IT’S A COMMUNITY THING LMInspire.com
LMInspire Newsletter
Issue 2 | Dec 2008/Jan 2009
Inside: InspiringCommunity InspiringBusiness InspiringStory InspiringDialogue InspiringLifestyle InspiringEvents InspiringProject
Picture of Masjid Noor from Gordon House Tower Block in Highfields. Photo © Shakir Cadir
Celebration of Sacrifice
Eid Sale
Once again, the great celebration for Muslims has arrived - Eid-ul-Adha (Celebration of Sacrifice). Also known as the Greater Eid, it is the 2nd most important festival in the Muslim calendar. It marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah. It takes
place on the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Muslim calendar. The Hajj is the Fifth pillar of Islam and therefore a very important part of our faith. All physically fit Muslims who can afford it should make the visit to continue on page 2
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Inspiring Events IDA Annual Conference Date: Saturday 17th January 2009
continue from page 1
Makkah, in Saudi Arabia, at least once in their lives. Every year more than 2 million Muslims
Time: 5:45pm Venue: Islamic Da’wah Academy
converge on Makkah. They visit the Ka’bah,
Annual Gathering for Sisters Date: Sunday 18th January 2009
and Isma’il (Ishmael, Peace be upon him) at the
Time: 1:30pm Venue: Islamic Da’wah Academy
History of Masjid Al Aqsa Based on Quran and Hadith Date: Starting 19th January 2009 Time: Every Mon. 6.30–7.30pm for 6 Weeks. By: Br Ismail Patel Venue: Friends of Al Aqsa, 113 Gwendolen Road, Leicester. Entry: FREE. Brothers and Sisters Welcome. Limited places. To register email with your details to: info@aqsa.org.uk
FREE Courses Date: From January 2009 Courses: Mehndi, Cake Decorating, Computing, Beauty Tips, Flower Arranging, Dress Making, Indian Cooking, Soap Making and Curtain Making. Enrol: MKA Community Centre is now enrolling for free taster Courses Contact: For more information and for Hall booking enquiries please contact MKA Community Centre, 1 Connaught St, Leicester LE2 1FJ. Tel: 0116 2210010
Are you organising an event? Or know of any event that’s coming up in your area? Would you like us to publicise it for FREE? email: community@lminspire.com
built by Ibrahim (Abraham, Peace be upon him) command of Allah. Eid-ul-Adha starts with Muslims going to the Mosque for prayers, dressed in their best clothes, and thanking Allah for all the blessings they have received. Eid-ul-Adha celebrates the occasion when Allah spoke to Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma’il (Peace be upon him) as an act of obedience to God. The devil tempted Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) was about to sacrifice his son, Allah intervened: instead Allah provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice a sheep (alternatively a goat or cow can be used), as a reminder of Ibrahim’s (Peace be upon him) obedience to Allah. The meat is shared out with family and friends, as well as the poorer members of the community.
QURBANI APPEAL
Every Muslim who can afford to buy an animal is required to make Qurbani. Please donate generously Cow - £160 • Goat - £50 • Sheep - £40
Registered Charity No. 1125287
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Contact: Abul Qasim Fund Mohammed Bakar Miah M: 078321978366 Email: info@abulqasimfund.co.uk
www.abulqasimfund.co.uk 100% donation No deduction Bank: HSBC • Sort Code: 40-30-24 • Acc No: 72578972
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Inspiring Dialogue
Together One World Week at Beauchamp College
Sunday 26th October saw the first event of its kind to mark One World Week – ‘Together’, an inter-faith fair organised collectively by the faith communities of Oadby. It was a historic day, blasting misconceptions of conflicting interests between people of faith. In fact, faith was a key element which united the communities together for one purpose. Christian Aid
g in action
Face Paintin
One of the event organisers said: “I wanted to show people that having a faith doesn’t mean that you can’t make a positive contribution to your society. Being a Muslim, much of the publicity I see about my religion is negative – about terrorism and violence. I wanted to show people that this is not true and Islam encourages its followers to appreciate everyone.”
Judaism stall Islamic Relief
Sikhism stall
Hinduism stall
Guests had the chance to try out mendhi, face painting, air brush tattoos, Arabic calligraphy, African drumming, Jewish and Nishar dancing as well as the opportunity to dine in our very r Trade! know about Fai own Fair Trade café! Entrance was a weenie 50p All you need to or a can of beans to go towards food packages for asylum seekers. In the centre of the event, faith groups involved were invited to put up a table, forming the ‘faith info desk pentagon’ where all were able to learn a little about the fundamentals of each faith. All in all, it was a fantastic day with a brilliant atmosphere and we hope this was just the first of many more to come!
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Inspiring Health
It’s that time of year again!
Zaahira Kidy
Registered Dietitian
Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust
B
arfi, gilebi, gulab jamun, samosa’s, all the favourite treats that we love to eat on those special occasions that are so eagerly awaited all year round. Well now comes the time for Eid and no doubt mums are in the kitchen busy preparing those mouth watering dishes that we all love so much: extra ghee, extra sugar, extra cream – that’s what makes it tasty, ‘no one can beat mums cooking’ type of sweet. But where does it all go? And what is the result? 10, 20 or maybe even 2 years down the line and we go to the doctor for a routine check-up and hear those all
now!
k Did you
ore times m tion is 5 la u p o p e ian nd h art South As iabetes a d m o fr tion?? suffer l popula likely to e genera th n a th disease
too familiar words: “Well Mr Patel, from your test results it looks like you have diabetes”. For some it may come as a shock, while for others unfortunately it’s something all too familiar because “ma has it, dada has it, bhai has it and even jubi masi’s 17 year old behta has it”. Its so sad but so true – these health problems are getting more and more common. But are we doing anything to save our children from these life threatening conditions? High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease; the list goes on and on and on. It’s as if everyone you speak to has or knows someone who has at least one of these conditions. This Eid we need to make a change. This Eid we need to try something different. Let this be an Eid where we promise to help our children lead better, healthier and fuller lives. It’s simple… but it’s us who make it difficult. Make the change and see the difference.
Gentle Science for Muslim Women
The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science), the Muslim Women’s Association and the Shama Women’s Centre are working together to plan a programme which gently explores science and explains how it can be used to help Muslim Women and their families. This is the Programme for December 2008 to February 2009.
Genetics in everyday life 5 December 2008 by Heena Patel
Health Asian Cookery 2 Jan 2009 by Zaahira Kidy
Well-being 6 Feb 2009 by Kamini Karia
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Humour Yes! My in-laws On one beautiful sunny afternoon on a quite weekend, a couple went out for a drive to a countryside. On the way, the wife saw some cows grazing on a field and said to her husband “relative of your’s?” The husband replied, “Yes, my in-laws!”
Win FREE gifts Email us your funny story/ joke. The best one to be published in the next issue will receive FREE gift. community@lminspire.com
Time All events will be held 10:00 – 13:00.
Venue & More Info Shama Women’s Centre 39-45, Sparkenhoe Street Leicester, LE2 0TD
Tel: (0116) 251 4747
Inspiring Business LMInspire talks to Farzana Potter, founder of
Fuzzy Fitness Ltd
W
ithin a short time of moving into Leicester Farzana Potter has managed to establish her own fast growing business – Fuzzy Fitness Ltd that helps women maintain a healthy lifestyle. LMInspire takes a closer look at how Farzana Potter tapped into this rapidly growing niche industry. Since childhood Farzana always had a knack for sports and aerobics. She was amongst the best in her class and always had a sporty edge. Farzana took the initiative to equip herself with all the necessary qualifications and skills to become a Personal Training Health Instructor. In the process, she has gained a YMCA Diploma in Personal Training, passed the CRB check, has the license and insurance to continue with her business. She enjoys the sessions and looks forward to meeting women from all walks of life and different communities, as it is a means of dawah through interaction and respecting people’s needs and requirements. It hasn’t always been easy for Farzana, she’s had to put in a lot of effort and sacrifice into the business however with the support of her family she’s managed to bring the business forward to where it is. She’s now planning to get her own studio in a suitable location for the community members with adequate parking. Currently training Women and Children, but, due to high number of enquiries she’s receiving she also intends to establish regular classes for men with a male instructor. Apart from being a fitness trainer Farzana is also a qualified Herballife Nutrition Consultant.
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LMInspire talks to Suleman Nagdi about
Inspiring Communities
The Federation Of Muslim Organisations T
he Federation Of Muslim Organisations or FMO - famous for it’s Radio Ramadhan over the past few years is actually 26 years years old believe it or not! It is an umbrella organisation of Mosques and Muslim organisations and currently has approximately 186 members. It has elected positions which are voted in every two years by the members and governed by the constitution of the organisation. As a non-political and non-sectarian body it aims to provide the means of cooperation for all Muslim organisations, communities, institutions and projects within the county of Leicestershire.
FMO Main tasks involve: 1 Being the voice of the Muslim community 2 Effectively representing them at various levels through sub-committees created such as the following: a Public Relations Officer - working with mass media locally and nationally b Interfaith dialogue and network c Local and central government d Police Liaison officer - an independent person concerned with recruitment, national security and advising senior police officers e Health and social welfare f Women’s committee e Youth committee f Education g Madressah Project
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These are just some of the work the Federation does. Most brothers and sisters working for FMO are volunteers apart from specific posts where funding has been sought for specific projects. Though FMO is an umbrella organisation, it has now evolved into a grass roots organisation where quite often it becomes the first point of contact for anyone seeking clarification upon a certain issue. They now have an office at 99 Melbourne Road where Insha’Allah it will soon become a drop in centre as a focal point to signpost people to the particular organisation.
There are many challenges that lie ahead for the Muslim community: 1 Media - the anti-Islamic sentiments are strong and need to responded to 2 Government policy - where Muslims and other ethnic minorities seem to be disadvantaged 3 Career and job prospects - Improving our own social well being 4 Fear of a siege mentality amongst Muslims - which is counter productive as it hinders Muslims to contribute towards society 5 Economic crises where the minority community get blamed for all the problems. 6 Climate change which has an impact on migration patterns and natural resources Muslims should learn from history and win the heart and minds of everyone and legally take what is rightfully theirs There are no federal bodies like FMO in other parts of the country (with different sectors within the community that unites everyone to become the ideal citizen) and as such many can learn from this. There is a saying “To catch flies one needs to use honey not viniger.” Suleman Nagdi is the Public Relations Officer for FMO
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Inspiring Story
Inspiring Project
“How did you Radio Hajj know I was here?” The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.... He prayed feverishly for Allah to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “Allah how could you do this to me!” he cried. (Comment; Plenty of people use such statement --- think again you should never
question Allah nor object to his willing) Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied. It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because Allah is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember,next time your little hut is burning to the ground–it just may be a smoke signal that summons The Grace of Allah.
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Radio Hajj 2008 from 3rd December to 30th December 08, 24 hours a day
on 87.7 FM frequency
Radio Hajj (Leicester) - an idea which was thought of by two graduates of Darul Uloom Leicester, Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf Hansrot and Shaykh Nagib Khan, under the supervision of their Principal ,Molana Ismail Patel Sahib, initiated the momentous task. As it is crucial that the Hajj theme and Islamic Programs be supervised and handled by Qualified Ulema (to ensure that the general public are provided with the authentic teachings of Hajj and Islam) an entire team of qualified people have been brought together once again this year. The aim of Radio Hajj is to bring a fresh invigorating program for mainly Muslims of all ages related to the level of heightened spirituality in this blessed month of Dhul Hijjah.
The key components being: 1 Dissemination of Islamic Knowledge 2 Supporting and developing the community infrastructure 3 Creating an atmosphere of love, tolerance and brotherhood Whatever the lifestyle, we hope to have something for Muslims of all ages, and thus expect our listener levels to be in the tens of thousands. For further Information:
www.radiohajj.com
Millennium Travel & Tours • Specialising in Hajj and Umrah • Special packages to Middle East and Far East Contact us before booking with anyone else
2a Linton Street, off Evington Road, Leicester, LE5 5JA T: 0116 249 0101 • F: 0116 249 0007 • E: millennium@btconnect.com ...to advertise contact: business@lminspire.com • M. 0775 334 5418 • T. 0116 210 1106
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