http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j3XkBULBgE

As salaamo alaikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatu sisters and brothers,

FYI


1st Summer Islamic Reading Program

2009 Summer Islamic Reading Challenge
http://americanmusl immom.wordpress. com/1st-summer- islamic-reading- program/

—

1st Annual Summer Islamic Reading Challenge – July 1, 2009 – August 15, 2009

Hosted by AmericanMuslimMom. com (to be launched July 1, 2009)
http://americanmusl immom.wordpress. com

Objective:

* To encourage Muslim children (and non-Muslims interested in Islam) to read and

review Islamic children and adult books during the Summer months,
* To create a comprehensive list of recommended Islamic books, and
* To share the Islamic book reviews with as many Muslim children (and non-Muslim

interested in Islam) as possible, by publishing the reviews on AmericanMuslimMom. com

in the “By Muslims for Muslims” “Kids’ Review” section*.
* All participants will receive a prize.

*All entries are subject to editorial review for clarity and appropriateness.

Participants may opt not to have their reviews published.

Rules:

* Participants must make an official Intent to Participate by registering online

between July 1, 2009 and August 15, 2009,
* Any child entering PreK – Senior Year of college/university, who is interested in

reading Islamic books (Non-Muslims welcomed),
* Participants must be U.S. residents,
* Islamic books read should be at or near one’s reading level,
* Islamic books read to aloud qualify,
* Islamic books can only be listed once,
* All books must be read in its entirety, partially read books are not allowed,
* Islamic books must be read between July 1 – August 15, 2009. (Islamic books read

from June 20, 2009 to July 1, 2009 will be accepted; but official forms will not

become available until the Kick-Off on July 1, 2009),
* Use the Official Islamic Book Review Form and Reading Journal to review at least one

Islamic book. A parent/guardian must sign the journal when it is completed.
* At least one Islamic book must be read and one Islamic book review form must be

completed. Reading additional Islamic books are highly encouraged.
* While one prize will be given to all participants, additional Islamic books, games,

toys, and clothing may be distributed for different judged categories. (Limited to one

additional prize per child, per summer).

* Young Muslim Adults. For our youths still in college or university, we will accept

Islamic Book Reviews up to the age of 22 year.

* Islamic schools. You are allowed to list the full-time, weekend or summer Islamic

academy that you are a student of (you may only list one school). For homeschoolers,

we recommend that you register as a local co-op, study group (youth halaqah).

Whichever school has the most participants will receive at least $100 of Islamic Books

donated to their libraries, inshaAllah.

* The Founder/Owner/ Publisher of AmericanMuslimMom. com and her family members are

not eligible for prizes.
* Deadline: Postmarked by August 15, 2009

Instructions:

* Register your child/ren entering PreK – Senior Year of college/university, during

the Reading Challenge period of July 1, 2009 – August 15, 2009 (details below),
* Print out the Official Islamic Book Review Form and Reading Journal,
* Children read books at their reading level, or read-aloud to by an adult,
* Complete one full Islamic Book Review, and list additional Islamic books read on the

Review Journal. All sections must be completed. A parent/guardian must sign the

journal when it is completed.
* Mail the completed Review Journal to the address provided on the Review Journal (one

per child). Multiple children from the same household may send their Review Journals

in one envelope.
* Each participant will be sent a certificate and a prize in the mail by September 30,

2009.
* Additional Islamic books, gifts and prizes will be awarded to different select

groups by judged categories.
* Deadline: Postmarked by August 15, 2009

Intent to Participate/ Registration:
[Purpose: We need to know the first name and age of each child to purchase the correct

amount and appropriateness of prizes.]

* Participant must be officially registered on or before August 15, 2009.
* Participants can not register until the Official Kick-Off date of July 1, 2009.
* Two-methods:
o Post a comment to the Official Kick-Off page. Post your child/ren’s first name/s and

age/s.
o Fill out a contact form. Title: Summer Reading Challenge. Enter your child/ren’s

first name/s and age/s. All your children may be entered at the same time.
o Having problems? Email: contact@americanmus limmom.com

WEEKLY ISLAMIC BOOK REVIEW GIVE-AWAY

1. Each week one Islamic Book Give-Away Announcement will be posted at

AmericanMusllimMom. com, with instructions and deadline dates for entry,
2. Post a comment to that particular week’s Islamic Book Give-Away Announcement with

the Reviewer’s first name and age.
3. Submit an Islamic Book Review by sending the Official Islamic Book Review Form and

Reading Journal (one entry per week) via fax or email (scanned) to:

reviews@americanmus limmom.com (All pertinent information of the Reading Journal may

be typed into the body of an email and submitted for consideration) . Deadline date

will be posted on the announcement.
4. One reviewer will be selected to win the Islamic Book of the Week.
5. The Winning Reviewer will be announced and his/her review will be published on

AmericanMuslimMom. com
6. This Review Journal must be sent via postal mail for official entry in the 2009

Summer Islamic Reading Challenge. The weekly Islamic Book Give-Away is separate from

the actual Reading Challenge.

Stay posted at http://americanmuslimmom.wordpress. com for further information, until

the official launch on July 1, 2009 at http://www.AmericanMuslimMom.com

WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

* Help spread the word (email, post this on your blog),
* Offer to volunteer and help,
* Become a sponsor or refer a sponsor,
* Make a donation (for example, Islamic books, games, prizes, monetary contribution,

etc.).
Tags: 1st Summer Islamic Reading Program, 2009 Summer Islamic Reading Challenge,

American Muslim Mom
Summer Reading Challenge

A Special Event for Muslim Singles

Host: Washington DC Area Muslims
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2009
Time: 3:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Dar Al-Noor Islamic Center
Street: 5404 Hoadly Road
City/Town: Manassas, VA

Contact: kahkashan7 AT hotmail.com

Description
All Muslim singles are invited to attend this special event at Dar Al-Noor Islamic Center.

We will be organizing this event to help singles meet each other in a halal environment. Space is limited, so register ASAP! Please email Kahkashan Ansari to register, kahkashan7 AT hotmail.com.

We will also be having Imam Johari Abdul-Malik with us as a guest speaker. Entrance fee for the event is $10. Online registration will soon be made available at http://www.daralnoor.org.

You must be 18 or over and single to attend. Refreshments will be served, but babysitting will not be available.

PGMA will hold it’s Annual Community Yard Sale on Saturday, May 30th
(rain date June 6th).

Inshaa’Allah, please note that in consideration of DUS’s Fun Fest, we have rescheduled the Community Picnic until June 6th.

Donations of items are still needed and vending booths are still available.

For more information, please call (301) 459-4942 and use extension 7.

PGMA is located at 9150 Lanham-Severn Road in Lanham, Maryland

Visit us on the web @ www.pgmamd.org/

Contact us by phone @ (301) 459-4942, ext 5

Islamic Society of Annapolis

Fundraising and Family Fun Day

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Islamic Society of Annapolis is a progressive and growing community with an active involvement in the Anne Arundel County, partnership with other Muslim organizations, a recently appointed full time imam (imam Suleiman Bengharsa), energetic leaders, and a 20 acre land that is to be developed into a full time school and community center, and much more.

We are in need of the community’s support to raise $100 K that will be used to pave the road for a better future for the Washington Metropolitan area Muslim community through development of educational programs, empowering our ability to represent the Muslim community in Annapolis, and expanding facilities.

We look forward to your attendance and contributions inshallah on May 17^th.

Jazakom Allah Kheiran!

Maher Kharma, President – Islamic Society of Annapolis

http://www.mlcmd.org/

~~~
Nihil Nimbus (everything in moderation).

~~~~
Harold Thurman Whitman once said, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people that have come alive."

~~~~~
Relationships (marriage, friendships) thrive when people speak honestly to each other about the significant matters in the relationship; take responsibility, instead of blaming each other, for the issues that arise; and express abundant appreciation for each other.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 
 
Assalamu alaikum wrwb,
Summer Internship
Prefer college student with some knowledge of database.
Please send resume to: aslam1048@yahoo.com
***
ICM Benefits Network
Islamic Center of Maryland (ICM) is trying to expand benefits to both our members and area Muslim businesses by linking them together through ICM Benefits Network (IBN). If you or someone you know has business in products or services, we kindly request you to join ICM Benefits Network (IBN). In exchange for discount or value added services to our members, we will promote your business free of charge. There are a large number of Muslims families and individuals linked to ICM in many ways.
Insha’Allah by working together it will be a win-win situation where ICM members will get tangible benefits in products and services while the area business will have dependable customer base in these difficult economic times. As more people and businesses join the network, the more benefits and revenues will be for both consumers and service providers in our community. For enlisting your business, please fill up a Join ICM Benefits Network (IBN) application at our office. You may also download it from ICM website at the following link:
http://icomd.org/forms/JoinIBNForm.pdf
Please complete the form below and submit to ICM in person, by mail, e-mail or fax. For questions, comments and suggestions on how your business can enlist with ICM, please contact Br. Iqbal Yousuf by phone at (301) 742-1147 or via e-mail at iy2005@hotmail.com.
****
Creative Education and Publishing is looking for
for artists and graphic designers who can generate pictures for our stories which are in Arabic as well as English Islamic stories writers for kids 4-9 years old.  
 
 
Please let me know if you are interested to be part of this projects.
Thanks
 
Alameddine Kaddoura
703 856 7005
****
Creative Education and Publishing is looking for Arabic Language Stories  as well as English Islamic stories writers for kids 4-9 years old.
The stories are of;
8 pages, each page has one or two lines with a picture. and or
16 Pages, each page has four or 5 lines with a picture.
 
Please let me know if you are interested to be part of this project.
Thanks
 
Alameddine Kaddoura
703 856 7005
***
Children's Nasheed Group
With the help of Allah [subahanahu wa taala (SWT)] the 2nd annual Quran Recitation Competition Awards ceremony was very successful. You can see the happiness in the faces of all kids and their parents.
 
 
Now we are embarking on the second step, to establish a professional Nasheed group in Metro Washington form kids whose ages are between 8 and 12 years.
 
We have a talented sister who authored and put tunes to many songs for children and then trained some kids to sing them. She is willing to take care of training  this professional group of kids.
 
We are very much interested in organizing something like this nasheed group on a regular basis, so that they can help our community to enjoy the fun of good and clean music vs. other types of music.
 
 
We are looking now for 10-12 kids.
 
We need committed group. Training will be once a week in Falls Church in the neighborhood of skyline.
 
Please let me know if you are interested to have your kids part of this.
 
Thanks
 
Wassalam
 
Alameddine Kaddoura
703-856-7005
***
 

Copied from the ADAMS Facebook group. Jazakallahukhairan Ilanah for forwarding.

by Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali
Executive Director, ADAMS Center
Vice-President, The Islamic Society of North America

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is saddened and shocked by the news of the loss of one of our respected sisters, Aasiya Hassan whose life was taken violently. To God we belong and to Him we return (Qur'an 2:156). We pray that she find peace in God's infinite Mercy, and our prayers and sympathies are with sister Aasiya's family. Our prayers are also with the Muslim community of Buffalo who have been devastated by the loss of their beloved sister and the shocking nature of this incident.

This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is
real and can not be ignored. It must be addressed collectively by
every member of our community. Several times each day in America, a
woman is abused or assaulted. Domestic violence is a behavior that
knows no boundaries of religion, race, ethnicity, or social status. Domestic violence occurs in every community. The Muslim community is not exempt from this issue. We, the Muslim community, need to take a strong stand against domestic violence. Unfortunately, some of us ignore such problems in our community, wanting to think that it does not occur among Muslims or we downgrade its seriousness.

I call upon my fellow imams and community leaders to never second-
guess a woman who comes to us indicating that she feels her life to be in danger. We should provide support and help to protect the victims of domestic violence by providing for them a safe place and inform them of their rights as well as refer them to social service providers in our areas.

Marriage is a relationship that should be based on love, mutual
respect and kindness. No one who experiences a marriage that is built on these principles would pretend that their life is in danger. We must respond to all complaints or reports of abuse as genuine and we must take appropriate and immediate action to ensure the victim's safety, as well as the safety of any children that may be involved.

Women who seek divorce from their spouses because of physical abuse
should get full support from the community and should not be viewed as someone who has brought shame to herself or her family. The shame is on the person who committed the act of violence or abuse. Our community needs to take a strong stand against abusive spouses. We should not make it easy for people who are known to abuse to remarry if they have already victimized someone. We should support people who work against domestic violence in our community, whether they are educators, social service providers, community leaders, or other professionals.

Our community needs to take strong stand against abusive spouses and we should not make it easy for them to remarry if they chose a path of abusive behavior. We should support people who work against domestic violence in our community, whether they are educators or social service providers. As Allah says in the Qur'an: "O ye who believe! Stand firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do" (4:136).

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never hit a women or child in his life. The purpose of marriage is to bring peace and tranquility between two people, not fear, intimidation, belittling, controlling, or demonizing. Allah the All-Mighty says in the Qur'an: "Among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect" (30:21),

We must make it a priority to teach our young men in the community
what it means to be a good husband and what the role the husband has as a protector of his family. The husband is not one who terrorizes or does harm and jeopardizes the safety of his family. At the same time, we must teach our young women not to accept abuse in any way, and to come forward if abuse occurs in the marriage. They must feel that they are able to inform those who are in authority and feel comfortable confiding in the imams and social workers of our communities.

Community and family members should support a woman in her decision to leave a home where her life is threatened and provide shelter and safety for her. No imam, mosque leader or social worker should suggest that she return to such a relationship and to be patient if she feels the relationship is abusive. Rather they should help and empower her to stand up for her rights and to be able to make the decision of protecting herself against her abuser without feeling she has done something wrong, regardless of the status of the abuser in the community.

A man's position in the community should not affect the imam's
decision to help a woman in need. Many disasters that take place in
our community could have been prevented if those being abused were
heard. Domestic violence is not a private matter. Any one who abuses their spouse should know that their business becomes the business of the community and it is our responsibility to do something about it. She needs to tell someone and seek advice and protection.

Community leaders should also be aware that those who isolate their
spouses are more likely to also be physically abusive, as isolation is in its own way a form of abuse. Some of the abusers use the abuse itself to silence the women, by telling her "If you tell people I abused you, think how people will see you, a well-known person being abused. You should keep it private."

Therefore, to our sisters, we say: your honor is to live a dignified life, not to put on the face that others want to see. The way that we measure the best people among us in the community is to see how they treat their families. It is not about how much money one makes, or how much involvement they have in the community, or the name they make for themselves. Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said, "The best among you are those who are best to their families."

It was a comfort for me to see a group of imams in our local
community, as well as in the MANA conference signing a declaration
promising to eradicate domestic violence in our community. Healthy
marriages should be part of a curriculum within our youth programs,
MSA conferences, and seminars as well as part of our adult programs in our masajid and in our khutbahs.

The Islamic Society of North America has done many training workshops for imams on combating domestic violence, as has the Islamic Social Service Associate and Peaceful Families Project. Organizations, such as FAITH Social Services in Herndon, Virginia, serve survivors of domestic violence. All of these organizations can serve as resources for those who seek to know more about the issues of domestic violence.

Faith Trust Institute, one of the largest interfaith organizations,
with Peaceful Families Project, has produced a DVD in which many
scholars come together to address this issue. I call on my fellow
imams and social workers to use this DVD for training others on the
issues of domestic violence. (For information, go to the website:
http://www.faithtru stinstitute. org/). For more information, or to
access resources and materials about domestic violence, please visit www.peacefulfamilie s.org.

In conclusion, Allah says in the Qur'an "O my son! Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong; and bear with patient constancy whatever betide thee; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs" (31:17). Let us pray that Allah will help us to stand for what is right and leave what is evil and to promote healthy marriages and peaceful family environments. Let us work together to prevent domestic violence and abuse and especially, violence against women.

I pray that she is brought to justice. May Allah have mercy on Aasiya and console her family and loved ones. Please make du'a for this women, whose promising life was cut too short. I hope that Muslim leaders heed this call and that more of us support women and children who are in danger.

http://www.isna.net/articles/News/RESPONDING-TO-THE-KILLING-OF-AASIYA-HASSAN-AN-OPEN-LETTER-TO-THE-LEADERS-OF-AMERICAN-MUSLI.aspx

May Allah correct the affairs of this ummah and all of humanity. Ameen. Insha'Allah this incident, though I understand she is the third Muslim woman to die by the hands of her husband within six months, will awaken the Muslim communities in America to the severity of domestic violence (against the wife OR husband). We need to take our sister's pleas seriously and stop brainwashing them by saying they need to fear Allah and be better wives! I digress, my blood is boiling...



By Gene Warner
News Staff Reporter

Orchard Park police are investigating a particularly gruesome killing, the beheading of a woman, after her husband — an influential member of the local Muslim community — reported her death to police Thursday.

Police identified the victim as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37. Detectives have charged her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, with second-degree murder.

“He came to the police station at 6:20 p.m. [Thursday] and told us that she was dead,” Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said late this morning.

Muzzammil Hassan told police that his wife was at his business, Bridges TV, on Thorn Avenue in the village. Officers went to that location and discovered her body.

Muzzammil Hassan is the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, which he launched in 2004, amid hopes that it would help portray Muslims in a more positive light.

The killing apparently occurred some time late Thursday afternoon. Detectives still are looking for the murder weapon.

“Obviously, this is the worst form of domestic violence possible,” Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III said today.

Authorities say Aasiya Hassan recently had filed for divorce from her husband.

“She had an order of protection that had him out of the home as of Friday the 6th [of February],” Benz said.

Muzzammil Hassan was arraigned before Village Justice Deborah Chimes and sent to the Erie County Holding Center.

gwarner@buffnews.com

Find this article at:
http://www.buffalonews.com/494/story/578644.html

Greetings and As salaamo alaikum wa rahmatu Allah wa barakatu sisters and brothers, 
Please refer to sister Shazia's heartbreaking e-mail:
It has been brought to our attention there is a family at PGMA that is about to get evicted.  The family has at least one child that attends An-Nur Academy and the mother is currently pregnant with another.  The husband went to court this morning to fight the eviction.  They are in need of money and of course du'as.  Any donations can be sent directly to PGMA:
 
Attention: Taqwa (for family fighting eviction)
Prince George's Muslim Association (PGMA)
9150 Lanham Severn Road
Lanham, MD 20706
Unfortunately this is all the information that I have on the family.
 
Jazakellah Khairun
--
Umm Hamza Shazia Khan