ISNA MATTERS
Reimagine and Rebuild with Renewed Resolve ISNA holds 58th Convention virtually BY RASHEED RABBI
Front Row (sitting): Mukhtar Ahmad, Sandra Moore, Azhar Azeez, Safaa Zarzour, Basharat Saleem, Magda Elkadi Saleh, Malika Khan, Lubabah Abdullah Back Row (standing): Shayan Bawaney, Fiyyaz Jaat, Alaa Abdeldaiem, Anjum Khan, Tabasum Ahmad, Mauminah Raina
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espite the lack of the traditional bedecked convention halls, enthusiasm and warm welcome for the speakers, ISNA 58th annual — and second virtual — convention, creativity and resilience were on full display over the Labor Day weekend. The 3,000+ registered attendees enjoyed 81 speakers, 20+ sessions and entertainment from the comfort of their remote locations. They all reflected collectively on reimagining an ideal future and therefore shared tools and insights to achieve that notional vision. Qari Ghafur Farid’s beautiful recitation of 42:24-26 instantly infused a strong urge to be sincere in our religious life and manifest it into everyday action. In every session, we’re compelled to contemplate and devise an effective strategy to defeat Covid-19’s adversities, along with pre-Covid complacencies, as we move forward. Such a religious pursuit in worldly resolution is part of ISNA’s almost six-decade
legacy. Safa Zarzour (president, ISNA), Magda Elkadi Saleh (vice president, ISNA-US), Mohammed Jalaluddin (vice president, ISNA Canada), Affan Badar (chair, Convention Program Committee) and Basharat Saleem (executive director, ISNA) highlighted some of the events and contributions. It was moderated by Azhar Azeez (treasurer; a past ISNA president), who also eulogized Founders Club members Dr. Farooq Selod and Dr. Husain Nagamia, who passed away this year Dignitaries and guests from across the world testified to ISNA’s history of service via their messages. Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison and Rep. Rashida Talib (D-Mich.) lauded ISNA’s initiatives amidst the pandemic and invited everyone to work with the new administration to rebuild the U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) underlined ISNA’s accommodation of diversity, which was reinforced by Cedric Levan Richmond
8 ISLAMIC HORIZONS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
(senior advisor to the president and director, the White House Office of Public Engagement). Richmond listed Dilawar Syed (deputy administrator, the Small Business Administration, and the highest-ranking Muslim American in any federal agency ever); Zahid Quraishi, the first Muslim federal judge; and Rashad Hussain, the first Muslim American nominated to be the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona applauded ISNA’s commitments, which are fully aligned with President Biden’s vision of a new U.S., and urged all students to uphold diversity, unity and mutual respect. Indiana state senator Fady Qaddoura (D) reminded us that this country’s colorful narrative teaches us to confront new challenges to ensure equal treatment for all by rebuilding a more united U.S. Marium Hussain (president, IMANA) shared the organization’s top achievements to support that collective vision. Mufti Ekrima Sa’id Sabri (khateeb, al-Aqsa) affirmed that al-Aqsa is a shared space for both Palestine and Israel, a very timely statement meant to alleviate the tension that reappeared earlier this year. Thus, the scope of convention’s theme of reimagination encompasses the entire planet, of which we are God’s vicegerents (2:30). Plenary Session 1A, following immediately after the opening sessions and moderated by Fawad Yaqoob, delved into that reimagination: “Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know” (2:216). Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi's quoting of this verse lit that light of hope. He discussed 17 benefits, documented in ‘Izz al-Din ‘Abd al-‘Aziz’s (d. 1262) scholarship, to become receptive to that light and harness the hope. Tamara Gray shared the stories of the
