alfurqan.us 2005 - 2012
SPECIAL THANKS I would like to extend my gratitude to a few people who worked untiringly with me on this report. Thank you to Director Alfurqan Naimah Ahmad Sahiba for her guidance and support; Qudsia Shafaq Lone for compiling much of the report; and Aysha Khan for volunteering her designing and editing skills. May Allah bless you all for your dedication.
- Amatus Shakoor Khan, Director Publications Alfurqan
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA HUZOOR’S GUIDANCE
Hudhur (aba) writes: “Your fax has been recieved that Taleem-ul-Qur’an is arranging 12 weekly classes for teaching the Holy Qur’an. Mash’Allah. May Allah enable more and more Jama’at members to take benefit from these classes. Still the number of participants in these classes is very low and needs to be increased. You should try that more people attend the classes and learn the Holy Qur’an through these classes. May Allah give you the best reward and bless your efforts and make them fruitful. Ameen.”
BELOVED HUZOOR’S PRAYERS
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA
alfurqan.us
Holy Qur’an Distance Learning Website
mission statement To serve as the best online resource for Holy Qur’an learning in the light of divine guidance provided to Promised Messiah (as) and his Khulafa by motivating and enabling Jama’at members using modern technology accessible to all.
our goals: • To infuse hearts with love of the Holy Qur’an, and motivate learning; • To enable learning the recitation, memorization, translation, and commentary of the Holy Qur’an through the internet; • To multiply above efforts manifold by producing capable teachers.
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA origins Alfurqan was born of a telephone conference call service set up by respected Fakhar Ahmad Khalifa sahib in 2005 for Jama`at members in Silicon Valley, California, to teach the translation of the Holy Qur’an. Its purpose was to include those Jama`at members who, due to long commute, could not participate in the classes held at the mosque. Soon this telephone conference class was joined by Jama`at members living in the east coast as well. To facilitate this class, a special telephone conferencing system was installed in the Baitul Baseer Mosque, integrated with the mosque’s PA system. Soon after, the Jama’at realized that there was a much greater need for long distance learning in Jama`at USA, and so, with guidance from National Secretary Taleemul Qur’an and Waqfe Arzhi, respected Dr. Zaheeruddin Mansoor Ahmad sahib, a team was designated to develop an online learning solution for the US Jama`at. The project was named Al-Furqan and a website was registered with the domain name alfurqan.us.
The present day Alfurqan has grown out from the initial seeds planted by those humble efforts to teach the Holy Qur’an via conference calls from the Baitul Baseer Mosque. Today more than 48 online classes are being conducted through this distance learning system with students and teachers from USA and around the globe. It is an achievement, which humbles us even more and makes us ever grateful to Allah the Exalted. We must continue our prayers and efforts and tend to this sapling so it grows into the strong tree that it must become if it is to fulfill the actual and immense mission of reformation set before our Jama’at.
alfurqan.us
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA timeline 2005: The Holy Qur’an Distance Learning effort was launched as a phone based conference call system for teaching Holy Qur’an to students, remotely. 2007: The website understandquran.org was launched and a web conferencing system was introduced for teaching Holy Qur’an in August. During the same year, move was made to professional paid services of Adobe Connect and HiDef Conferencing as web interfaces with Skype as the audio conferencing system. 2008: Tajweed classes started from Qadian on trial basis in August 2008. The website www.alfurqan.us was launched with “Moodle” as the Course Management System in December 2008. 2009: A second online teaching room was added in June 2009. 2010: As per instructions of Hadhrat Khalifatul Massih V (may Allah strengthen his hands) recitation classes from Qadian were started, taught by Qari Nawab Ahmad Rana sahib. In the same year, classes were added to accommodate students from Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Asian countries, however it proved difficult to maintain this endeavor. 2011: HiDef and Adobe Connect Pro were replaced with 2 bridges of Cisco WebEx Meeting Center which has: • Integrated audio and web conferencing services • Maximum capacity of 25 participants per session per bridge • Integration of Cisco WebEx with Moodle • Improved process of recording classes • Improved quality of class recordings Lajna DIM DIM bridge was also replaced with Cisco WebEx Meeting Center with maximum capacity of 8 participants and integration with Moodle.
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA Alfurqan Features • Web address: http://www.alfurqan.us • Built on Moodle, a professional, open source, distance learning software • Requires one-time user registration on the Alfurqan System • Lists and categorizes all available courses • Enables course enrollment (open, as well as password-protected) • Provides schedule of ongoing classes through Google Calendar • Allows participation in live online classes through WebEx • Enables interactive classes, allowing real-time communication between students and teacher • Records classes, archiving lecture audio plus presentation slides for students • Allows for attendance records, communication via forums, and access to user data
Lajna Bridge • Bridge dedicated exclusively to teaching Holy Quran online to Lajna USA • Alfurqan team provides full technical support to Lajna Bridge • Began with 12 classes per week, with 40 classes currently running • Includes classes from teachers in Qadian and Rabwah
Faculty
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA
Consists of a dedicated group of scholars and experts in field, including: • Graduates of Jamia Ahmadiyya (Qadian and Rabwah), • Hifz School Qadian, • USA based Arabic Language schools, • Women’s Jamia in Indonesia, and • Arabic language graduates from other schools.
OUR Support
The Alfurqan administrative team consists of dedicated volunteers of Jama’at who humbly offer countless hours of service, relying on Allah’s support, especially through the prayers of our beloved Imam Hadhrat Mirza Alfurqan has offered classes taught by professors of Jamia Ahmadiyya Masroor Ahmad (may Allah strengthen his hands), to carry on this humble Rabwah since November 2011. The immense popularity of these online yet ambitious endeavor. classes is an indication of the skill of our Jama’at scholars. Over 45 teachers were produced through the very system of Alfurqan and The goals of Alfurqan are only but a subset of goals of Jama’at Ahmadiare now serving after becoming certified. Many more teachers are on the yya. Thus to meet these mutual goals, Alfurqan needs support from each way, Alhamdolillah -- a clear sign of Almighty Allah’s grace helping Aland every Jama’at president in the following aspects: furqan achieve its goals. 1. To motivate their membership with help of local Taleem-ul-Qur’an secretaries 2. To provide coordinators from local chapters to work with the Alfurqan team
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA Dr. Hameed Naseem Sahib Professor Hameed Naseem Sahib has been teaching several basic and advanced translation classes. He learned to read the Holy Qur’an in Qadian from his mother and later studied its meaning from various Deeniyyat (Religious Education) teachers at Talimul Islam High School. He also took lessons in Arabic grammar from Hadhrat Abdur Rahman Jatt Sahib (ra) in Qadian. Dr. Naseem studied Arabic at the King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Arkansas, where he completed a three year program that included classical Arabic grammar and pre-Islamic poetry. Professor Hameed Naseem finished his B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics before joining Va Tech for his Ph.D. in Engineering Science. He has been teaching at the University of Arkansas for the past 26 years where he teaches electrical engineering.
Syed Lutful Mannan Sahib Syed Lutful Mannan Sahib is serving Alfruqan as a teacher for the past two years. He holds degrees both in Engineering and English Literature. Pursuing personal interests, he has studied literature from various languages while working in the telecommunications industry for 38 years in Africa. He is devoted to the in-depth study of the Holy Qur’an through various commentaries as well as to the writings of the Promised Messiahas. He is teaching advanced level Holy Qur’an translation and commentary. These classes have taken the form of study circles due to great interest shown by Jama’at members. Alhamdolillah.
Samina Noor Sahiba Samina Noor Sahiba has been teaching BRBO3, one of our basic recitation classes, since 2009. She is also a student in our translation and hifz classes. By the grace of Allah, she has memorized the first and last 30th parts of the Qur’an. Samina Noor Sahiba learned the Holy Qur’an from Fazl-e-Umar School Rabwah during her stay from 1968-1976. She has a Master’s Degree in physics from Punjab University Pakistan. After serveing as a physics teacher in F.G. Margallah College Islamabad, Pakistan for 7years, she moved to US in 1996. She is actively involved in her local community as well as the Jama’at.
Hafiz Masroor Ahmad Sahib Hafiz Masroor Ahmad Sahib has been teaching Quran memorization class. He completed Hifz-e-Quran from Madrassa-tul-Hifz, Rabwah and studied at Jamia Ahmadiyya, Rabwah. He received certification for completing a Tajweed and Qira’at course from Darul-Tajweed-Wal-Quran, Sialkot. He served as a teacher in Madrasatul-Hifz, Rabwah for 8 years. He has been the murabbi silsila (missionary) of Nazarat Taleemul Quran Rabwah since 2008, and has been a teacher of Taleem-ul-Quran and Tajweed-ul-Quran training courses. Hafiz Masroor Ahmad has also been blessed with the opportunity to record the tilawat of the entire Holy Quran for MTA, and of some parts of the Holy Quran for alislam.org
alfurqan.us
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA
offered courses Course Categories
For All
lajna bridge
For All
Projects and Practice Classes
06 03 08 03 04 02 01
06 05 07 02 01 00 00
12 08 15 05 05 02 01
Total Classes Offered
27
21
48
Basic Recitation, beginner level Basic Recitation, intermediate level Advance Recitation Basic Translation Advance Translation Holy Qur’an Memorization (Hifz)
Curriculum Curriculum is delivered at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Classes focus on: • Recitation • Comprehension • Translation: simple, verse by verse • Translation: word by word, with Arabic grammar • Commentary: deeper understanding in light of commentaries by the Promised Messiah (as) and his Khulafa • Memorization
paid classes With Hudhur’s permission, Alfurqan also offers students paid Qur’an classes, managed by Brother Qudratullah Ayaz Sahib. This service is provided in association with Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an and Waqfe Arzhi. This report’s data only includes free Alfurqan classes.
www.alquranmilwaukee.com 200 students are learning Holy Qur’an through this source. 30 Ahmadi qualified teachers from Qadian and Rabwah are providing these oneto-one lectures online.
alfurqan.us
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA dept. meeting 2012 The annual TaQWA department meeting took place on March 10, 2012 at Bait-urRahman mosque in Silver Spring, MD. These photos include Dr. Ahsanullah Zafar, Ameer Jama’at USA; Imam Naseem Mahdi, Missionary-in-Charge & Naib Ameer Jama’at USA; Dr. Zaheeruddin Mansoor Ahmad; National Secretary Taleem-ul-
Qur’an and Waqfe Ardhi USA; Dr. Faheem Younus, Secretary Taleem USA.
nov 2011 attendance percentages
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA
may 2012 attendance percentages
alfurqan.us
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA
alfurqan members regional data Regions Central East Midwest Mid Northeast Northeast Northwest South South Midwest Southeast Southwest West Midwest Upstate Northeast Other in USA Other Countries Total
certified teachers 9 4 4 1 3 8 1 10 2 42
teaching online 6 1 4 2 3 1 5 22
registered members 272 57 120 67 90 138 39 97 28 103 80 550 259 1900
achievements
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA
• Distance learning, which started as a phone based system, moved to an ever improving online system with integrated audio and real time studentteacher interaction • 45 Lajna members have been certified to teach recitation of the Holy Quran as of May 15, 2012 • Student enrollment has increased from 587 students in November 2011 to 810 students in May 2012 • Attendance on average improved from 240 students to 456 students in above mentioned period • In addition to completion of other courses, 30 students have graduated from classes with professors of Jamia Ahmadiyyah Rabwah from November to April, 2012 • Annual Meeting of the Department of Taleem-ul-Qur’an and Waqfe Aarzi, held in March 2012 organized by the Alfurqan team. Distant participants from Jamia Ahmadiyya Rabwah attended online through Alfurqan’s WebEx bridge. This meeting helps team members realize Department’s goals while providing motivation for future
publications Publications department is involved in designing certificates awarded to accomplished teachers and students. A number of promotional material is developed as needed, including: • Flyers to be distributed at jamaat evets • Inserts for the Ahmadiyya Gazette USA • Banners and giveaways for Jalsa Salana USA • Informational powerpoint presentations A regular column in Ahmadiyya Gazette about Holy Quran has recently been started. Alhamdolillah. Teacher interviews will also be published soon, to familiarize Jama`at members with the Alfurqan faculty.
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA MAJOR CHALLENGES • Attendance • To increase enrollment, especially male participation • To improve attendance through awareness and better class scheduling • Technical Support • To improve the website: to make it more user friendly and efficient • To maintain website administration • Training • To train instructors on system use • To train students on system use • To train new administrative staff
volunteers needed We need volunteers with the following skill sets: • Computer Skills (General) For operational, development, and system administration tasks • IT Skills IT professionals with programming skills for open source web based projects • Management Skills For managing, organizing and designing courses, assisting instructors, and coordinating with students • Promotional Skills Motivational Speakers for promoting www.alfurqan.us to the membership to motivate more individuals to learn Holy Qur’an online Skilled English and Urdu writers for various promotional and website improvement tasks • Designing Skills • To design promotional material for various events • To design interfaces, graphics and banners • To improve the website design
alfurqan.us
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA department hierarchy
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA Dr. Zaheeruddin Mansoor Ahmad. National Secretary Taleem-ul-Qur’an and Waqfe Ardhi USA. Annual Department meeting, March 2012
Department Meeting Alfurqan organizes the annual meeting for the TaQWA Department, held to discuss and plan tasks ahead in Baitur Rahman mosque. The meeting is presided over by Dr. Ahsanullah Zafar, Ameer Jama’at USA. Volunteers meet at Jalsa Salana as well.
Awais Butt Alfurqan IT Director
alfurqan.us Fakhar Ahmad Khalifa Director Alfurqan Dept. Meeting- April 2011
National Department Meeting, April 2011
Department Meeting held at Jalsa Salana USA, July 2011
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA ALFURQAN TEAM Amatul Bari Nasir, Advisor Publication/Translation/Reporting Amatus Shakoor Khan, Director Publications, Baltimore Aqsa Muqqaddas Malik, Event Assistant Awais Butt, Director IT Beenish Malik, Associate Director IT & Publication Bibi Surrii, Advisor Fakhar Khalifah, Advisor Kaleem Bhatti, Event Photographer Madiha Malik, Graphic Designer Maleeha Talat Mannan, Graphic Designer Mirza Salim Ahmad, Admin Assistant Muhammad Azeem Qureshi, Event Inventory Manager, York Mubashara Bhatti, Mass Media Communication Nadeem Ahmad, Administration Nadia Khan, Administration & Media Nai’mah Ahmad, Director Alfurqan Qudsia Shafaq Lone, Translation/Reporting Quratulain Rafiq, Administration Rafiaa Luqman, Alfurqan Stall Saba Khan, Assistant Director IT Salman Sajid, Mentor Shahmah Malik, WebEx Tester/Course Admin , Laurel Shaima Ahmad, Logistics/Adminsitration Sheheryar Ahmad, Audio/Visual, Seattle Sulman Mirza, Online Help Desk Lead Syed Lutfi Mannan, Publication Tirzah Khan, Publication, Baltimore
Tooba Mirza, Graphic Designer Yasir Mirza, Graphic Designer Nouman Ahmad Wajiha Ahmad Omar Shahid
Dept. of Taleem-ul-Qur’an & Waqf-e-Ardhi, Jama’at Ahmadiyya, USA FACULTY Afia Qureshi, Course Admin, York Amatul Ahmad, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Silicon Valley Amatul Hamid Munira, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Philadelphia Amatul Kafi Malik, Teacher/Ameen mentor, Silver Spring Amatul Karim Nusrat, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, San Jose Amatul Mateen Ahmad, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Philadelphia Amatul Noor Tahir, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Silicon Valley Amatus Shakoor Khan, Course Admin/Director Publication, Baltimore Aziza Ali, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Cleveland Bushra Jamil, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Houston South Bushra Zaratash Malik, Washington DC Bushra Zulfiqar, Teacher/Course/Ameen Mentor, South Virginia Fazilat Malik, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Chicago East Fizza Tariq, Course Admin, Washington DC Husna Ahmad, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Austin Ikha Siddiqah Mansoor, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, LA West Jamila Butt, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Chicago East Maryam Bhatti, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Columbus Mubashara Ahmad, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Hartford Mubashara Bhatti, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, York Mufleha Ahmad, Course Designer/Teacher, Potomac Nai’mah Ahmad, Director Alfurqan, Austin Nighat Nasreen, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Austin Nurjamilah Bahri, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Chicago West Nusrat Shareef Ahmad, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Chicago East Qudsia Ahmad, Course Admin, Potomac Qudsia Shafaq Lone, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Detroit Quratulain Rafiq, Teacher/Scheduling, Richmond
Rashida Monin Hamid, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Queens New York Rehana Shaheen Mohammad, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, South Virginia Raazia Riffat, Course Admin, Oshkosh Sadiqa Hayee, Course Admin, Washington DC Samina Noor, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Chicago West Shahida Arain, Teacher/Ameen Mentor/Course Designer, North Jersey Shahma Malik, Course Admin, Laurel Shazia Cheema, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, New Orleans Sobia Choudhry, Course Admin, South Virginia Sumera Atta, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Chicago West Umerana Malik, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Research Triangle Uzma Dur I Samin Waqar, Teacher/Ameen Mentor, Seattle Wajeeha Kamran, Course Admin, Fort Worth Zuna Ahmad, Syllabus/Course Designer, Central Virginia Samina Ajaz, Zion Aminurrahman Chaudhry, Teacher, Rabwah Hafiz Burhan Muhammad Khan, Teacher, Rabwah Hafiz Masroor Ahmad, Teacher, Rabwah Qari Mubarak Ali, Rabwah Hameed Naseem, Director Translation (English) /Teacher, Tulsa Imtiyaz Rajayki , Teacher, Philadelphia Mirza Mahmood Ahmad, Director/Teacher Basic Recitation, Columbus Naeem Ullah, Teacher, Philadelphia Qari Nawab Rana, Teacher, Qadian Sheheryar Ahmad, Teacher/Director Audio Visual, Seattle Syed Lutful Mannan, Teacher/Publication, Willingboro Umair Ahmed, Teacher, Oshkosh
alfurqan.us 2005 - 2012