Muslim Voice January 2015

Muslim Voice ARIZONA

January 2015

rabi al awal / rabi al thani 1436H

Monthly Newspaper

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Vol.20 Issue No. 221

US Muslim Pioneer Passes Away

merican Muslim leader and interfaith pioneer Dr Maher Hathout passed away on Saturday, January 3, at the age of 79, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) announced the loss of the Muslim world.

“Dr. Maher Hathout was a leader for Islam and for humanity, a voice for the voiceless, a patriot, a poet, a physician, a friend and a family man.

He made an indelible impression on everyone he met,” MPAC said in a statement.

Hathout, 79, died Saturday at City of Hope hospital in Duarte of cancer, said Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

For more than three decades, Hathout was a volunteer at the Islamic Center of Southern California as Chairman and Spokesperson and helped found its youth movement. He helped cofound the MPAC in 1988.

“He revolutionized the place,” AlMarayati said.

At the Islamic Center, one of the nation’s most influential mosques, Hathout ensured that women be fully welcomed and that all speeches at the center be made in English.

He also stipulated that critical thinking about the faith was an obligation.

“Dr. Hathout believed that American Muslims would contribute to America by practicing the Islamic values of mercy, equity and justice,” MPAC statement said.

“He moved many of us from darkness to light and he wanted all of us to discover the power in the Quran’s message to do the same for others.”

As the war on Iraq raged in 1991, he joined with a rabbi and a priest to create the Religious Coalition Against The War in the Middle East.

In 2013, he authored the MPAC’s “Declaration Against Extremism” and at the 2014 convention made a speech entitled “Extremism: Wrong Policy and Corrupt Ideology.”

Bridge Builder Dr. Hathout was nationally and internationally respected as a pioneering advocate for American Muslim empowerment and outreach to other faith communities.

“To God we belong and to Him we return,” Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net.

“Dr. Hathout, through his tireless community service and visionary leadership, serves as a model for the American Muslim

Continued on page 4

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Terms used in this paper Alhamdulilah: Praise God Allah: Arabic word for God Fatwa: Islamic decision based on Shari’a Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Mohammad Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca Halal: Allowed in Islam Halaqa: Group study Haram: Prohibited in Islam Hijab: Head cover for women Hijra: Migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Madina Imam: Islamic scholar Iman: Faith Inshallah: God willing Madina: City near Mecca in Saudia Arabia Masjid: Place were Muslims gather for prayer and studies Mecca: City in Saudi Arabia where Prophet Mohammad was born Pbuh: Peace be upon him Quran: Islam’s Holy book Shahadah: Is saying “I accept Allah as the one God and Mohammad as his messenger” when someone accepts Islam.

Sharia’: Islamic law Shura: A council of Muslim scholars (SWT) Subhanahu Watala: Praise be to Allah Taqwa: God consciousness

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US Muslims Conclude MAS-ICNA Convention

CHICAGO – Hosting widely sought-after international speakers over the past weekend, the 13th MAS-ICNA Convention c o n c l u d e d a n o t h e r successful season which united thousands of American Muslims under one roof.

The annual convention of the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) was held from December 25-29.

More than 15,000 Muslims from across the United States and Canada huddled together at McCormick Place in Chicago, known as the nation’s largest convention center.

The number has increased from only 500 attendants who appeared at the first convention that followed 9/11 twin tower attacks.

This year’s theme of the fiveday convention, which wrapped up on December 29, was “Faith, Compass for Life.”

This year’s speakers include an impressive list of worldrenowned scholars and speakers such as Muslim thinker Tariq

Ramadan, Shaykh Nouman Ali Khan, Shaykh Zias Shakir, Omar Suleiman and Dr. Jamal Badawi.

Speakers also included, sister Kristiane Backer, sister Muslema Purmul, Dr. Aminah McCloud, sister Lobna Mulla, sister Karen Danielson and US fencing champ Ibtihaj Muhammad.

The activities included artistic performances, exhibitions, business meetings, Qur’an recitation contest and exhibition.

ICNA is one of the largest, non-profit, grassroots Muslim organizations in North America with many projects, programs, and activities designed to help in reforming society at large.

Since 1968, ICNA has worked to build relations b e t w e e n communities by devoting itself to education, outreach, social services and relief efforts.

The United States is home to a Muslim minority of between six to eight million.

A US survey has also revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.

Last year, Gain Peace, a Chicagobased Muslim outreach group, launched a public and television campaign to clear long-held misconceptions about Islam.

ICNA has also launched a campaign to educate Americans about Shari`ah and dispel wrong perceptions about it.

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Minnesota Muslims Want Police Protection ST. CLOUD – A leading US Muslim rights group has urged police authorities to provide protection for the Muslim community in Minnesota’s St. Cloud, following repeated attacks on the city’s Islamic center.

The demand, made by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations, followed an attack last Monday on the Central Minnesota Islamic Center on Fourth Avenue South, SC Times reported on Wednesday, December 17.

A broken window was reported to St. Cloud police Monday night, in the fourth incident of damage at the Islamic center in the past month.

Lori Saroya, executive director of CAIR-MN, urged community leaders to use safety measures outlined in a CAIR booklet “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety,” which was published in response to previous attacks on American mosques.

“The community leaders feel empowered, they feel like they know what their legal rights are,” she said.

“And it helps build a relationship with law enforcement” so that if there is an incident, that it’s reported and that it’s investigated as a potential hate incident.

Saroya added they expect a flare up of such attacks, as a result of the rise of the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) which led to stigmatizing Muslims in the west.

“We formed in 2007. Every year, we see more and more of these cases,” she said.

Since 2010, every new mosque project in Minnesota has faced community opposition, Saroya said, which can lead to safety

concerns once a mosque is built.

CAIR’s booklet, called “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety”, was published

The mosque incident is not the first in St. Cloud.

Earlier this month, CAIR called on federal law enforcement

in 2007 in response to previous attacks on American mosques, The guidelines are designed to be used by mosque officials, Muslim school administrators and other community leaders and activists who seek to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities to bias-motivated attacks.

Support On the other hand, police officials stressed that they were paying due attention to recent attacks.

“I would never say no to collaboration with any of our community agencies,” said Police Chief Blair Anderson.

“I appreciate what it is they’re doing. But it’s what we do all day, every day. We spend a lot of time in the protection business.”

authorities to investigate incidents at two St. Cloud mosques as hate crimes.

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Last month, the group sought similar investigation of an incident in a St. Paul neighborhood.

St. Cloud police previously had asked for the public’s help in investigating reports of damage at local Islamic centers, including broken windshields on vehicles parked outside.

Anderson said Wednesday investigators don’t have any solid proof the incidents are connected.

“It’s as unsettling to us as it is to all the people in this community,” he said.

“As I say often, our presence is our greatest tool.”

Meanwhile, Saroya urged the Muslim leaders in St. Cloud Islamic center to install security cameras as a first step towards fighting these attacks.

The cameras were expected to be funded with the whole community, not just the Muslim minority.

“It’s not just the Muslim community,” she said.

“There are far more people that come out in support and want to help and feel horrible about what happened.”

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Kennesaw Allows Awaited Mosque KENNESAW – Following long debates, the Kennesaw City Council approved an Islamic center to open in a retail center in a suburban Atlanta city, Georgia, reversing an earlier decision to deny the request.

and focus on all the great things happening in Kennesaw.”

As the voting process went on, some 20 protesters stood outside City Hall,

Dallas resident Danielle Longamore supports the mosque and said she thinks the protesters represent a minority.

“This is not life and death. We’ve been living in this neighborhood for 15 years. Have you ever seen us getting into trouble? No,” Kashif Islam, the brother of Kennesaw resident Mufti Islam who made the request, told MDJ Online on Monday evening, December 15.

All across the US, home to 7-8 million Muslims, mosques have been facing fierce opposition recently.

At least 18 mosque projects — from Mississippi to Wisconsin — have found foes who battle to stop them from seeing light citing different pretexts, including traffic concerns and fear of terrorism.

Mathews said Monday’s vote will allow the mosque to operate in the retail center without stipulations for 24 months.

Monday’s vote reversed an earlier vote in December in which the mosque was rejected by 4-1 vote.

The mosque will be the first in Kennesaw, a city of 30,000 residents about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Councilwoman Cris Eaton-Welsh, the sole vote in favor of the permit at that meeting, said Monday she was “glad we can move forward

Kamaral Hosein, a supporter of the mosque and a Muslim, said he was proud of the council’s decision to change the vote.

“This is a victory not only for the mosque and Muslims, but for the whole community as a whole,” Hosein said.

Mayor Mark Mathews attended Monday meeting which saw a unanimous 5-0 vote to allow the new prayer center.

“It was a fairly unusual experience for us, but I think we’ve taken action,” Mathews said.

people say ‘yes,’” El-Amin said, nodding toward the council inside City Hall, “all of this doesn’t matter.”

holding signs with the words “Ban Islam” and “No Mosque” and waving American flags.

Residents of Kennesaw apologized for protesters actions.

“It broke my heart to see them treated this way,” Holly Lacour, a Kennesaw resident, said.

“I identify as an atheist, but I support all rights to religious freedom. My neighborhood is very diverse, and that’s how I want my city to be.”

Welcoming the council’s decision, Khalid El-Amin, a supporter of the mosque, said he wasn’t bothered by the protesters.

“They have the same right to protest as we do. And, as long as the right

community and for all Americans who seek a society based on justice, tolerance and mutual understanding.”

“Dr. Hathout inspired generations of American Muslims to serve their nation through positive civic engagement and interfaith outreach,” said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush.

“His leadership and intellectual contributions to the American Muslim community will be missed.”

Building bridges between faiths, Dr Hathout teamed with some of the region’s most powerful Jewish and Christian leaders on a variety of social justice campaigns against the spread of nuclear weapons and US-led wars in Kuwait and Iraq.

“He was a voice of moderation,” the Rev. George Regas, former pastor at All Saints Episcopal church in Pasadena, told LA Times.

“The strongest voice speaking out against what the terrorists were trying to say. He stood up and said radicalism of all stripes is [a] dangerous, destructive type of thinking.”

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In multicultural New York, a proposed mosque near Ground Zero site has snowballed into a national public and political debate, with opponents arguing that the Muslim building would be an insult to the memory of the 9/11 victims.

Advocates, however, say that the mosque would send a message of tolerance in 9/11-post America.

US Muslim Pioneer Passes Away

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“I don’t think that group of people really represents Kennesaw as a whole because of their unwillingness to talk and their stubbornness,” Longamore said.

Even more, some mosques were vandalized including a 2011 Wichita mosque arson case for which a $5,000 reward is being offered.

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Born in Cairo, Egypt, on Jan. 1, 1936, Hathout moved to Buffalo, New York, after finishing medical school and then to Los Angeles.

He is the first Muslim to give the invocation prayer at a national political convention, when he blessed the Democratic convention in 2000 in Los Angeles.

He spoke with presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush about improving relations with the Muslim world and authored books that undermined Islamic justification for terrorism.

He was the recipient of many awards, including the George Regas Courageous Peacemaker Award, the Lifetime Service Award form the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the South Coast Interfaith Council Award for his lifelong commitment to interfaith work, and Los Angeles County’s John Allen Buggs Award for excellence in human relations, Los Angeles Times reported.

Hathout was also a full-time cardiologist, and is survived by his wife, Dr. Ragaa Hathout, his children, Gasser and Samer, and four grandchildren.

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Minnesota Faiths Support Muslims ST. CLOUD – Religious and community leaders of Minnesota’s St. Cloud-area have raced to show solidarity with the religious minority, after a spate of vandalism attacks at the Central Minnesota Islamic Center.

“We stand in solidarity with our Muslim neighbors and their leaders against this vandalism and we want to clearly say there is no way that this vandalism can be justified in the name of Jesus Christ, or of the Christian faith,” read a statement by Rev. Steve Cook, the former president of the Great River Interfaith Partnership (GRIP), SC Times reported.

Earlier this month, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on federal law enforcement authorities to investigate incidents at two St. Cloud mosques as hate crimes.

The latest attack happened on December 15 when a broken window was reported to St. Cloud police.

The attack followed a series of incidents of vandalism which targeted the same mosque since November, highlighting an unprecedented anti-Muslim sentiment in Minnesota.

These attacks left Muslim

community and center leader worried about their safety, according to Ahmed Abdi, the secretary of the Islamic center.

can lead to safety concerns once a mosque is built, CAIR warned.

Support

“This building is a symbol of this community,” center spokesman Mohamoud Mohamed said.

“The community has no value if it cannot show a symbol of freedom.”

Undertaking investigations, police officials stressed that they were paying more attention due to recent attacks.

Since 2010, every new mosque project in Minnesota has faced community opposition, which

Seeking support from the greater community, ST. Cloud Muslim leaders have organized Sunday’s meeting that was attended by nearly 25 community members.

“We invited you to give some validity,” community member and organizer Abdul Kulane said.

“We called you because we know you care.”

Pointing to previous anti-Muslims incidents in the city, Rev. Randy

Johnson, the associate pastor at First United Methodist Church, stressed that “it’s a small minority that’s causing the damage”.

“We stood with you then,” he said. “We are not going to allow those voices to speak for our community.”

The messages of solidarity have been greatly appreciated by the leader of Minnesota Muslim community.

“Even though the motive of the individuals doing this is not yet known, the pattern is a concern to us to a point where our congregation feared for their own safety,” Imam Muhumed Ahmed said.

US Muslims, estimated at between seven to eight million, have been sensing hostility since 9/11 attacks.

All across the US, mosques have been facing fierce opposition recently.

In the last five years, there has been “anti-mosque activity” in more than half of the US states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The US has enacted a federal law in 2000 that meant to prevent zoning laws from discriminating against religious institutions.

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Psychological Scars Ruin Torture Victims’ Life Depression, anxiety, personality shifts, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts sum up the psychological scars that mar the life of torture victims, who fail to restore their self-control after months of torture, psychologists warned.

“We lost hope. We gave everything, every decision, to others, to decide for you,” Jabuli, a torture victim who endured seven months in a torture chamber in a central African country, told the Guardian.

“Everything you want, you let the other person decide,” Jabuli, not his real name, added.

Jabuli is one of CIA torture victims who still find it difficult to restore his life ten years after being released.

Having lost all safety once before, he prefers crowded public spaces that make it difficult for his tormentors to reappear and kidnap him again.

“You live with the fear that the people who tortured you may come back to torture you again,”

he said, “regardless of if you are in a safe country.”

His agonies were a result of experiencing a chilling process of torture referenced in the US Senate intelligence committee’s

psychologists Bruce Jessen and James Mitchell, means that torturers break down an individual’s self-control, until he or she is emotionally and psychologically unequipped to

report into CIA torture as “learned helplessness”.

The CIA’s torture program, planned by contractor

disobey.

Learned helplessness is a term attributed to a 1972 paper by the psychologist Martin Seligman who noticed a longterm behavioral impact on dogs subjected to electric shocks.

“Uncontrollable” traumas bred “passivity in the face of traumatic events, inability to learn that responding is effective, and emotional stress in animals, and possibly depression in man,” Seligman wrote.

According to psychologists, recovering from learned helplessness is an arduous process which can last a lifetime, if it succeeds at all.

“You become a passive person,” Jabuli said.

No Recovery As the outrage over CIA torture fades away, victims’ lives seem to be ruined forever.

According to William Hopkins, a consulting psychiatrist for the UK-based survivor medical network Freedom From Torture, many victims of waterboarding develop extreme hydrophobia.

“One guy told me, ‘I cannot go in water, I cannot go for a swim, I cannot let my head go underwater again, that’s too terrifying, that will bring back the memories,’” Hopkins said.

Years after his waterboarding, Hopkins’s patient couldn’t bear to “pull a jumper over [his] head.

He used a cloth to bathe himself,

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as taking a typical bath or shower was unbearable.”

Polly Rossdale, who runs the human-rights group Reprieve’s initiative to help released Guantánamo detainees, warned that the stigma they face after release was a huge problem for many detainees.

“The stigma is huge,” Rossdale said, particularly for Guantánamo detainees.

“Even in places that have significant Muslim populations, where they may have experienced some degree of discrimination themselves, they don’t want to be tarred with the same brush, they don’t want people to think, ‘Oh, Muslim equals terrorists.’ The stigma is huge, and that’s very difficult for men to overcome,” Rossdale said.

However difficult it is for torture survivors to live their lives after captivity, it is much harder for torture survivors who remain detained.

Out of 39 men tortured by the CIA, over a dozen were still detained in Guantanamo.

Vincent Iacopino, an internist with Physicians for Human Rights, said torture survivors still in captivity required trusted medical staff for their conditions to improve.

“They’re viewed as the enemy of the detainees. They’re people who, as far as they’re concerned, participated in their abuse.

There’s really not an opportunity for [Guantánamo detainees] to receive a therapeutic environment,” Iacopino said.

“The combination of continuing to be detained, having been tortured, and not having health professionals to be helpful almost precludes the possibility of healing,” he added.

Torture said he doubts he will ever again be the person he was before torture.

“There’s still something missing.

I’m still struggling to properly understand, and to build a life,” he said.

Going in the first trip to see his family a decade after the beginning of his ordeal, Jabuil said that talking to other survivors has helped him heal.

“If I don’t do anything, then the people who torture me have won. What they did was silence me. That’s what they wanted to do,” he said.

OPINION

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January 2015

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Somali’s Must Learn to Compromise and Approach A Middle Ground In Order for Rebuild the Country By: Mohamud Shalab

Firstly, I’d like to wish you all a happy new year.

I hope for peace and stability in order of the world to become a better place to live for everyone, without terrorism, piracy, and prejudice.

The progress in Somalia over the last decade or so is certainly admirable especially in the last year. On September 16th of 2013, The New Deal conference hosted by the European Union took place. Many did not know if it would benefit Somalia in anyway, since it entailed welcoming the international community’s financial support.

The New Deal conference outlined a three-year plan to improve safety and security in Somalia, and initiated a renewed partnership between the international community and Somalia’s federal government, the parliament, regional

administrations, as well as the general public.

This agreement was of great importance because aside from the positive effect it would have on the country, it also served as a test to see how proficient and competent the government and the President were.

As a follow up, on November 20th, 2014, at a two-day High level Partnership Forum on Somalia, international Donors gathered to outline priorities for future efforts as done in the New Deal Conference.

During the gathering, 56 delegations praised Somalia’s political and security progress and Commemorated president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and former prime minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed for their many achievements since the New Deal conference.

Though Abdiweli Ahmed is not in office anymore, his efforts and contributions to the country as a whole, can certainly not be ignored. This man was a

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conspicuous Prime Minister; he upheld his title with finesse.

I truly admire him. Despite Abdiweli Ahmed’s falling out with the President, I still believe he has a future in Somali politics.

With that being said, looking at the situation objectively I can understand why he had to be voted out of office. The newly appointed Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid has experience in the field and is very capable, however he has a lot of work ahead of him and has large shoes to fill, I wish him the best of luck.

It is easy for the public to criticize the government and the president but one must acknowledge that they are faced with daily challenges that many of us would not be able to overcome. It is important to stay united as a people and be patient. One cannot critique a president effectively if he is still in office, so folks need to discontinue with the judgment calls and instead look at his term in office when it comes to an end. Then you can completely see where his successes and failures

were.

Somalia’s recovery will not happen over night, it will take small steps over a period of time. The steps taken may not seem significant at the time but only when we look at the bigger picture in the end will we see their true value.

This month, Ahmed Ali Dahir, the attorney general of Somalia visited Phoenix, AZ, USA; my home of sixteen years. The whole community welcomed him with open arms. I learned that we share very similar views about Somalia. He is a very intellectual man and has confidence in the government and the president.

He believes that Vision 2016 is a top priority for the government.

Ahmed Ali Dahir is an articulate man, and he is very rational. Dahir mentioned that the government foresees many obstacles in the future, we, as a nation must come together and show our support.

As we all know too well, united we stand, divided we falls.

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Our New Year Resolutions

By Lolita V.Jefferson Ed.D Now, at the threshold of a Lunar calender New Year, we may do well to form some resolutions. They say that all changes in society begin with our thoughts: thoughts which are translated into actions; and actions repeated over time form our character.

Building sound character is the route toward betting a better society.

Managing time.....

Any attempt to change must begin with managing time.

Since time is the essence of life, how we spend time makes all the difference between life lived well, or life wasted.

Imam Shafi said, “Time is a double-edged sword; if you don’t handle it well, it can cut you.” Allah stresses the importance of time in the Qur’an: “By flight of time, humans are losers except those who cherish faith, and do good works, and exhort one another for truth and exhort one another to practice patience.”

(Qur’an: 103) The mu’azzin who calls us to prayer also reminds us of the value of time. One of the members of the Salaf said, “Pray as if it could be the last prayer of your life.”

Prayer should thus serve as a stark reminder of the reality of life: for no one knows when his date with death will be. It is hidden from us for a reason: Allah wants us to exercise vigilance.

Priorities As life is transient and every second of it is flowing into the hereafter, we need to use our time to achieve realistic goals chosen based on priorities. The priorities for those who are conscious of the hereafter differ from those who do not believe in it. The fact, however, is that we often go with the flow around us, oblivious of the fact that we will stand before the Lord for the Final Reckoning.

Our priorities should begin in the morning. We would do well to remind ourselves of the Prophetic motto, “When the

morning comes, don’t think you will be alive until evening”;and “Make use of health to complete the tasks you will not be able to do in case you become sick; make use of life to prepare for your death.”

It is crucial for us to organize our goals based on three priorities: maintaining health, mind and soul. Maintaining proper health requires steps to be physically fit as well as taking preventive measures.

In this culture of drug saturation, we depend on solely on medications to take care of our health. Studies after studies show that we would do well to trust the age-old wisdom of prevention and a healthy life-style. This would require self- restraint; watching what we eat, daily walking, curbing stress, developing a spiritual mindset, and giving and receiving love.

As for developing the mind, we can never over emphasise the importance of seeking knowledge. However, since life is short, we need to prioritize our time and focus on gaining that knowledge which is most beneficial. Let the prayer of the Prophet be our guide: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that profits not, and a heart that feels no reverence for You!” Although there is a virtual explosion of knowledge, the door is wide open for misinformation and distortion parading as authentic knowledge. Ibn Sirin said, “Knowledge of religion is religion; so, be careful of the source.” In other words, we cannot stress enough the importance of making a distinction between knowledge from authentic sources and that which is not.

As for nurturing the soul, it should occupy the highest priority for us since our spiritual soul is the seat of wisdom, faith, and means of salvation.

When it comes to nurturing the soul, the prescribed religious duties should be the starting point. It is not enough however, to perfom them as rituals; we must bring a heart that melts in the hands of religion. Hasan al-Basari said, “We stand before Allah twice: First, when we stand to pray, and the second, we are called to account for

our deeds. If we take care of standing here, our standing before Him in the hereafter will be taken care of. ”We need to go beyond just performing religious duties to devoting time to doing good deeds. We are reminded that we have opportunities all around us to be charitable, kind and make a difference in the life around us.

This is the best way to welcome the day and focus on achieving meaningful goals.

Family Family is the foundation of society. It is where we prepare ourselves to practice giving and receiving love. A stable family is dependent on spouses treating each other as part of themselves. This recognition that marriage is all about the union of souls is the Quranic foundation of a happy marriage. Giving and sharing love should be reflected in our daily interaction with our spouses, children, and parents.

We are to pray, “Lord, grant us joy in our spouses and children, and make us role models for those who are God-conscious.”

Community A stable family needs a strong community. A strong community cannot be taken for granted. It requires that each one of us takes personal responsibility to build it.

Our responsibility towards the community rests with individuals who fill their own niche.

The Prophet said, “Let each one of you choose for himself or herself a niche to fill.”

Building the community is not the responsibility of the chosen few who control the governing board or council, or lead prayers or preach. Rather, it rests with each member of the community.

Each one should fulfill their own responsibility by contributing what he can towards the betterment of the community. All of the above require consistency to succeed, which is integral for righteous living. The Prophet - who was undoubtedly the most successful leader in history - stressed this when he said, “Allah loves nothing more than our consistency in good works.”

This is because one’s character is formed through consistent actions.

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

CALENDAR / ANNOUNCEMENTS

Phoenix Prayer Times

January 2015

9

Directions to the Islamic Cultural Center Cemetery

From the Islamic Cultural Center (ICC):

ISLAMIC WEEKEND SCHOOLS Islamic Community Center of Phoenix: Islamic Cultural Center: Muslim Community Mosque: Masjid Omar ICNEV Weekend Islamic School

ACA Weekend School Sultan Education in Chandler Greenway Islamic Academy

Sunday at 9:45 am-1:20 pm.

Sunday at 10:00 am Sunday at 10:00 am until 2:30 pm.

Saturday & Sunday from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm.

Tel: (480) 346-2081Classes held on Sunday K thru’ grade 12 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Sunday 10:00 am-1:15 pm. www.azacademy.org/weekend Saturdays & Sundays - children/adults 480-593-7066 Tajweed, Islamic Studies, & Arabic Language 602-565-0500

1) Go South on Forest to University Drive. Turn right.

2) Go West on University to the I-10 highway.

Take I-10 East.

3) Proceed on I-10 East (~12 Miles). Exit at Queen Creek Rd. (EXIT #164).

4) Turn right on route 347 South. Proceed for about 14 miles.

5) Turn right on route 238 West. Proceed for about 8.7 miles.

6) Turn right on unnamed/unpaved street after you see the street sign which reads “36 miles” and proceed to the cemetery.

IN CASE OF DEATH • Call Sandy at Angel’s Burial, at 480-962-6435 • Total cost is $1,800.00

Check our website for up to date information www.tempemasjid.com ISLAMIC CENTERS IN ARIZONA

PHOENIX Arizona Cultural Academy 7810 S. 42nd Pl. • Phoenix 602-454-1222 Islamic Center of Arizona 9032 N. 9th St. • Phoenix

Islamic Center of N. Phoenix 13246 N. 23rd Ave. 85029 602-371-3440 Islamic Comnty Ctr of Phx 7516 N. Black Canyon Hwy. Phoenix • 602-249-0496 Muslim Community Mosque 1818 N. 32nd St. • Phoenix 602-306-4959 Masjid Al-Rahmah 2645 E. McDowell Rd. • Phoenix 602-275-5493 Masjid Muhammad Ibn Abdullah

5648 N. 15th ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85015 602-413-5279

Al Rasoul Mosque 5302 N. 35th Ave. • Phoenix 602-864-1817

CHANDLER Masjid AsSalam 1071 N. Alma School Rd.• Chandler 480-250-7522

PEORIA Greenway Islamic Center 6724 West Greenway • Peoria, Islamic Center of East Valley AZ www.greenwaymasjid.com 425 N. Alma School Dr. • Chandler TEMPE 602-388-9900 Islamic Comnty Ctr of Tempe LAVEEN 131 E. 6th Street • Tempe 480-894-6070 Islamic Center of Laveen P.O. Box 1107 • Laveen Masjid Al Mahdi 602-361-4401 1016 S. River Dr. • Tempe MARICOPA 480-557-9699 Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah Masjid Omar Bin Al-Khattab 44370 W. Arizona Ave. Maricopa Arizona 85138 6225 S.McClintock • Tempe contact# (602)312-7913 480-775-6627 MESA Masjid-el-Noor 55 N. Matlock • Mesa 480-644-0074 SCOTTSDALE Islamic Center of N.E. Valley 12125 E. Via Linda • Scottsdale 480-612-4044

CASA GRANDE Masjid Sajda is located c/o: The Legacy Suites 540 North Cacheris Court Casa Grande`, Arizona 85122 480.332.8618

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