Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > US Dept of Education awards Blue Ribbon for Excellence to Islamist School where pledge of allegiance is to ' Allah and his Prophet'
US Dept of Education awards Blue Ribbon for Excellence to Islamist School where pledge of allegiance is to ' Allah and his Prophet'
October 2, 2005
MIM: The New Horizons School of Pasadena California has just been awarded a Blue Ribbon for Excellence from the United States Department of Education. Had the USDE done their own homework,(in the form of a cursory Google search) they would have seen that New Horizons is funded by the Wahhabist Islamic Society of North America whose goal is to turn the US into a United States of Allah. The first link on the Islamic School of Pasadena's website, to the Bureau for Islamic and Arabic Education in Los Angeles amply attests to their Islamist educational goals.The BIAE provides the textbooks from Saudi Arabia and the UAE and provides the Islamist guidelines for courses at the school and promotes an Islamist version of the pledge of allegiance. The local newspaper gushed over the fact that a 'local Islamic school' had received the nations's top award for academic sucess but neglected to mention that it is the Wahhabists and Saudis who are gloating that their Da'wa campaign has now received the US government Blue Ribbon seal of approval. http://www.newhorizonschool.org/default.htm
MIM: Dr. Wael Mirza who is listed as Fatima Jack Wael Merza on the BIAE website registration is the director of the New Horizons School Islamic School in Pasadena . (see below
http://www.iberr.co.za/san2001b.htm
Minutes of Meeting of the IBERR Trust
12 to 15 January 2001
Santa Clara. California
ANNEXURE B
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS HELD BETWEEN
IBERR MEMBERS AND MANAGEMENT OF NEW HORIZON SCHOOL
on Monday 15 January 2001
at the New Horizon school,
Pasadena California,
commencing at 10:00 and ending at 12:30
PRESENT: Representing the International Board for Education Research and Resources (IBERR)
1. Brother Yusuf Islam
2. Moulana Ali Adam
3. Brother Edris Khamissa
4. Brother Ismail Kathrada.
Representing the New Horizon School
1. Dr Wael Mirza (Director)
2. Sister Necva Ozgur (Principal)
3. Sister Amira Al Sarraf (Head of Middle School)
4. Dr Necva Hidayah (Arabic specialist)
5. Brother Zahir, The Chairman of the Board
6. Sister Heba, The Librarian.
MIM: Amira Al Sarraf, the school's interim principal set to go to Washington to receive the award, participated in a curriculum planning session which was lead by Yusuf Islam, (who was denied entry to the US last year, for terrorism related concerns and due to his fund raising for Hamas and Al Qaeda. Islam runs IBERR- The International Board of Educational Resource which is a UAE and Saudi funded Wahhabist propagation enterprise which works together with ISNA in the Us aimed at bringing learning materials into Islamic schools worldwide. At the meeting plans were discussed to beam Islamic programs for students from the UAE and KSA via satellite. Recipients of these broadcasts would have included Al Sarraf's New Horizons School of Pasadena. (see details of 2001 meeting below). A 2003 brochure about IBERR's global Wahhabist network reads:
"What is IBERR?"
"...The International Board of Educational Research and Resources (IBERR) represents a core of international educationists committed to implementing the aims and objectives of the first World Conference held in Makkah..."
"IBERR through it's global network of several hundred schools in the USA, UK, South Africa, Nigeria, Australia,and other countries, is involved in several research initiatives. IBERR's plans involve helping existing and new schools to cope with the academic and cultural needs of the Muslim community..."
MIM: In 2001 an IBERR delegation which included Yusuf Islam (prior to his being banned from the US) visited several California Muslim schools which included the New Horizon School in Pasadena .
Brother Yusuf Islam, Moulana Ali Adam, Abdalla Idris Ali, Tanweer Pappa, Edris Khamissa, and Ismail Kathrada visited Santa Clara on Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 January 2001 at the invitation of the Muslim Community Association of San Francisco Bay Area.."
3.2.2 Other Centres Visited
"Members also visited The New Horizon School in Pasadena, "Islamic City" in Los Angeles and the Orange Grove Muslim School..." http://www.iberr.org/sanfr2001.htm
MIM: ISNA , which is under investigation by a Senate Committee for 'funding terror and perpetuating violence', proudly announces that their Wahhabist enterprise, in the form of the New Horizon School of Pasadena has now been given an award by the same people who should be closing down their Islamic propagation operation. http://www.isna.net/index.php?id=35&backPID=1&tt_news=363
ISNA was also the subject of a Freedom House Report which focussed on the dangers of Saudi influence on American mosques and spreading of incitement which encouraged terrorism. For more on ISNA see: http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/254
09-23-05 15:54
New Horizon School, an independent Islamic school located in Pasadena, Calif. has earned the national Blue Ribbon award the highest recognition from the United States Department of Education.
"To our knowledge, New Horizon Pasadena is the only Islamic school in the country to have ever achieved such a distinction," said Amira Al-Sarraf, Interim School Head. "New Horizon School provides an excellent academic program along with firm grounding in moral and ethical values, and develops in each student a positive identity as an American Muslim who is committed to the betterment of family, community, and humanity."
The Blue Ribbon award signifies that New Horizon Pasadena (www.newhorizonschool.org) students score in the top 10% of the nation in assessments of reading and math. In addition to the students standardized test scores, New Horizon was judged on a lengthy application describing the schools mission, curriculum, instructional methods, and professional development.
Interim School Head, Amira Al-Sarraf, will travel to Washington, D.C. in November to receive the award from the Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, at an awards ceremony attended by the other private schools recognized with this honor. At the ceremony, New Horizon will receive a flag and a plaque signifying its Blue Ribbon status.
The interim head of the school, Amira Al Sarraf , finds it 'interesting' how the attacks of 9/11 have facilitated the propagation of Islam (and by extension New Horizon's Wahhabist agenda), by giving Muslims 'many more opportunities to connect with community'.
New Horizons has even infilitrated into the public school system, by sending their middle school students to tutor pupils at the Roosevelt Elementary School. This seeming innocuous activity is the classic Da'wa ploy, since it give Muslim students, who are being taught to proselytise Islam, to fulfill their religous duty as 'Islamic Workers' by interacting with non Muslims under the guise of a benevolent enterprise.Many of the students (who often have little or no religious adherence), will be told about Islam and what it means to be a Muslim, and inevitably be invited to the mosque to 'see for themselves' what Islam is all about.
(For a picture of the Muslim youth group guidelines, see below for an excerpt from the New Horizons affiliated Muslim Youth website.)
MIM: The emphasis of the curriculum for the New Horizons school in Pasadena "developing a love for and understanding of God and Islam" and " is designed to nuture a confident, faithful, American Muslim identity in each student". http://www.newhorizonschool.org/programs/religiousstudies.htm
"...Developing a love for and understanding of God and Islam in each child is an essential goal of a New Horizon education. Our structured religious curriculum is designed to nurture a confident, faithful American Muslim identity in each student.
The spiritual life of the students is fostered through:
-
An Islamic studies program, which guides students in exploring their
faith and learning ways to apply Islam in their lives -
Qur'anic studies classes, which promote recitation, memorization and
understanding of selected verses throughout the Qur'an -
Daily Arabic instruction, which develops reading, writing, speaking,
and listening skills to enable students to more effectively grasp the
meaning of the Qur'an -
An integrated character education program, which weaves universal
moral values into the students' daily experiences -
Collective prayer once a day along with weekly Jum'a
-
Real-life application of the faith such as weekly sadaqa, community service, Ramadan canned food drive, Eid toy drive, and Hajj simulation..."
MIM: Here is a recent article lauding the award of the Blue Ribbon for Excellence to the New Horizons school which omits any mention of their Wahhabist Islamic propagation agenda, funding, and radical Islamist affiliations.
| New Horizon, local Islamic school, receives nation's top award for academic success |
|
By Zach Fox, Correspondent |
| PASADENA -- New Horizon, a private Islamic school, has been awarded the Blue Ribbon, the highest award the U.S. Department of Education bestows to recognize academic excellence.
Interim school head Amira Al-Sarraf believes that New Horizon is the first Islamic school to earn this award. The distinction means the school's students scored in the top 10 percent of the nation in standardized math and reading tests. But Al-Sarraf said the school, now with 170 students, has seen a decline in enrollment over the last few years; the drop leads Al-Sarraf to believe the decrease could be a reaction to Sept. 11, 2001. Ever since that day's terrorist attacks shook America, she said, the preschool-through-eighth-grade school has seen its enrollment drop an average of 15 percent each year. But as the school has not received any overt anti-Islamic backlash or threats, Al-Sarraf attributes the decline either to economic issues or a fear in the Islamic community of publicly identifying themselves as Muslims. "Muslims are rethinking their place in society," Al-Sarraf said, adding that the Pasadena community embraced the school following the attacks. "What's really interesting is that ever since 9/11, we've had many more opportunities to connect with the community, Al-Sarraf said. These connections range from an interfaith music festival with other private schools to community performances by New Horizon's chorus. And the school's small enrollment -- spread across nine grades and two campuses --has its upside. The small class sizes allow teachers to offer personal attention to their students, yielding top academic results. "The environment here is very accommodating for students," she said. Osman Khan, a fifth- through eighth-grade teacher, said his seventh-grade class has just eight students and none of his classes has more than 20 students. "The closeness you see with students here you won't find at other schools," he said. "I look at these kids as family, in a sense." Students also said the school offers an environment that feels like a second home. "It makes you feel more comfortable because sometimes you're scared to tell people that you're Muslim because you're worried about their reaction," said Rita Dairi, an eighth-grader. The school serves its Islamic student body by balancing its academic curriculum with religious and spiritual education, officials say. All of the school's pupils participate in a daily prayer, take classes in Arabic and study passages from the Quran, the Muslim holy book. The school maintains its relationship with the community by instilling the values of service in its pupils. The school's local philanthropic projects include middle-schoolers tutoring pupils from Pasadena's Roosevelt Elementary School and canned-food drives for Union Station Foundation to benefit the homeless. Still, concerns of anti-Islamic backlash linger -- especially following the recent London bombings. "We try to distance ourselves as much as possible, but we still worry that there's people out there who don't understand that there are extremists in any religion," Al-Sarraf said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
I respect and love my family and my community, and I dedicate my life to serving the cause of truth and justice. As an American citizen, with rights and responsibilities, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all..."
"My vision for New Horizon is to produce a generation of Muslim Americans who have a strong Islamic identity and understand their role in society."
Islamic Studies Teacher
--------------------------------------------
+To motivate young American Muslims to live by and serve Islam and to identify themselves as Muslims
+To be an active participant in the Islamic Movement and to actively partake in the Islamic Center's activities
+To empower and prepare young Muslims to be future Muslim leaders.
+Creating a nurturing learning environment in which basic core knowledge of Islam is provided
+Providing an intellectual forum in which self-expression, discussion, and analysis is encouraged
+Establishing a social environment that will encourage healthy interaction in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect, love, care and camaraderie
+Fostering an American Muslim identity, built with high self-esteem and a positive self-concept
+Guiding and encouraging the Muslim Youth Group members to apply Qur'anic principles to their daily lives
+Helping the Muslim Youth Group members build positive characters and acquire essential life skills
+Instilling in Muslim Youth Group members universal values of honesty, respect, responsibility and self-discipline
+Inspiring the Muslim Youth Group members to establish social order built with social responsibility and justice
+Motivating the Muslim Youth Group members to have a sense of responsibility and to be active participants in the Islamic Movement, and to actively participate in the Islamic Center's activities
+Inspiring and preparing the Muslim Youth Group members to become God-conscious leaders guided by justice, driven by ethics, empowered by knowledge, and supported by logic
We expect our youth to live as Muslims, and die as Muslims, and to the best of their abilities, to follow Islam as their way of life. It must be stressed that identifying themselves as Muslims is different than having the commitment to Islam. We hope that by being a part of the Muslim Youth Group, our children will develop a sense of keen attachment to the religion of Islam, and insistence on living by it, dying upon it, and passing it on to their children.
II. Intellectual approach to the religion of Islam:
We expect our youth to develop a very specific philosophy about their religion. Furthermore this philosophy must embody their dual identity as Muslims first, but also as American citizens. The privileges and responsibilities of being American Muslims are very unique, and the youth group must teach our children to embrace them.
The pillars of this intellectual approach are that Islam is to be derived from the Qur'an and from the Sunna. The test of this life is not to view Islam as a cookbook, and continue trying to follow a preset recipe exactly, but rather to use the ever-living Qur'an and Sunna to create one's own recipe for life.
III. Acquire a certain core body of knowledge:
We expect our youth to acquire a certain body of knowledge while they are part of the Muslim Youth Group, in order to properly apply and understand these principles, as well as to be a positive influence on our society. This body of knowledge can be characterized as two large knowledge areas:
A. Religious knowledge
+To acquire knowledge about the Qur'an and make it part of their daily routine
+To learn about the life of the Prophet for the purpose of application in their lives
+To learn about the basis of Islamic jurisprudence and the principles upon which laws are derived
B. Life skills
+Social rules
+Interaction with the opposite sex
+Effective personal organization
+Effective time management skills
+Discipline
+Sense of responsibility about work and tasks which they undertake
+Debate
+Thinking skills
IV. Sense of purpose
We expect our youth to have a definite sense of purpose about their lives. To serve this purpose, they must then develop directed goals, and to achieve these goals, they must both acquire the necessary education and skills, as well as the effective work habits and persistence, which will be achieved through life skills. The sense of purpose should be broken down into several areas:
A. Regarding their individual lives:
Each Muslim Youth Group member must develop his/her sense of purpose in this life. Of course, from the commitment section above, the general purpose is the obedience of God, and striving to use this life to serve Him. However, the more specific purpose, how you serve Him, will differ for each individual. Some will do this by simply living a God-centered moral life. Others will do it as activists who serve their community, and other communities. Others still will do it by standing for Islam in their jobs whether they are doctors, lawyers, newspaper reporters or others. Others still will devote their lives directly to Islam by undertaking professions and careers in the service of Islam, such as school teachers in Islamic schools, educators, administrators, professional activists, or scholars in academia.
B. Regarding their parents:
It is critical, especially in this country and in this day and age, that the Muslim youth realize one of their most important and profound tasks in this life is respecting and caring for their parents. It is necessary that the members of the Muslin Youth Group, who go through its educational structure, leave with a definite sense of purpose regarding their relationship with their parents. This will distinguish them from others, both Muslims who have not been through an educational curriculum that emphasizes this issue, and non-Muslims for whom this is often a non-issue.
C. Regarding their family:
The years in the Muslim Youth Group may be used as a time for Islamic interaction with members of the opposite sex, and to develop pure, Islamic relationships, which will lead, insha'allah, to healthy Islamic marriages. Our young men, especially, must realize that although they have a license to marry non-Muslims, this should be a rare exception. They should leave the Muslim Youth Group with a deep commitment to not only marry a Muslim, but a practicing Muslim woman, who is as committed to Islam as they are, so that they can support each other in a lifetime of devotion to Islam. They must realize that while marriage to a non-Muslim may be attractive for various reasons, this attraction is fleeting, and is probably a losing to bargain.
D. Regarding their Muslim community:
The members of the Muslim Youth Group must develop a sense of ownership regarding the Islamic Center, and the Islamic movement. From this, they must develop a sense of responsibility that one day they will be in charge of these institutions: the mosques, the schools, the magazines, the political action committees, and so forth. This sense of ownership should foster an accelerated sense of urgency, on their part to learn Islam, and to ready themselves for the large tasks that lay ahead. Their responsibility to their Muslim community is to become the new generation of activists and leaders.
E. Regarding their community at large:
Each young Muslim must develop a sense that s/he is a Muslim citizen of the United States of America. This means that s/he carries a social responsibility. This responsibility may be discharged in various ways, including public service, community service, working on behalf of the poor, participating with other groups which are non-Muslim in these activities, and insisting on being a positive influence and a good citizen.
What Are Islamic Schools Teaching?
New York Sun
March 29, 2005
-
New York City: An investigation by the New York Daily News in 2003 found that books used in the city's Muslim schools "are rife with inaccuracies, sweeping condemnations of Jews and Christians, and triumphalist declarations of Islam's supremacy."
-
Los Angeles: The Omar Ibn Khattab Foundation donated 300 Korans (titled The Meaning of the Holy Quran) to the city school district in 2001 that within months had to be pulled from school libraries because of its anti-Semitic commentaries. One footnote reads: "The Jews in their arrogance claimed that all wisdom and all knowledge of Allah was enclosed in their hearts. Their claim was not only arrogance but blasphemy."
-
Ajax, Ontario, 50 kilometers east of Toronto: The Institute of Islamic Learning is a Canadian emulation of the extremist Deobandi madrassahs of Pakistan. It focuses exclusively on religious topics, has students memorize the Koran, demands total segregation from the Canadian milieu, and requires complete gender separation. Former students complained about the school's cult-like devotion to its head, Abdul Majid Khan, and complained that it is a "twisted religion."
Then there are four leading Islamic schools in the Washington, D.C. area:
-
The Muslim Community School in Potomac, Md., imbues in its students a sense of alienation from their own country. Seventh-grader Miriam told a Washington Post reporter in 2001, "Being American is just being born in this country." Eighth-grader Ibrahim announced that "Being an American means nothing to me."
-
A textbook used at the Islamic Saudi Academy of Alexandria, Va., in 2004, authored and published by the Saudi Ministry of Education, teaches first graders that "all religions, other than Islam, are false, including that of the Jews [and] Christians." An ISA class valedictorian, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, was recently indicted for plotting to assassinate President Bush.
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The U.S. government revoked the visas in 2004 of sixteen people affiliated with the Institute for Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America, of Fairfax, Va. In the words of the Washington Post, "That decision followed accusations that the institute, a satellite campus of al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, was promoting a brand of Islam that critics say is intolerant of other strains of the religion as well as Christianity and Judaism." In addition, the IIASA is under investigation for ties to terrorism.
-
The Graduate School of Islamic Social Sciences of Ashburn, Va., referred to as a "purported" educational institution in an affidavit justifying a raid on the school, had its financial records seized in 2002 on suspicions of links to terrorism.
Nor are schools the exception among Islamic institutions in North America. A recent study by Freedom House found a parallel problem of venomous anti-Jewish and anti-Christian materials in U.S. mosques. The most prominent American Muslim organizations, especially the Council on American-Islamic Relations, spew antisemitism and host a neo-Nazi. The same applies in Canada, where the head of the Canadian Islamic Congress, Mohamed Elmasry, publicly endorsed the murder of all Israelis over the age of eighteen.
So long as Muslim leaders simply declare themselves, in the spirit of Capt. Renault in the movie Casablanca "shocked, shocked" whenever news of Islamist supremacism leaks out, this cancer will continue unabated. The Islamic schools, the mosques, and other Muslim organizations like CAIR and CIC will continue their cat-and-mouse game so long as it works.
It won't work only when outside pressure is brought to bear on them by politicians, journalists, researchers, moderate Muslims, and others. They must state clearly and frequently the unacceptability of Islamist venom. Only then will today's fraudulent "shocked" reaction finally become sincere.
_________
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/517
Troubles at Islamic Schools in North America In "What Are Islamic Schools Teaching?" I noted seven Islamic schools in North American, six American and one Canadian, which teach hostility to Jews and Christians or had suspected links to terrorism. This is a recurring pattern, and so important to document on a regular basis, which I shall do here. Other instances include:
- Abrar Haque, 43, the volunteer administrator of Cleveland's Al-Ihsan School of Excellence, was arrested on money-laundering charges. To learn more about his business, federal agents seized school records. (Feb. 5, 2005)
- The Islamic Saudi Academy helped shaped the views of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who presently sits in a Virginia jail accused of trying to assassinate the president of the United States. (March 1, 2005)
I will add other examples as they appear. (March 29, 2005)
- I wrote today about the Universal School in Bridgeview, Illinois and described it as "an American madrassah , replete with the alienation, resentment, supremacism, and isolation that feed the Islamist temperament. (June 20, 2005)
- Ali Asad Chandia, 28, was accused of aiding two terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba. He is a third-grade teacher at Al-Huda School in College Park, Maryland, a K-8 school that specializes in teaching the Arabic language and the Koran. Also of note: he served as the president of the Muslim Students Association at Montgomery College in 1998-1999. (Sep. 17, 2005)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIM: Amira Al Sarraf, the interim principal of the school slated to receive the award attended a 2001 IBERR seminar with Yusuf Islam, the head of IBERR, who was banned from the US last year for funding terror. Note that Islam who runs the IBERR Trust (which is funded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE) was instrumental in planning and implementing the curriculum for New Horizon schools at the meeting:
." 2 Brother Yusuf Islam's Classification System for Islamic Books.
A copy of this System was discussed with Sister Heba for further refinement and use in her library.
3.3 Proposals for Life Studies Syllabus
Brother Yusuf Islam discussed the Proposals for the Life Studies Syllabus which is intended to present pupils with an Islamic World View for Grades 1 to 12. A copy was given to Sister Ozgur.
One of the proposals put forth was to enable satellite broadcasts about Islam from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to be beamed into Islamic schools in the U.S.
[PDF] brochure 2003 final.indd
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... Hamza Yusuf Hanson (USA) IBERR (UAE) Knowledge Village PO.Box 73000 Dubai
UAE FUTURE Links with Publication Houses IBERR has been ...
ecards.nad.ru/w/brochure_iberr2003.PDF - Supplemental Result -
Minutes of Meeting of the IBERR Trust
12 to 15 January 2001
Santa Clara. California
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS HELD BETWEEN
IBERR MEMBERS AND MANAGEMENT OF NEW HORIZON SCHOOL
on Monday 15 January 2001
at the New Horizon school,
Pasadena California,
commencing at 10:00 and ending at 12:30
1. PRESENT: Representing the International Board for Education Research and Resources (IBERR)
1. Brother Yusuf Islam
2. Moulana Ali Adam
3. Brother Edris Khamissa
4. Brother Ismail Kathrada.
Representing the New Horizon School
1. Dr Wael Mirza (Director)
2. Sister Necva Ozgur (Principal)
3. Sister Amira Al Sarraf (Head of Middle School)
4. Dr Necva Hidayah (Arabic specialist)
5. Brother Zahir, The Chairman of the Board
6. Sister Heba, The Librarian.
2. DISCUSSION CENTRED AROUND THE ISLAMIC STUDIES SYLLABUS in general and concentrated in particular on the following aspects:
2.1 The Revised Islamic Studies Syllabus
Copies of the revised Islamic Studies Syllabus were circulated among those present for their study and comments. Sister Amira explained the use of Qur'anic Themes in lessons.
2.2 Selection of Textbooks on Display (by Sister Amira).
IBERR Members paged through the selection of textbooks on Character Development, Values-based Education and Ethics. A list of titles was drawn up and Publishers Catalogues were kindly made available.
2.3 Teaching and Learning Resources for Islamic Studies.
The Following Teaching Guidelines were given to IBERR:
1. "Curriculum Guidelines for Islamic and Qur'anic Studies". Bureau of Islamic Education: Revised 2000.
2. "Bringing Values to Life" by Amira Al-Sarraf:
"Resource Packet"
"Activity Ideas"
"Selected Stories and Poems".
2.4 Commitment to collate other Resources Material
Sister Amira agreed to collate by the end of February 2001 suitable resource material for the preparation of Islamic Studies Textbooks for Grades 1 to 12. These would include a cross section of sample lesson Notes and Worksheets (From the Leverarch File) which explains how to advance "From Topics to Materials" especially for Grades 5 and 6. A cross section of the Sample Lesson Notes would cover the following aspects / topics:
· Values of the Week
· Character Development
· Moral Dilemma of the Week
· Bringing Values to Life.
2.5 Book Lists for Grades 1 to 8.
Sister Amira agreed to prepare a book list for the Islamic Studies Syllabus and forward it to Moulana Ali Adam (by end of February 2001).
3. OTHER ASPECTS FOR DISCUSSION
3.1 Access to Islamic Satellite Programme
· Dr Wael Mirza informed the meeting about this development which has rich potential for Muslim Schools. A Programme Proposal is to be prepared by IBERR as soon as possible for submission to the Organisers of this Satellite Programme.
· Brothers Abdul Latif and Salazar Bin Saliz (of the UK) are to be contacted by Brother Yusuf Islam for further technical assistance and advice about preparing the Proposal.
· Sheikh Yamani of Iqra was to be contacted by Yusuf Islam to inquire about the possibility of broadcoasting programmes in English for Muslim Schools.
3.2 Brother Yusuf Islam's Classification System for Islamic Books.
A copy of this System was discussed with Sister Heba for further refinement and use in her library.
3.3 Proposals for Life Studies Syllabus
Brother Yusuf Islam discussed the Proposals for the Life Studies Syllabus which is intended to present pupils with an Islamic World View for Grades 1 to 12. A copy was given to Sister Ozgur.
3.4 Proposed Workshops at New Horizon School in October 2001.
Proposals are to be prepared by IBERR as soon as possible so that arrangements may be made timeously for these workshops.
3.5 Value-Based Curriculum Outlines
Dr Wael Mirza is currently drafting these proposals.
4. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS held between Dr Wael Mirza (Director Islamic Education Bureau - New Horizon School) and Moulana Ali Adam on 19 January 2001 at The Comfort Inn, Los Angeles.
4.1 Workshops to be arranged for New Horizon School (Pasadena).
4.2 Brother Abdalla Idris Ali and Brother Yusuf Islam need to be confirmed for the Fund Raising Function to be held over the same weekend.
4.3 Planning and Logistical Details about the Workshop:
1. The target groups are to be Boards of Directors (Governors), Principals, Teachers and Parents.
2. Budget: IBERR will cover the cost of the Airfares for their members. IEB will provide the accommodation.
3. Invitations are to be extended to as many schools as possible. A nominal registration fee is to be levied. Invitations are also to be extended to representatives from Chicago and from the East Coast and Texas Areas.
4. It is intended to circulate a Needs Survey before the Workshop and to send out pre Workshop reading Material.
5. In addition to the IBERR's Trustees as speakers, the following may also be considered as facilitators: Dr Zakiya Mohamed, Sheikh Saadullah Khan, Sister Necva and Sister Amira.
6. Tentative Workshop Programme will be submitted to Dr Wael Mirza via Brother Abdalla Idris Ali's office. Brother Tanweer Pappa (Kansas City) is to assist in planning and organizing the Fund Raising Function.
ARABIC PROGRAMME
1. Moulana Ali Adam is to send Professor Saadeddin's material to New Horizon School for evaluation by Dr Najwa Hidayah.
2. Dr Najwa Hidayah is to prepare a resource file of her teaching material and programme for Dr Saadeddin.
3. Moulana Ali Adam is to arrange a meeting between Professor Saadeddin and Dr Hidayah in either Cairo, Amman, Cape Town or Los Angeles.
4. Dr Najwa Hidayah was to prepare for Moulana Adam a proposal for candidates from South Africa to be trained at her Institute in Cairo. The possibility of establishing a branch of the Institute in Cape Town was also to be explored.
EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS FOR SATELLITE TRANSMISSION
Brother Yusuf Islam is to prepare proposal for the preparation of Educational Videos for Muslim Schools which may be transmitted via Satellite.
ISLAMIC STUDIES TEXTBOOKS
Proposed publication date is the end of April for Books 1 to 3.
Brother Wael Mirza was to contact Sheikh Sulaiman for possible publication of the books in Jeddah.
------------------------
Several of the participants at the 2001 meeting in Pasadena also attended the 2003 IBERR meeting in Doha about the Islamisation of the curriculum where the opening of an IBERR center in Doha was announced.
------------------
In 2002 an IBERR conference was held in the UK which was attended by Amira Al Sarraf to discuss the completion of 'The Manual for Muslim Schools'. The manual was sent to the Editorial Board for Islamic Studies which included Yusuf Islam and Bilal Phillips who is listed as an unindicted co conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. Phillips was also a student of Gulshair Shukirijumah a Saudi funded 'missionary' whose son, Adnan Shukrijumah, is considered one of the world's most dangerous terrorist fugitives. Philips who works in the UK and lived in Qatar, also credited Friday displays of executions and amputations as the reason for the low crime rate in Saudi Arabia.
Yusuf Islam and Bilal Philips documented ties to terrorism and their connection to the curriculum committee which produced the educational manuel for Muslim schools, is further truth of the fundamentalist agenda of the Islamic School of Pasadena. The inclusion of the now principal Amina Al Sarraf on the board shows that she plays a major role in promoting IBERR's Wahhabist agenda.
http://www.iberr.org/willesden.htm
ADDENDUM TO THE MINUTES OF THE TRUSTESS' MEETING
2 - 5 NOVEMBER 2000
The following additional matters also discussed by the Trustees.
1.0 Work Completed
1.1 "The Manual for Muslim Schools" (Revised Edition 2000) has been completed.
It contains four handbooks for:
· Founders and Governors
· Head Teachers
· Teachers
· Parents
1.2 IBERR Trust Deed has been finalized. Letters of acceptance of the three Trustees have been revised.
2.0 Work in Progress
2.1 An Islamic Studies Workshop to review and revise the syllabus and textbook was conducted over three days (3rd to 5th November 2000). The participants have revised the syllabus for all twelve grades. Draft copies to be circulated to members for their comments.
2.2 Editorial Board for Islamic Studies
The following names for the Editorial Board were proposed and accepted.
· Maulana Ali Adam
· Yusuf Islam
· Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips
· Sister Tasneema Ghazi
· Sister Ameerah Al-Sarraf
· Sister Aisha Lemu
· Edris Khamissa
2.3 IBERR's Newsletter (Vol.1 No.1 (November 2000)
The copy circulated by Ibrahim Hewitt was edited and approved with updates on the Islamic Studies Workshop and a list of IBERR's work completed, in progress and soon to be commenced. Copies of the newsletter were to be sent to donors with a reminder to honour their pledges.
3.0 Proposed Plans
3.1 Fundraising function in Santa Clara (California). Tentative arrangements have been made for the next meeting of the Trustees to be held on 14th January 2001. Proposals for workshops for Head Teachers and Parents are to be discussed.
3.2 Meeting of IBERR's Advisory Board.
This is tentatively scheduled for mid April 2001 in Australia. Workshops for Head Teachers and Parents are also being planned for Australia and Malaysia.
3.3 Feasability of Producing Educational Video.
3.3.1 Translation of the text "Programme for the Prophets Tarbiyah for Children". Maulana Ali Adam was to oversee this.
3.3.2 Copy of "The Teaching Methodology of the Holy Qur'aan" (IIIT Publication Karachi) is to be obtained from the Islamic Foundation by Ibrahim Hewitt.
3.3.3 Transcript of Br Abdullah Idris Alis' talk on the Prophetic Teaching Methods delivered in Roshnee is to be prepared by Br Yusuf Islam.
3.3.4 Preparation of Educational Video
This could include possible interviews with, and presentations by Br Abdullah Idris Ali; Dr Abu Sulayman; Br Bashir; Sr Aisha Lemu; Sr Tasneema Ghazi; Br Idris Khamissa.
3.4 Textbooks for Muslim schools
Haji Hasni Mohammad, the executive chairman of IED Corporation has agreed to send IBERR copies of a range of Islamic Textbooks they have developed for use in Muslim Schools
3.5 Educational Conference and Trade Fair, Sharjah December 2001
The invitation received via M A K - C was discussed. More details were requested so that a final decision could be taken.
3.6 Resources list for Islamic Studies
Members prepared a list of resources for the various sections of the subject.
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1. MISSION AND AIM
1.1 Top priority is to be given to achieving the OBJECTIVES of IBERR as outlined in paragraph 3 of the IBERR TRUST DEED:
1.2 The furtherance of the religion of Islam throughout the world in any manner, which now is, or hereafter may be, deemed by law to be charitable.
1.3 The promotion of the teaching of the religion of Islam according to the principles of Guidance laid down by the Qur'an and the Sunnah (example) of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) as recorded in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and all other Sihah Ahadith and the observances that serve to promote and manifest it.
1.4 The furtherance of Islamic education through the research, initiation, development and dissemination of the best examples of educational practice and resources in any manner which now is or hereafter may be deemed by law to be charitable for use by educationalists, students and schools world-wide.
1.5 The Trustees were to draw up specific laws regulations governing relationship with affiliated organizations. Letters of acceptance from Islamia College (Cape Town) and Universal Foundation (Kansas City) were received and filed. Brother Yusuf Islam was to follow up on the non receipt of the Waqf Al-Birr letter with his London office.
1.6 Moulana Ali Adam volunteered to study the previous minutes of IBERR and to extract the main points from them and to evaluate the progress made by IBERR to achieve the identified objectives.
1.7 The following guidelines which were formulated at the IBERR's Trustees Meeting of 18-21 July 2000 in London are listed below as the Focus and Scope of IBERR Activities.
1.7.1 FOCUS OF IBERR'S ACTIVITIES
1.7.1.1 RESOURCES AND GUIDELINES
Curriculum Development
An Islamic Curriculum should be designed to train people to fulfil their role as vicegerents of Allah created to worship Allah alone, keeping in mind the Fard Kifayah requirement for livelihood.
The Qur'an and Sunnah thus form the backbone of Islamic Education. What we teach, how we teach and what we hope to achieve must be based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. The goal of such a Curriculum should be to guide the learner to know:
a) how best to know and understand the Creator;
b) how best to worship the Creator;
c) how best to carry out one's responsibility in the life on an individual and collective basis.
Resources and guidelines should be developed to fulfil the above objectives.
In-service training of Teachers must be an ongoing process. Teachers should also be trained to develop Islamised Syllabuses and Schemes of Work.
Evaluation guidelines have to be provided for continuous assessment, accountability and for maintaining direction.
To effectively achieve these objectives, development of Syllabuses in relevant subjects must be promoted. Publishers and Media Production Companies will be encouraged to develop textbooks, teaching manuals and audio - video and multimedia resources.
Relevant statistics and information about Muslim Schools and their needs must be collected and classified.
These activities must be strengthened and assisted by the establishment of Resources Centres and wherever possible Model Schools where the materials produced can be applied.
1.7.1.2 RESEARCH
To formulate an effective Islamic Educational System for Muslim Schools, Research must be conducted in all areas of a school's range of activities.
Production of 'Teaching and Learning' materials including textbooks will improve and enhance the quality of teaching and learning in the following subjects:
1. Islamic Studies
2. Arabic
3. English
4. Science
5. Mathematics
6. Geography
7. History
8. Commercial Subjects
9. Art
10. Information Communication Technology and 'Computer' related fields
11. Technology
Also the production of Educational Books and supplementary materials for:
* Teacher Training w Prophetic Teaching Methodology
* Parenting w Educational Psychology
* Qur'anic Teaching Methodology w Islamic 'Philosophy' of Education.
1.7.2 IBERR'S SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES
It was decided that we should streamline our deliberations and define our activities by following a set list of priorities and areas of concern. Therefore, in future the Minutes and the Meetings should keep this list in mind:
1. MISSION - AIM (Trust Deed)
2. STRUCTURE, STAFF-MEMBERSHIP
3. RESOURCES and GUIDELINES
3.1 Curriculum Development
3.2 Teacher Training
3.3 Guidelines and Manuals
3.4 Evaluation
3.5 Book List and Resources Reviews
3.6 Information and Statistics
3.7 Multi-Media Resources
3.8 Resources Centres - Establishment
3.9 Model Schools
3.10 Home Schools
3.11 Workshops
3.12 Textbook Development
4. RESEARCH
4.1 Philosophy of Education
4.2 Islamisation of Curriculum
4.3 Prophetic Teaching Methodology
4.4 Textbooks Development
4.5 Book Translations
4.6 Parenting
4.7 Child Psychology
4.8 Communication System
4.9 Da'wah
4.10 Administration
4.11 Special Educational Needs
4.12 Vocational Development (Fard Kifayah)
5. COMMUNICATION
In order to disseminate the research work and resources of IBERR and spread the best examples of educational practice, it is essential to maximize the use of the IBERR Website which needs to be constantly updated.
2. STRUCTURE: MEMBERSHIP AND STAFF
2.1 Board of Trustees
The following members constitute the IBERR Trust:
· Brother Yusuf Islam (Chairman and Treasurer)
· Moulana Ali Adam (Secretary); and
· Brother Abdalla Idris Ali.
2.2 Members of IBERR
While IBERR is to be as broad and inclusive as possible representing established organizations, schools and individuals, the main criterion for acceptance of membership will be the ability to advance the AIMS and OBJECTIVES of IBERR - i.e. to assist Muslim Schools to produce pious Muslims. Anyone who can contribute in an effective way to fulfil this Aim of IBERR will be welcome as members.
2.3 Rules, Regulations and Standard Operating Procedures
After much discussions, the Trustees agreed on the following guidelines.
2.3.1 Term of Office
The Trustees occupy permanent posts.
Members of the Board shall serve 2 terms of 4 years each.
The Trustees shall review the term of office of the members every 3 years in terms of IBERR's Focus and Scope of Activities listed above.
2.3.2 Functions
Members shall be expected to volunteer and devote sufficient time and resources to fulfil IBERR's Mission and Aims as explained in the Focus and Scope of Activities (see Note above)
2.3.3 Domain and Procedures
Members of IBERR will formulate their Action Plans based on IBERR's Scope of Activities in a task-centred manner, with priorities and time lines, and anticipated budget for each activity.
The Trustees will review these Action Plans and formally approve the Budget for specific activities prior to the commencement of any work.
On an annual basis, the Trustees shall review and evaluate the extent to which the Action Plans have been or are in the process of being achieved.
The Trustees reserve the right to reorder the priorities and/or to set priorities in the absence of specific Action Plans or in the light of changed circumstances.
2.3.4 Venues of Meetings
Most formal meetings of the Board will take place in Britain as the most accessible and convenient location. However, meetings may also be held in other countries as circumstances permit.
2.3.5 Decision Making Process
Decision shall be arrived at on the basis of the Islamic concept of Shura (consensus).
2.3.6 Funds and Responsibilities
Wherever Fund Raising Functions are held, IBERR will arrange affiliation with a recognized and registered organization to facilitate accounting. All funds collected in America will be co-ordinated by Universal Foundation, Inc. of Kansas City.
As decided at the previous meeting of the Trustees (November 2000 and as reflected in Paragraph 18.1 and 18.2 of the Trust Deed), separate specially restricted banking accounts are to be opened in the name of the affiliated charity or organization in the various host countries (Universal Foundation in America, Waqf Al-Birr in Britain and Islamia College Trust in South Africa). The Affiliate Organization/Charity is to issue cheques for payment only when Formal authorization has been approved by the Trustees. It is important that these procedures are accepted by those authorized to act on behalf of the Trust. The cheques must have 2 signatories, the Trustees of IBERR as well as the Trustees of the Affiliated organization. In countries other than USA, Britain, SA, the resident member of the Board will be responsible for completing the Income and Expenditure for approval by the Board of Trustees.
All budgets and expenditure will be decided by consensus of the Board and will have to be approved by the Trustees.
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http://www.iberr.org/san2001.htm
2.1 Board of Trustees
The following members constitute the IBERR Trust:
· Brother Yusuf Islam (Chairman and Treasurer)
· Moulana Ali Adam (Secretary); and
· Brother Abdalla Idris Ali.
Several Islamic Scholars
attend International Conference of IBERR
at
Sheraton Doha
IBERR PLANS TO OPEN CENTRE IN DOHA, SAYS YUSUF ISLAM
DOHA: The International Board of Educational Research and Resources (IBERR) which serves a chain of Islamic schools for English-speaking Muslim communities all over the world is planning to open its centre in Doha, IBERR Chairman Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) said yesterday.
He was addressing a press conference at the Doha Sheraton on the sidelines of the international conference of IBERR being held in Doha. An array of Islamic scholars and educators from IBERR who came to Doha for the conference were also present.
Yusuf Islam, the famous Pop-singer turned Islamic personality said IBERR wanted to share its experience and expertise in the field of Islamic education with academicians, teachers and institutions in Qatar. A workshop for teachers and all those involved in education was organised at Doha Sheraton on December 28 as part of the conference.
"We are looking forward to setting up a centre of IBERR in Doha in the near future with the support of like-minded people in Qatar. The centre will boost our activities not only in the region but also the world over," he said.
He said, IBERR has been successful in establishing links with a chain of schools in the west and countries like South Africa and Nigeria, which provides a harmonious combination of Islamic and modern education. Many of these schools have emerged in the top few schools in their respective localities in academic performance, he claimed.
"These schools have emerged as an answer to a major challenge that Muslims faced in the west on how to educate their children and inculcate Islamic values and morals among them. I asked this question to myself when my daughter Hasna grew up," Yusuf said.
In a reply to a question from The Peninsula about the ban imposed by the French government on wearing headscarf in schools and colleges, Yusuf said, the move was unfortunate and unexpected from one of the freest countries in the world. He hoped that other western countries would not follow suit.
"Surprisingly there is not a single Muslim school in France. We have many schools and Islamic institutions in the UK which are performing well. We have even Muslim policewomen wearing head scarf. The attitude of the western societies would depend on how we present Islamic models before them," he noted. Currently there are more than 500 Muslim schools in the US and 120 in the UK.
Tanweer Papa from North America said, the 9/11 attacks have not had any adverse impact on the growth of Islamic education in the west. Instead, Islamic societies have started to take their faith more seriously after the incident, he said. "9/11 is only one date in history. There are many other dates. Islam would grow further in the west with the blessings of Allah," added Yusuf Islam, in reply to another query from the media.
"Life has become a series of episodes without a connecting thread. The purpose of faith schools is to provide this vital link, something beyond the self," said Naseem Bhatt, referring to criticisms that faith schools would create divisions in the community.
Noted woman Islamic scholar and writer from Nigeria Aysha Lemu, Edris Khamissa, Ali Adam, Mohammed Akram Cheema, Dr Omar and Ahmed Abikir also addressed the press conference.
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|
YUSUF ISLAM VISITS DOHA MIM: Any doubt about Yusuf Islam and IBERR's aim of propagating Islam should be dispelled with this article which comes out and praises Islam as "the well known British Muslim preacher and Dakwah (sic) worker". |
MIM: A 'homegrown' Islamist group the Islamist Schools League of America, was founded in 1998 in Virginia. There mission says that 'the sucess of Islamic schools is not an option but a must' and concludes their mission statement with "Ultimately this service is to Allah". The Islamic League of America works with Yusuf Islam, and announced that it 'facilitated a visit via Astrolabe (Yusuf Islam's mutli media company based in the UAE), by Zain BIlka ( a musical partner and protege of Islam) to ten Islamic schools in the United States.(see picture and documentation on IBERR above). The ISLA also works with Wahhabist groups such as the Internation Institute of Islamic Thought a known terrorist support and funding front. The IIIT has been directly linked to Al Qaeda and Hamas, and was raided by the FBI and JTTF in connection with 'Operation Greenquest' which was intended to disrupt the terror funding network int he United States.
MIM: The list of radical Islamist ISLA affiliates would also includes New Horizon Schools and ISNA , further proof, if any is needed that the United States Department of Education should revoke the Blue Ribbon for Excellence Award to the Pasadena school and investigate the school ties to terrorism related enterprises such as the IIIT.
Regularly contribute education articles for publication in ISNA's Islamic Horizons. http://www.4islamicschools.org/about.htm
MIM: The growth of Islamic schools in the United States is continuing at an alarming rate and shows that Wahhabist influence permeates Islamic schools in the United States. The US Department of Education award to the Islamic School of Pasadena, which is supported by Wahhabists and linked to the international Islamist network, signifies that a new generation of home grown extremists is now being educated in the United States and that their fundamentalist curriculum, which is totally antithetical to democratic and Western values, has now received US government approval.
"...There has been a remarkable growth of private Islamic Schools in America during the past 15 years. In a study that was done in 1987 by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) there were only about 50 verified schools in America. Now, in 2004, there are approximately 220. In just 2003 alone there were probably at least 6 new schools that opened. This is a trend that will continue so the League felt that it is important (and timely) to provide some resources that communities can refer to in the planning stages of opening a new school in your community.
There is no "right" or "typical" model for opening a new school. An Islamic school is typically community based and supported and is created to meet the needs of the community it serves. Some schools evolve out of a home-schooling effort; some are initiated and supported by a community Masjid; others are founded by a group of parents who share similar educational goals for their children. Schools range in size from 10 students and 1 grade right on up to larger schools with a student body of 600 or more students spanning grades Pre-K through 12.
Many schools begin with just 2 or three grades, typically Pre-K4 through 1st and expand a grade each year..." http://www.4islamicschools.org/parent_start.htm
Organizational Status
The Islamic Schools League of America (the League) was incorporated in Virginia in 1998 and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (EIN 54-1926543) . http://www.4islamicschools.org/about.htm
About The League
The League was founded by four parents whose own children benefited from an education in an Islamic school. The realization of how much Islamic education had helped their own children led to an interest in the general condition of Islamic K-12 education across the country. A year of research revealed that the status of Islamic education nationwide was encouraging because Islamic schools were growing rapidly in Muslim communities across the country.
However, it was obvious that the status of Islamic education also was fragile. In some cases, as quickly as new schools opened, others closed their doors, plagued by a multitude of problems and obstacles. One of the biggest problems the League observed was that Islamic schools were often working in complete isolation. There was no strategy in place to interconnect the schools with other schools and with organizations providing ancillary services, of which there were many. Many of the schools were also unaware of educational resources and information; they were often too overwhelmed with the task of keeping the doors of the school open to search for such information.
The need described above shaped the League's focus and direction. The first goal was to facilitate communication and networking opportunities for the schools. The next goal was to try to make it easier for schools to access vital information that would enhance the school's instruction and the professional development of their faculty. Finally, it was the League's goal to raise nationwide awareness of the urgency in supporting Islamic schools and working to improve Islamic education, in general, in America.
For the League, the success of Islamic schools is not an option; it is a must. Our vision is achievable. Our mission requires that we all work together in support of Islamic schools. Ultimately this service is to Allah (swt).
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The website of the Islaimc League cited the Blue Ribbon Award
League Accomplishments
http://www.4islamicschools.org/accomplishment.htm
- Networked approximately 80 full-time Islamic schools nationwide and nearly 300 principals, teachers, school board members, and community education activist.
- Created the only existing electronic listserv discussion forum for Islamic educators (the IECN).
- Launched a web site for Islamic educators (www.4islamicschools.org) that is interactive and service oriented. Islamic educators themselves will contribute heavily to the content.
- Combined existing lists of Islamic schools and created the only updated, verified list of PreK-12th grade Islamic schools in North America, which is available to everyone on the League's web site.
- Provided guidance to Islamic schools on eligibility requirements and application process to receive important Federal and State educational services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Created strategic partnerships with experienced proposal writing professionals and initiated research into grant opportunities for Islamic schools.
- Initiated a consumer education program to help Islamic schools learn the facts about staff health care and fringe benefit products and appropriate implementation of such products into their school staff benefits program.
- Provided advocacy on behalf on Islamic schools in response to recent media challenges to the quality of text books used by Islamic schools.
- Counseled schools on media relations and working positively with the media.
- Established cooperative and collaborative relationships with many existing Islamic organizations in America including the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT); Center for Islamic Education in North America (CIENA); Council for Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA); Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Horizons Magazine; Council on Islamic Education (CIE); The Tarabiyah Project; FADEL; IQRA Foundation; Muslim Home Schooling Network and Resource; Muslim American Society (MAS); American Society of Muslims (ASM); Islamic School of Social Sciences (SISS) and many others.
Regularly contribute education articles for publication in ISNA's Islamic Horizons. - Provided assistance to numerous Islamic schools with specific problems.
- Facilitated the matching of job openings in Islamic schools with qualified candidates.
- Made presentations at conferences and Islamic schools.
- Established the League as the first liaison to Islamic private schools in the U.S. Department of Education's data collection on private schools in America.
- Initiated League participation with other private religious school organizations and representatives in interfaith cooperation focused on combining forces to leverage public policy that will benefit all religious private schools.
- In cooperation with Astrolabe Multimedia, facilitated visits from South African nasheed singer, Zain Bhikha, to more than 10 Islamic schools in 3 cities.
We have so much more to do!
Our Governance
http://www.4islamicschools.org/about.htm
The Islamic Schools' League of America is in the process of building the organization; therefore, we are in the process of building both a Board of Directors and an Education Advisory Board.
The League's founders and board members are:
Aly R. Abuzaakauk, Board Member
Ahmad Alwazir, Founder and Board Member
Judi Amri, Founder and Board Member
Karen Keyworth, Founder and Board Member
Khalifah Ramadan, Board Member
Ali Hassan Shwikhat, Founder and Board Member
Sommieh Uddin, Board Member
Our Education Advisors
Ann El-Moslimany
Freda Shamma
Cynthia Sulaiman
Zahra Williams
Safaa Zarzour
Our Supporters
The following organizations and individuals have been invaluable in their support of this effort during the past 2 ½ years. We appreciate your willingness to share our vision, believe in our mission, and trust our abilities:
CIENA
FADEL
IIIT
ISNA
Omer Bin Abdullah, Editor, Islamic Horizons Magazine
Aly Abouzaakouk
Muhammad and Almas Akram, Almatec, Herndon, VA
Arash Hazer and Thasin Sardar
The dedicated Islamic Educators and members of IECN.
Special thanks go to our site host, Muntada Net, and our site developers, TriVision and Muntada Net. Your creativity, responsiveness, and dedication rise above and go beyond a simple business contract. It is an indication of the strength of your iman.
-----------------------------------------
The network of radical Islamists and organisations associated with ISNA is evident in the lineup of this 1998 ISNA conference which included the now jailed terrorists Abdulrahman Alamoudi and Sami Al Arian, who ironically participated in forum entited "Guilty until proven Innocent'.
Among the 'charities' which ISNA raised money for at the event were the Al Qaeda linked Benevolence International and Global Relief Foundation. The sponsors of the event included groups including the terrorism linked Saudi based WAMY and the leading Wahhabist propagation enterprise known NAIT, The North American Islamic Trust which owns 80% of all of the mosques in North America.
ISNA 1998 Annual Convention
For More Info and registration call: (317) 839-8157 Ext 242 or 239
PROGRAM
Friday, September 4
5:00 - 5:30 am Salat al Fajr (Iqamah 5:15)
10:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Pre-Convention Workshops
1. Enhancing Teamwork in Islamic Organizations
Iqbal J. Unus - Room 260
2. Leadership Development in the Muslim Community
Rafik Beekun - Room 263
3. Effective Communication in Islamic Work
Dilnawaz Siddiqui - Room 267
1:15 - 2:30 PM
Salat al Jumah (Second Adhan at 1:30) Hall 5
Khateeb: Muzammil Siddiqi
2:45 - 4:30 PM
Session 1 Hall 4
Welcome and Inauguration
Recitation from the Qur'an: M. Abu Zahir Ansari
ISNA President: Muzammil Siddiqi
IMA President: Ayman Rayes
AMSE President: Mukhlesur Rahman
AMSS President: Salahuddin Malik
MSA President: Mohammed Salem Omeish
MYNA President: Huma Chowdri
NAIT Chairman: Bassam Osman
Convention Chairman: Abdul Wahab
Program Chairman: Iqbal Unus
Steering Committee Chairman: Rashid Qureshi
Islamic Shura Council of North America
The Community Mosque: Jamil Al-Ami
Islamic Circle of North America: Mohammed Yunus
Muslim American Society: W. D. Muhammad
Islamic Society of North America: Muzammil Siddiqi
Muslim World Organizations:
Organization of the Islamic Conference, Secretary General Azeddin
Laraki;
Muslim World Congress, Secretary General Abdullah Salah Al-Obeid;
World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Secretary General Maneh Aljohani;
International Council for Da'wah and Relief, Secretary Kamel Al-Sharif
Moderator: Secretary General ISNA Sayyid M. Syeed
4:45 - 6:00 PM
Session 2 Hall 4
Civil Society: An Islamic Perspective
Speakers: Kamal Hassan, Besir Atalay
Moderator: S. Imtiaz Ahmad
Allah is the Lord of the worlds, not just of a particular race or religious group. All humans are created equal. By recognizing Allah as the source of guidance, practicing social justice and exercising social responsibility, we can build the civil society.
6:00 - 8:15 PM Dinner Atrium
6:00 - 6:30 PM Salat al Asr (Iqamah 6:15) Hall 5
7:30 - 8:00 PM Salat al Maghrib (Iqamah 7:35) Hall 5
8:15 - 10:30 PM
Session 3 Hall 4
(a) ISNA Human Dignity Award to President of Mauritius
Citation: Muzammil Siddiqi
Introduction: Rafik Beekun
Acceptance: President Cassam Uteem of Mauritius
The Award is a recognition of the many services rendered by President Cassam Uteem of Mauritius to uphold and enhance human dignity of all citizens of Mauritius including Muslims.
(b) Human Dignity: The Islamic Concept
Panelists: Jamal Badawi, Manazir Ahsan
Moderator: Dilnawaz Siddiqui
Human dignity is defined conceptually on the basis of the Qur'an and Hadith. The focus will be on the Muslim's responsibility to respect and protect the dignity and rights of all human beings in all socioeconomic and political environments.
(c) Congressman David Bonnier, House Minority Leader
10:30 -11:00 PM Salat al 'Isha (Iqamah 10:45)
Saturday, September 5
5:00 - 5:30 AM Salat al Fajr (Iqamah 5:15)
9:00 - 10:30 AM
Session 4A Hall 4
Human Dignity and the Muslim World: The Case of Pakistan and Algeria
Panelist: Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Abdelhamid Brahimi
Moderator: Muzammil Siddiqi
Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Amir (President) of Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan will speak on issue of human dignity in the Pakistani context. Abdelhamid Brahimi, former Prime Minister of Algeria, will address human dignity issues in Algeria.
Session 4B Room 263
Media and Muslims
Panelists: Maha ElGenaidi, Ibrahim Hooper, Nazir Khaja
Moderator: Saleem Bajwa
Role of the media in public opinion/policy formation is analyzed and issues such as selectivity of the mainstream media are explored. Abuse of freedom of speech and negative image of Islam/Muslims in the media and Internet are discussed, as are Muslim responses and Muslim efforts to cultivate the media. Interested participants are invited to volunteer for ISNA's media activities.
Session 4C Room 122-123 and Room 126-127
Social Services: Assessment and Delivery
Panelists: Sandra K. Rana, Farzana Hamid, Bashir Ahmad
Moderator: Abdul Basit
Muslims can play a significant role in multi-faith, nonprofit, or governmental organizations by bringing Islamic solutions to the problems faced by Muslims and non-Muslims in the communities we live in. This interaction promotes a better understanding of Islam and helps Muslims to bring Islamic teachings and practices to American society. Examples of social service issues include dysfunctional families; behavioral problems among adolescents; high divorce rate, clinical and mental health issues, Islamic perspectives in psychotherapy, work ethics, etc.
Session 4D Room 266
Models for Muslim Community Life in America
Panelists: Sulayman Nyang, Maha ElGenaidi
Moderator: Ameena Jundali
Muslim community life can be enriched by exchange and study of community experiences, and by launching a motivated effort to enhance the quality of individual and collective relationships and actions within the community, with the Islamic teaching of shura (consultation), naseeha (advice) and ta'awun (cooperation) as the bedrock. [Networking in Communities: A sample of the 'Community Calendar' on computer disks will be available upon request.]
Session 4E Room 267
Education: Raising a Generation in Dignity
Panelists: Abdalla Idris Ali, Freda Shamma, Ahmad Sakr
Moderator: Maqbool Ahmad
Knowledge is the source of dignity and confidence as it is only a knowledgeable individual who values his or her own dignity and cherishes the dignity of others. Positive and concrete steps are indicated towards the goal of providing basic education for the next generation, and eradicating illiteracy and ignorance among all.
Session 4F Room 275
Human Dignity in Action: Know Your Rights
Panelists: Nihad Awad, Kamran Memon
Moderator: Talal Sunbulli
This session will deal with the rights of individuals, organizations and communities in the US and Canada; how these rights may be violated and how to know and protect one's rights.
Session 4G Room 274
Indian Muslim Relief Committee (IMRC): Meeting
Panelists: Maulana Sirajul Hassan, TBA
Moderator: Manzoor Ghori
The experiences of Muslims living as a minority in India are discussed, with particular reference to the relief and rehabilitation work being rendered by an ISNA-affiliated American Muslim organization.
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Session 5A Hall 4
Leadership Role for Muslims towards Human Dignity, Equality and Justice
Panelist: Ramsey Clark, Sarah Flounders, Mahboob Khan
Moderator: Jamal Barzinji
The session will deal with ways and means of promoting policies and programs for freedom, peace and justice within the US and abroad. It will explore how to educate fellow Americans, American leadership and the media on these issues, foster cooperation between American Muslims and the society at large, mobilize them to support projects aimed at promoting freedom, peace and justice.
Session 5B Room 276
Elections '98: A Muslim Plan of Action
Panelists: Hesham Reda, Mujahid Ramadan, Agha Saeed, Omar Ahmad
Moderator: Shabbir Safdar
Muslim advocacy organizations are the medium through which the Muslim presence is manifested in the society at large. Each of the four organizations, Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC), American Muslim Council (AMC), American Muslim Alliance (AMA) and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), represented in this session focuses on an important area with their own vision and strategy. Panelists will discuss issues that concern and shape the Muslim presence in America.
Session 5C Room 263
Women's Role in Human Dignity Issues
Panelists: Anne Sofie Roald, Ilham Altalib
Moderator: Khadija Haffajee
Panelists will discuss models of women's role in issues related to human dignity, focusing on the Islamic model, the Western model, models among peoples of other faiths, as well as Islamic teachings on this subject.
Session 5D Room 267
Islamic Values in Mental Health Services
Panelists: Muhammad Alam, Attia Sweillam, Imat Amidjaya
Moderator: Abdul Basit
Modern psychiatry reflects Western values and culture, with major schools of psychotherapy emerging during an era of individualism. Methods and techniques developed in the West may not be suitable for treating American Muslims whose religious and socio-cultural backgrounds are quite different. Psychotherapeutic interventions must be reexamined in the light of Islamic beliefs and values.
Session 5E Room 264
Muslim Heritage in America: A Traveling Exhibition
Panelist: Ted Swigon, Tipu Ahmad
Moderator: M. Abdul Hai
ISNA has initiated work on a traveling exhibition that will bring Muslim heritage in America to American cities and communities to educate and inspire Americans of all faiths and persuasions. ISNA consultant on this project will present the work being done and solicit input, suggestions and guidance.
Session 5F Room 122-123 and Room 126-127
Minority Rights in Islamic Lands
Panelists: Jamal Badawi, Murad Hofmann
Moderator:
This session will focus on the rights of non-Muslim minorities within the framework of Islamic law and heritage, as well as the practice of such rights in contemporary Muslim societies.
Session 5G Room 261-262
Charitable Planning - Everybody Wins
Panelists: Mir M. Ali, Steve Pruiett, Curt Ferguson, David J. McDaniel
Moderator: M. Ashraf Balti
The ways and means of charitable planning; the rationale for implementing a charitable plan; the incomparable tax advantages of charitable programs; who is a candidate for charitable planning.
12:30 - 2:30 PM Lunch Atrium and concession stalls
1:45 - 2:15 PM Salat al Zuhr (Iqamah 1:45) Hall 4
2:30 - 4:00 PM
Session 6A Hall 4
Fiqh of Muslim Minorities
Panelists: Taha Jabir Alalwani, Jamal Badawi
Moderator: Dawoodur Rahman
The dignity of a Muslim is being continuously challenged in societies where they are a minority. What guidance is provided by Islamic jurisprudence in meeting some of these challenges? Is there room for ijtihad in this context?
Session 6B Room 122-123 and 126-127
Reaching Out with Dignity: Diversity and Sensitivity Training
Panelists: Ameena Jandali, Maha ElGenaidi
Moderator:
Reaching Out to Corporate Employees and Managers: 'Cultural Diversity' training is provided and in some cases, required by most companies. This seminar will teach you how to educate others about Islam. For corporations, the emphasis is on teaching sensitivity towards Muslim religious practices on the job. Reaching Out to Law Enforcement: 'Cultural Diversity' training is required for law enforcement agencies and police officers. This seminar will teach you how to incorporate training about the local Muslim community in existing diversity training programs. For law enforcement, the emphasis is on teaching protocols for interacting with Muslim individuals and institutions.
Session 6C Room 276
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Prisoners of Conscience in the US
Panelists: Michael Kennedy, Matt Piers, John Sugg, Sami Al-Arian, David
Cole
Moderator: Abdurahman Alamoudi
Legal and media experts on the panel will address issues of constitutional rights, due process, and civil liberties for Muslims and Muslim organizations. Wives of some of the Muslim prisoners of conscience in the US speak about the unfounded cases against their husbands and what has that meant for their families.
Session 6D Room 275
Human Dignity in the Workplace
Panelists: Eric Vicker, Zafar Hasan, Muhammad Nimer
Moderator: Waheed Akbar
The workplace in North America is a focal point of personal and group achievements as well as of tests and tensions in human relationships. Respect for oneself and others, and the dynamics of the workplace, are important issues for practicing Muslims. The work environment and related laws and customs will be discussed from legal and management points of view.
Session 6E Room 274
Medical Aspects of Human Dignity
Panelists: Shahid Athar, Ilham Altalib, Wahhaj Ahmad
Moderator: Azhar Ali Khan
Assisted suicide - death with dignity? The AIDS patient, genetic forecasting of future illnesses, cloning humans, patient's rights versus physician's duties, medical ethics from Nuremberg to Tuskegee. These and related issues will be discussed by Muslims physicians specializing in medical ethics.
Session 6F Room 264
How You Can Get Involved in ISNA: Field Work and Fund Raising Projects
to Take ISNA to the Next Level
Panelists: Ashfaq Lodhi, Shariq Siddiqui
Moderator: Masroor Shah
Session 6G Room 261-262
(a) Conserving Wealth through Estate Planning and Charitable Giving
(b) Investment Strategies and Socially Responsible Funds
Panelists: Nasir Shamsi, Talat Hussain, Nick Kaiser
Moderator: Khalid Bhatti
Importance of estate planning; tax law changes; value and significance of philanthropy; tax shelter trusts; charitable remainder trusts to reduce your taxes and benefit charity of your choice.
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Session 7A Hall 4
Human Dignity and US Foreign Policy:
(a) Dignity denied: 50 years of Occupation in Palestine
Panelists: Richard Curtiss, Omar Ahmad
(b) US Policy of Stranglehold on Iraq
Panelists: Ramsey Clark, Sara Flounders
Moderator: Manzoor Ghori
Practices and principles in US foreign policy that affect human dignity; changes and trends in policy making that affirmatively or adversely affect human dignity around the world. Struggle toward human dignity. Eye witness accounts of the impact of US foreign policy on human dignity abroad.
Session 7B Room 122-123 and 126-127
Struggle for Human Dignity: Unsolved Problem of Kashmir and its Impact
on Nuclearization of India and Pakistan.
Panelists: Sulayman Nyang, Mir Wayiz Umar Farouq, M. Ayub Thakur
Moderator: Ghulam Nabi Mir
Struggle for human dignity from self-determination to self-sufficiency in Kashmir. Diagnosis, etiology, treatment, and Islamic perspectives on this issue and the nuclearization of India and Pakistan.
Session 7C Room 263
Raising Muslim Daughters in America
Panelists: Syed Salman, A. Nudrat Unus
Moderator: Khurshid Qureshi
Case studies from daughter, father and mother points of view will be presented. Presentations and interactive discussion will lead to developing guidelines and an action plan. Issues that may be addressed include dress (hijab experiences), dating or absence of dating, higher education, careers for Muslim girls, search for a husband, marriage, etc.
Session 7D Room 276
The Fiqh of Everyday Living - I
Panelists: Mukhtar al Maghrawi, Jamal Badawi
Moderator: Khalid Bhatti
This is a questions and answer session with panelists who have expertise in fiqh and experience with issues that confront practicing Muslims everyday in their lives in America.
Session 7E Room 275
Muslim Count in 2000
Panelists: Ilyas Ba-Yunus, Moin Siddiqui, Ihsan Bagby
Moderator: Ishrat Z. Husain
American Muslims are growing in large numbers and may become the second largest religious group by the year 2000. However, without hard data, their strength is not recognized by the American society. The American Muslims' profile in terms of education, income, occupation, and age and sex composition should also be based on hard data. Ways to organize national and local surveys in the year 2000 will be indicated, some recent recommendations discussed, and modes of cooperation will be explored.
Session 7F Room 274
Denial of Human Dignity: (a) Homelessness in America (b) Gangs -
Prevention and Intervention
Panelists: Lorenzo Islam, Khalid A. Samad
Moderator: Kamran Memon
What is the nature and extent of the intractable problem of homelessness in the most affluent country in the world? What Muslims can do and are doing to alleviate the problem. Are there any effective solutions?
Sessions 7G Room 261-262
Estate Planning Basics
Panelists: Mir M. Ali, Steve Pruiett, Curt Ferguson, David J. McDaniel
Moderator: Abdulaleem Khandekar
Estate planning tools; minimizing the impact of probate; the power of a Power of Attorney; advantages and disadvantages of jointly held property; maximization and tax leverage use of retirement plans.
6:00 - 8:15 PM Dinner Atrium
6:00- 6:30 PM Salat al Asr (Iqamah 6:15) Hall 5
7:30 - 8:00 PM Salat al Maghrib (Iqamah 7:35) Hall 5
8:15 - 10:30 PM
Session 8 Hall 4
(a) Message from Vice President Al Gore
(b) ISNA Human Dignity Award to Dr. Necmettin Erbakan
Citation: Muzammil Siddiqi
Introduction: Ahmad Totonji
Acceptance: Necmettin Erbakan
(Acceptance speech will be delivered in Session 10)
Necmettin Erbakan led his now-banned Refah Party to electoral victory, giving Turkey a taste of Islamic democracy before he was ousted by the ultra secular military junta. The ISNA Human Dignity Award is given to Necmettin Erbakan in recognition of his service to Islam and Turkey.
(c) ISNA Distinguished Service Award to Abdalla Idris Ali and Siraj Wahhaj.
(d) Tariq Abdul Wahad, NBA player.
(e) A VISION FOR TOMORROW
Muslims in the Next Millennium
Speaker: Ambassador Murad Hofmann
Human Dignity and Cross Cultural Moral Judgments
Speaker: Professor Ali Mazrui
Moderator: Sayyid M. Syeed
Two prominent speakers from two different backgrounds and perspectives will address aspects of a vision that can guide Muslims into the future.
10:30 -11:00 PM Salat al 'Isha (Iqamah 10:45)
Sunday, September 6
5:00-5:30 AM Salat al Fajr (Iqamah 5:15)
9:00-10:30 AM
Session 9A Hall 4
ISNA Business Session and General Assembly
Chair: Muzammil Siddiqi, President of ISNA
Presentation of Annual Report and presentation of constitutional changes
and recommendations for the future.
Session 9B Room 276
Struggle for the Dignity of a Muslim Minority: A Case Study of India
Panelists: Maulana Sirajul Hasan, Syed Shahabuddin
Moderator:
Muslims in India are a unique minority, not only because of their large numbers, their deep roots, and their illustrious heritage, but also because of their potential for forging a dignified Muslim presence in a land that represents a large portion of humankind. Two distinguished Muslim leaders will present their views on the Muslim struggle for dignity in India.
Session 9C Room 122-123 and Room 126-127
Social Services: Assessment and Delivery [Repeated from Session 6A]
Panelists: Sandra K. Rana, Farzana Hamid, Bashir Ahmad
Moderator: Abdul Basit
Session 9D Room 275
The West Towards Islam: Historical, Sociological and Educational
Perspectives
Panelists: Salahuddin Malik, Ilyas Ba-Yunus, Wasiullah Khan
Moderator: Ihsan Bagby
The Western media have defined Islam and Muslims from their own perspective, often in hostile terms. However, this session will attempt to indicate our own well-deserved share in failing to define ourselves. The panelists will attempt to chart a strategic course toward solving the problem, each panelist speaking from one of sociological, historical or educational perspective.
Session 9E Room 274
Living with Dignity in Muslim Families: Marriage and Divorce
Panelists: Farida Farzana Khan, Yusuf Ziya Kavakci, M. Adam Shaikh
Moderator: Bashir Ahmad
Commitment, communication and conflict in marriage; family wellness; survival skills for husbands and wives.
Session 9F Room 263
Relief and Development for Human Dignity
Panelists: Representatives of Islamic African Relief Agency, Indian
Muslim Relief Committee, Global Relief, Benevolent Foundation, Somali Relief Fund, Holy Land Fund, Mercy International. Human Concern International, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Kashmir Relief Fund.
Moderator:
Session 9G Room 267
Islamic Calendar in North America
Panelists: S. Khalid Shaukat, Mohib Durrani, Ahmad Salameh
Moderator: Shaikh Abdur Rahman
Experts in the field of calendar and qibla determination will discuss the principles involved in evolving a unified position on these issues.
11:00 AM - 12:30PM
Session 10 Hall 4
ISNA Human Dignity Award to Necmettin Erbakan
Acceptance Speech: Necmettin Erbakan
Moderator: Ahmad Totonji
12:30 - 2:30 PM Lunch Atrium
1:45 - 2:15 PM Salat al Zuhr (Iqamah 1:45) Hall 4
2:30 - 4:00 PM
Session 11A Hall 4
Muslim for Human Dignity
Panelists: Siraj Wahhaj, Abdalla Idris Ali, Ejaz Aslam
Moderator: S. Imtiaz Ahmad
The theme of the Convention - Muslims for Human Dignity - is rich in its meanings and implications. Three Muslim leaders with three different backgrounds and perspectives will reflect on what human dignity means to them and how it is reflected in the behavior of Muslim individuals and societies.
Session 11B Room 122-123 and Room 126-127
Building Muslim Institutions for Higher Education: Why and How?
Panelists: Taha Jabir Alalwani, Kamal Hassan, Dilnawaz Siddiqui
Moderator:
Islamic grade schools for children have become an undisputed priority in the Muslim community at large. The question now is whether there is a need for special higher education institutions based on an Islamic approach to scholarship and directed to the religious and cultural sensibilities of Muslim students, specially those who graduate from Islamic grade schools. If the answer is yes, how can this be brought about within the academic and educational structure?
Session 11C Room 263
Living with Dignity in Muslim Families: Parent-Children Relationship
Panelists: Syed Akhtar Raza, Arshad Husain
Moderator: Rajab Ali
The panelists focus on parent-children relationship as guided by the Qur'an and Sunnah, and their application in the American and American Muslim context.
Session 11D Room 276
Leadership Role for Muslims towards Human Dignity, Equality and Justice
(Repeated from Session 5A)
Panelists: Sarah Flounders, Mahboob Khan, Mikail McCaren
Moderator: Jamal Barzinji
Session 11E Room 275
Update on Kosova
Panelists: Zulkarni Varder, Ferid Bedrolli
Moderator:
The tragedy of Bosnia is being revisited in Kosova, a land of absolute Muslim majority. The panelists have recently visited Kosova and are also involved in mobilizing public opinion in the United States to highlight the on-going Serb-perpetrated holocaust in Kosova.
Session 11F Room 274
Islam in Public Schools: Text and Context
Panelists: Ameena Jandali, Shabbir Mansuri
Moderator: Ashraf Sufi
Islam, in the context of world history and social sciences may be taught in the middle and high school grades of your State schools. This seminar will teach you how to present Islam in the public school system without proselytizing or infringing on separation of Church and State laws. For the schools, the emphasis is on correcting misconceptions about Islam found in textbooks, as well as bringing life to a modern, American religion.
Session 11G Room 261-262
The Advance Estate Planning (Emphasis on "O" Tax)
Panelists: Mir M. Ali, Steve Pruiett, Curt Ferguson, David J. McDaniel
Moderator: Zahid Saqib
The core of an optimum estate plan; advantages of estate reduction techniques; protecting assets from creditors; coordinating income tax savings with estate planning; matching your investments with your estate objectives.
Session 11H Room 264
Muslim law students networking - contact Najeeba Syeed and
Jonathan Miller Room 264
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Session 12A Hall 4
The Jerusalem Issue: A Symposium
Panelists: Salem Ali Salem, Kastonine Qurmush, Kamel Al-Sharif, Shaikh
Muhammad Al-Jouzou
Moderator: Abdullah Salah Al-Obeid
A panel of distinguished leaders and experts focus on the issue of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), offering historical, strategic and religio-political insights.
Session 12B Room 276
Elementary and secondary education: Strategies and Status
Panelists: Tasneema Ghazi, Abidullah Ghazi, Freda Shamma
Moderator: Muhammad Ismail
Principles and strategies in education for Muslim children in North America that will lead to an abiding respect for human dignity; status and evaluation of present and planned Islamic schools leading this effort.
Session 12C Room 122-123 and 126-127
The Fiqh of Everyday Living - II
Panelists: M. Adam Sheikh, Mukhtar al Magherawi
Moderator: M. Farooq Malik
This is a question and answer session with panelists who have expertise in fiqh and experience with issues that confront practicing Muslims everyday in their lives in America.
Session 12D Room 267
Building Muslim Economic Institutions in America
Panelists: Khalid Abdullah Tariq Al-Mansour, Pervez Naseem, Abdul Hakim
Dyer, Zafar Hasan
Moderator: M. Yaqub Mirza
Panelists will discuss pioneering efforts in building economic institutions that form the foundation of a strong and stable community. Housing loans, leasing options, insurance coverage and other financial needs will be discussed.
Session 12E Room 275
Conflict Resolution in the Muslim Community
Panelists: Ghulam Bakkali, Mustafa Carrel
Moderator: Zafar Hasan
Muslim communities across America are faced with conflicts that can be managed and resolved through proper communication and negotiation techniques and procedures. In addition a system of arbitration can enable Muslims to resolve their conflicts and put the force of law behind such resolution.
Session 12F Room 264
How You Can Get Involved in ISNA: Field Work and Fund Raising Projects
to Take ISNA to the Next Level
Panelists: Ashfaq Lodhi, Shariq Siddiqui
Moderator: S. Tariq Akhtar
Session 12G Room 274
Presenting Islam to the West: Enhancing Human Dignity
Panelists: H. Zulqarnain, S. Amir Ali, Irfan Khan
Moderator: Atef Hardin
Panelists will discuss strategies of effectively presenting Islam to non-Muslims in various situations and contexts. Recent accomplishments in this area and future opportunities will be discussed.
6:00 - 8:15 PM Dinner Atrium
6:00- 6:30 PM Salat al Asr (Iqamah 6:15) Hall 5
7:30 - 8:00 PM Salat al Maghrib (Iqamah 7:35) Hall 5
8:15 - 10:30 PM
Session 13 Hall 4
Muslim Youth: Role Models of Human Dignity
Panelists: Siraj Wahhaj, Amina Chaudhry, Asad Ba-Yunus
Moderator: Abed El-Mannan Alo
Muslim youth in America are destined to promote human dignity for all in all walks of life. They are expected to be role models in their personal and community lives for the society around them.
Entertainment
10:30 -11:00 PM Salat al 'Isha (Iqamah 10:45)
Monday, September 7
5:00-5:30 AM Salat al Fajr (Iqamah 5:15)
9:00 - 10:30 AM
Session 14A
Survival of Islam in America: Coordination
Panelists: Representatives of major Islamic communities
Moderator: Sayyid M. Syeed
10:45 AM - 12:00 Noon
Session 15A
Where do We Go From Here?
Panelists: Muzammil Siddiqi, Sayyid M. Syeed
Moderator: Iqbal Unus
Islamic Society of North America
P O Box 38, Plainfield, IN 46168
Tel (317) 839-8157, Fax (317)839-1840
E-Mail:[email protected]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIM: This article about the Islamic School of Pasadena first appeared on Pipeline News
http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=rabinowitzschools%2Ehtm
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1169
School for Shar'ia : Islamist School Wins Dept of Education Blue Ribbon for Excellence Award
October 20, 2005
Islamist School Wins Dept of Education Award
By Beila Rabinowitz, Militant Islam Monitor
http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=rabinowitzschools%2Ehtm
October 20, 20005 - Philadelphia, PA - PipeLineNews.org - Jihad through Da'wa [conversion of non-Muslims] in the form of domestic Islamic education has gotten a boost from an unlikely source, the U.S. government.
The administration has just presented the New Horizons Islamic School in Pasadena, California the United States Department of Education's "Blue Ribbon for Excellence" award.
This first ever award to a Muslim school appears to validate the predictions which cleric Yusuf Qaradawi made a decade ago, at a Muslim Youth conference in Ohio.
"...Some countries will fall to the armed Islamic jihad, but in others, such as the United States, victory will come through Da'wa - the teaching of Islam to non-Muslims - which will trigger Westerners to convert to Islam 'in droves.' We will conquer America not by the sword but by Da'wa."
Qawadari has since been banned from the U.S. due to his terror connections, but his vision of Da'wa transforming America into a United States of Allah, is reflected in the curriculum used in schools like that of New Horizons and as developed by affiliates such as ISNA [The Islamic Society of North America]. the BIAE [The Board of Islamic and Arabic Education] and the UK based IBERR [International Board for Education Research and Resources].
The BIAE, based in Los Angeles - which plans the curriculum of the New Horizons School together with the Islamic Center of Southern California even offers an Islamized version of the Pledge of Alliance on their website. It begins with the phrase - "As an American Muslim I pledge alliance to ALLAH and his Prophet." http://www.biae.net/pledge.html
Another component of the Wahhabist funded domestic Islamic educational network is The Islamic Schools League, the mission of which reflects the role of Islamic education inculcating the fard [religious obligation] to convert non-Muslims to Islam.
"For the League, the success of Islamic schools is not an option; it is a must. Our vision is achievable. Our mission requires that we all work together in support of Islamic schools. Ultimately this service is to Allah (swt)."
The Da'wa agenda is also promoted by the Bureau for Islamic and Arabic Education (BIAE), which "aims to increase the impact of Islam on the daily life of both Muslims and non-Muslims everywhere."
As the curriculum provider for the Islamic School of Pasadena, the BIAE underscores the conflict of interests between Islamic education, and the goals of the US Department of Education. The latter insisting that, "schools singled out for national honors will now reflect the goals of our nation's new education reforms for high standards and accountability." This begs the question as to who will be held accountable for the decision to present an award to an Islamist school which aims to replace the Constitution with shari'a. http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html
The clash between the Islamo-fascist weltanschauung of the Islamic school enterprise in the U.S. and the ideals of American education is evident in the activities of Amina Al Sarraf [a consultant and author of textbooks and syllabi for Islamic schools] who serves as the interim principal of the Islamic School of Pasadena.
Most recently Al Sarraf spoke to ISNA [Islamic Society of North America] a Wahhabist Da'wa front.
ISNA is the foremost distributor of Islamist educational materials in North America. ISNA is the founder of the New Horizons schools such as the one lead by Al Sarraf - both in North America and abroad.
A recent report by Freedom House - "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques" highlighted the dangers posed by Wahhabist publications because they incite hatred and ultimately
promote violence in the United States. http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/news/bn2005/bn-2005-01-28.htm
ISNA's lead role in this activity is beyond doubt.
Without challenging Freedom House's main finding, ISNA merely criticized the report as "misleading." ISNA's executive director Louay Safi, who runs their "Educational Leadership Program," is a founder and board member of several other Islamist organizations such as the IIIT, whose offices were raided during the Virginia based Operation Greenquest crackdown on terror funding . http://www.isna.net/index.php?id=35&backPID=1&tt_news=361
This year's ISNA speakers were predominantly radical Islamists, and included the North American spokesman of Al Muhajiroun - Kamran Bokhari.
Noted Middle East authority, Dr. Daniel Pipes called Al Muhajiroun, " the most extremist group operating in the West today." The group's leader and founder, Omar Bakri Mohammed recently fled the UK after being linked to the London bombings. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1693739,00.html
In addition to ISNA, New Horizons is affiliated with both the Board of Islamic and Arabic Education , and the Islamic Center of Southern California.
ISNA and the BIAE clothe their Da'wa aims in candy-coated aspirin - "to be a source of enlightenment [and] to increase the impact of Islam on the daily life of both Muslims and non- Muslims everywhere."
The New Horizons curriculum was developed in conjunction with the Islamic Center of Southern California , which then designated the BIAE to create the curriculum.
"The ICSC is lead by Imam Muzzamil Siddiqui, former ISNA president, and influential Islamic cleric. Siddiqui instructs Muslims to interact with non-Muslims on the premise that "every non Muslim is a potential Muslim", which is the quintessential expression of Da'wa."
Siddiqui's latest "conversion success story" involves former ICSC congregant Adam Gadahn who was last seen with his face covered in a kaffiyeh, on an Al Qaeda videotape threatening bloody attacks on the United States.
As a consultant New Horizons' principal Al Sarraf has helped write Islamic elementary schools textbooks which are published in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, under the supervision and financing, of IBERR, the International Board of Educational Research.
IBERR's treasurer and chairman is Yusuf Islam. IBERR plans Islamic syllabi and curriculum for Sharia schools.
Yusuf Islam [the former Cat Stevens] has been linked to terror funding and was denied entry into the US in 2004 on the grounds that he posed a threat to national security.
Islam's IBERR works closely with New Horizons Schools both in the US and abroad.
In 2001 Yusuf Islam attended a meeting together with the heads of several California Islamic Schools - including the New Horizon School.
Ameena Al Sarraf participated in a curriculum, syllabi, and textbook planning session in California together with Muzammil Siddiqui and other radical Islamists.
Plans to broadcast Islamic programs via satellite to the schools have been in discussion with funding provided by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
A 2002 report on an IBERR meeting in the UK lists Amira Al Sarraf as part of their textbook editorial group .Another member of this writing group was Ameenah Bilal Philips.
Phillips is an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, who called "Saudi missionary" Gulshair Shukrijumah - the father of dirty bomber wannabe Adnan Shukrijumah - his mentor.
Phillips, himself a convert to Islam, is considered a leading Islamic educator. He also worked closely with former American Muslim Council [AMC] president Abdulrahman Alamoudi.
Almoudi was jailed for 23 years on terrorism charges.
Philips led a program - organized by Alamoudi - which was used as a "cultural information" course that distributed Wahhabist propaganda and resulted in the conversion of scores of American soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia to Islam.
On his personal website Philips responded to a question about execution 'etiquette' according to the Koran. http://www.bilalphilips.com/qa/d_000003.htm
"We were instructed to carry out the cutting of hands or heads, stoning people to death, lashing, etc. in public and the greatest gathering of Muslims, excluding the two Eids and Hajj, is on Fridays public executions do keep crime levels down (in Saudi Arabia), and that is a fact."
Of Amira Al Sarraf ISNA touts:
" will travel to Washington, D.C. in November to receive the award from the Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, at an awards ceremony attended by the other private schools recognized with this honor. At the ceremony New Horizon will receive a flag and a plaque signifying its Blue Ribbon status."
If the United States Department of Education's intent is to encourage schools to develop curricula which promotes the "goals of the nation's new educational reforms," we suggest that making awards to Islamist schools immediately cease.
Rather, the Dept. of Education must turn a critical eye towards Islamic schools in the United States, shutting those down who because of their fundamentalist teachings resemble madrassas.
To do otherwise could ultimately lead to violence against all non-Muslims.
Instead of presenting the ISNA backed Pasadena's New Horizons Islamic School with a Blue Ribbon award, the United States Department of Education should be asking the Senate Finance Committee - which listed ISNA as a group which "promotes and finances terrorism" - about the implications of this schools association with it.
A new generation of ISNA modeled students - indoctrinated from an early age in the importance of establishing an American caliphate - is emerging from schools like New Horizon, where previously one had to look to Pakistan for similar models.
Failure on the part of the Department of Education to exercise due diligence - rescinding New Horizon's award - will mean that Wahhabism has become legitimized as the template for future Islamic education in North America
----------------------
PDF] Convention Program
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
FINAL version of the MSA Program throughout the weekend during sessions ...
10:30 12:00 am. ISNA/MSA/MYNA Brothers Ball Tourney. Convention Center ...
www.isna.net/uploads/media/ 2005Convention-Program-Final.pdf -
Registrant Bureau of Islamic and Arabic Education Fatima Jack Wael Merz 434 S. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90020 U Email: [email protected] Registrar Name....: REGISTER.COM, INC. Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com Registrar Homepage: www.register.com Domain Name: biae.net Created on..............: Fri, Jan 05, 2001 Expires on..............: Fri, Jan 05, 2007 Record last updated on..: Wed, Sep 28, 2005 Administrative Contact Bureau of Islamic Education Fatima Jack 434 S. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90020 U Phone: (213)382-5140 Email: [email protected] Technical Contact Register.Com Domain Registrar 575 8th Avenue 11th Floor New York, NY 10018 U Phone: 1-902-7492701 Email: [email protected] DNS Server ns26a.sbc-webhosting.com ns26b.sbc-webhosting.com Register your domain name at http://www.register.com | ||||
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Path: ...!news01.aud.alcatel.com!gatech!howland.erols.net!agate!nntpfeed.doc.ic.ac.uk!sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk!willow.cc.kcl.ac.uk!bay.cc.kcl.ac.uk!udee740
|From: udee...@bay.cc.kcl.ac.uk (MAARUF ALI)
|Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
|Subject: Establishing Islam in the West - Conf.
|Date: 16 Jun 97 11:52:09 BST
|Organization: Kings College London
|Lines: 44
|Message-ID: <1997Jun16.115...@bay.cc.kcl.ac.uk>
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|
|Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
|As-salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Muslimoon
|
|
|The 6th International Da'wah Conference - Establishing Islam in the West
|------------------------------------------------------------------------
| In the Way of the Pious Predecessors
|
| Friday 22nd - Monday 25th August, 1997 (Bank Holiday Weekend)
| Leicester University, United Kingdom
|
|The Issues: The Foundation and Principles of Unity
| Love and Hate for the Sake of Allah
| Fiqh, Schools of Thought and Taqleed (Blind Following)
| Priorities of Bearing the Message
| Marriage and Family
| Islamic Education in the West
| Character of a Muslim
| Charity, Prayer, Jihad, Tawakkul,
| Death & the Hereafter, Self Reliance
| Means for Da'wah, Rights & Duties for Men and Women
|
|The Scholars:
| Saudi Arabia: Abdur-Rahman ad-Damishkiyyah, Shaikh Hamood Ashemimry
| UAE: Shaikh Mahmud Atiyyah, Sh. Hashim ar-Rifa'ee
| Dubai: Shaikh Bilal Phillips, Shaikh Salim al-Amiri
| Egypt: Shaikh Ahmad Fareed
| Yemen: Shaikh Abul-Hasan
| USA: Shaikh Jamal al-Din Zarabozo, Sh. Ali Timimi, Sh. Abu Muslimah
| UK: Shaikh Abdul-Hadi, Sh. Sharif Ahmed, Dr. Noibi, Sh. Yusuf Islam
|
|Men, Women and Children are all Welcome!
|Register Early as Places are Limited.
|
|To obtain registration forms and programmes, or for further information,
|contact:
| P.O. Box 24, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 8ED, U.K.
| Tel/Fax: +44-(0)1473 251578
|
|Organised by Jam'iat Ihyaa' Minhaaj Al-Sunna (Charity No.1060695).
|
|As-salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, Muslimoon,
|Maaruf Ali.
|
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