Monday, November 18, 2013.

Since 1993, the City of Naperville has presented the Naperville Youth Service Award to recognize and honor outstanding volunteer efforts by local Naperville area students and to encourage all youth to get involved in community service.

Among this year’s awardees was Hiba Khan who was nominated by the Edward Hospital; Emaad Abdul-Qadir nominated by Dupage PADS.

Wheaton opens first mosque

WHEATON,IL–The city of Wheaton saw its first mosque after the Islamic Center of Wheaton bought and moved into the site of a former church which they bought for $3.15 million.

Mosque spokesman Abraham Antar said he and the community are excited about the move. “Wheaton is a city of faith, and we’re very privileged to be able to establish an Islamic community for Wheaton and especially for the western suburbs,” he told the Chicago Tribune.

“This is a beautiful location, and one of the great attractions is that it gives us an opportunity as an Islamic organization to really connect with other churches,” he said. “It really presents us with an opportunity to really bridge the relationship with all congregations within the area. We haven’t really started yet, but we would like to.”

‘Unmosqued’ Debate: Muslim Millennials Explore The Problem With American Mosques

By Yasmine Hafiz

Muslim millennials joined host Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani on Huff Post Live to discuss the exclusivity of many American mosques, as captured in the upcoming film “UnMosqued” by Ahmed Eid.
More and more American Muslims find themselves at odds with the culture in their mosque communities, particularly as many of these places of worship retain strong ties to homelands that self-identified American Muslims may not relate to, say many of those interviewed in “Unmosqued.”

“You go to the masjid, and so many masjids speak their own native language,” commented one man. “Whether it’s Arabic, Bangla, Urdu, Turkish. and our children have a hard time understanding this message.”

“Where is the young generation?” asks Imam Shamsi Ali. “They are moving away, and they are not coming back.”

Ainee Fatima, Ali Baluch, Ramy Youssef, and Yousef Erakat chimed in on the debate to explain their feelings about the acceptance of the Muslim community.

Filmmaker Ali Baluch commented on internal criticism of the Muslim community by saying, “We don’t get hate from non-Muslims– we get hate from within. I’m sure many sisters and women and female Muslims can attest to this– that they get torn apart more by Muslims themselves, by saying they’re not doing something right, they’re not modest, they’re not wearing the scarf the right way. They get torn down more by Muslims than by non-Muslims.”

He continued, “So when you want to worship and be in a great environment, you’re constantly bothered by this religious police who are saying you’re not praying the right way. Instead of guiding you the right way, they’re just scaring you away.”

Huffington Post

Teen charged with stealing mosque donations

BOONTON,NJ–A teen has been charged in breaking into donation boxes and stealing $1500 in cash from the Jama Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton. According to the police  video surveillance footage at the mosque o captured the crime that occurred on Nov. 23, and the release of images of the burglar led to several calls to police about the suspect’s identity.

The teen is charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief. None of the money has been recovered, police said.

Jewish and Muslim Day of Service Planned

ST.LOUIS,MO–On Christmas Day, the Islamic Foundation of Greater Saint Louis and the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis (JCRC) and its Milford and Lee Bohm Social Justice Center will sponsor the third annual St. Louis area-wide “Jewish and Muslim Day of Service.”

The two religious communities are working together again to organize and participate in a large-scale Christmas Day of Service project. More than 20 agencies have been identified in the St. Louis area as sites that will host needed volunteers on Christmas. This year’s program will have a new site, new projects, and Jewish and Muslim co-site captains at most of the larger sites.

“It has been so gratifying to see St. Louisans of all backgrounds and faiths come together each year on Christmas Day to help others,” said Zubaida Ibrahim, co-chair of this year’s event for the Islamic Foundation.

“This event is a true labor of love between members of the Jewish and Muslim communities, and shows our joint commitment to social action,” said Roberta Gutwein, co-chair on behalf of JCRC.

This year’s new volunteer site is The Bridge, a homeless shelter. Volunteers will help prepare and serve a holiday meal.

For more information about donating to this event or to sign up online, visit www.stljewishmuslimdayofservice.org or contact Gail Wechsler, Director of Domestic Issues/Social Justice for the Jewish Community Relations Council at 442-3894.

Brian Davis, advisor to Muslim students WSU passes away

Weber State University professor Brian Davis died on Nov. 29 at age 59. Davis was an interfaith trailblazer, respected professor of business administration and a Century Institute scholar in the Goddard School of Business and Economics. He was the adviser for the Muslim Student Association at WSU, and arranged for a Muslim prayer space on campus.

Davis was an active member in the local community as well as internationally. He did a lot of research in the local area, working for many religious communities, particularly focusing on the Muslim and Buddhist immigrant communities.

Davis traveled all over the world and worked with many charitable groups, including the Working Group on Poverty and Development for the World Council of Religious Leaders, and was on the advisory board of the United Nations, based in Bangkok, Thailand.

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