IFN Community Chronicle

Dear Community Members

As-salaam Alaikum,

Alhamdolillah we are blessed with a beautiful and diverse community and in fact this diversity is our strength. After a few years gap, we had our community picnic in September. In addition to great food it was fun for all age groups making it a joyful and successful event where everyone had a great time. Alhamdolillah this picnic created a sense of unity for our entire community. I would like to extend my thanks to Brs. Ahmed Nader, Emad Hasan, Yousuf Mohammad and all other volunteers for their hard work and efforts for organizing and making this event a great success.

On another note I am pleased to inform you that On Sept 26, the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) of Lake County recognized the interfaith and outreach work that has been done over the years by the IFN Outreach Committee. Sr. Helena Abushamaa received the Dorothy Height Racial Justice Award during the 41st Annual Women of Achievement Leadership luncheon which featured Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim as the keynote speaker. Please join me in congratulating both Sr. Helena and Br.Amir Abushamaa for their achievement and a great service to IFN.

The IFN Community picnic was planned on Sunday September 8th from 1:30pm to 5:00pm at Independence Grove!! This was just a perfect get together after start of school, this picnic at Independence Grove was pretty standard with a full day of activities including volleyball, soccer, cricket, inflatables, biking, fishing, arts, crafts, pinatas, hot dogs, cold pop, bounce houses and families enjoying the vast acreage at the grove. Muslims had a lot of reasons for holding a picnic on a warm and sunny Sunday: a chance for Muslim kids to get together, a chance for adults to talk and a chance to show the diversity in Lake County's growing Islamic community: Islamic Foundation North.

Knowledge of the Sirah is a necessity for every Muslim young and old and sharing it with everyone is a responsibility. Our very own Imam Azfar Uddin is the instructor for the weekly Sirah Course on Thursday’s and Saturday’s at Islamic Foundation North (IFN). Please join this weekly Sirah Course of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Makki Period. Everyone is encouraged to come and we hope that this will not only increase people’s understanding of the Sirah but also serve as a resource for community leaders, khateebs, teachers, and parents to teach and share lessons from the life of the Prophet (pbuh) of Allah SWT with their families and communities.

Abdallah Damra will be teaching Qur'an to the New Muslims starting Tuesday's after Isha.

Ifn Muhsen had a caregiver support group on September 15th at IFN Learning Resource Center(LRC) 1:30pm-2:30pm which was facilitated by Dr.Shazia Tayyab, Psychiatrist and co-facilitated by Sr. Mariam Eldeib, Clinical Social Worker. This is a Support group ONLY for caregivers and family members of individuals with #SpecialNeeds #Support #Community

A multitude of people from several communities gathered in Downtown from various parts of Chicago. A large rally was taken out by The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago on Sunday, September 08, 2019 from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m to express solidarity with Kashmiri people in front of the tribune plaza to support the people of Kashmir. The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) is a federation of over 60 Islamic institutions across Chicagoland. Many of the protesters had come to Chicago from other Illinois Suburbs on specially chartered buses. Islamic Foundation North also had arranged a bus so people from the community could go and attend the rally and show solidarity for the people of Kashmir.

CIOGC Chair Br. Irshad Khan gave a speech at the Kashmir Rally. You can hear him in the link below at 1:07:58.

A huge shout out to all the the members of the community who participated in the rally to make it a successful event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IqChPtXIlQ

The IFN Sunday School and IFN Muhsen program for the academic year 2019-2020 commenced on September 8th, 2019 and the HSYC Program started the following Sunday.The school functions on Sundays between the months of September to May/June each year.

The school has been averaging an enrollment of 150+ students every year. The school has highly experienced and talented faculty of teachers, teaching assistants and administrative staff. Islamic Foundation Sunday School, the IFN Muhsen and HSYC program have been serving the growing needs of young Muslims by imparting Islamic Education in a structured and disciplined environment. Sunday School and IFN Muhsen has classes ranging from Pre-K, KG, 1st grade through 8th grade to meet the needs of all age groups of school going children and the HSYC program meets the needs of high school students.

The Annual Fall Blood Drive was held on Sunday September 22nd from 10:30am - 3:30pm.

As in the past, IFN has partnered with LifeSource/Vitalant for the Blood Drive

Alhamdulillah, our last Blood Drive was successful due to the participation of our IFN Community.

Thank you so much Br. Nisar Syed and Br. Omar Kazi for organizing this drive.

A community town hall meeting was kept on September 22nd for all community members in the banquet hall at 10:15am to join for a review of the results of the strategic plan. This also included how the capital project is now being modified to a modular approach in order to meet immediate needs within a reasonable time and budget.

The agenda was as follows:

1)Strategic Planning Update

a. What should IFN look like in 2030

b. What are our goals for the next five years through 2025

c. Six focus areas and goals – presented by team lead

2)Campus Expansion Plan

a. Where are we?

b. What is the new approach?

The IFN Toastmasters Humorous competition was held on Sunday September 22nd in the LRC by the IFN Toastmasters Club.

The winner of the Toastmasters Humorous Speech competition - Sr. Aasimah Tanveer.

The runner-ups were Sr. Shamim Khaja and Br. Siraj Khaja.

Congratulations!!!

The GRIT Group is a monthly peer support group for those interested in connecting with others to talk and to share personal experiences and feelings, coping strategies, or firsthand information about symptoms of anxiety and depression.

***Participants must sign a Confidentiality Waiver***

All Muslims 18 and older are invited to join the GRIT(Growing Resiliency Intentionally Together) Group.

What: Support Groups bring together people who are going through or have gone through similar experiences.This is not a Forum for diagnosing or prescribing clinical treatments.

Where: First Floor Classrooms at IFN.

When: Every Third Friday evening. We break for IFN Prayer times.

On Sept 26, the YWCA of Lake County recognized the interfaith and outreach work that has been done over the years by the IFN Outreach Committee. Helena Abushamaa received the Dorothy Height Racial Justice Award during the 41st Annual Women of Achievement Leadership luncheon which featured Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim as the keynote speaker.

Sheikh Farid Fahmy has been a part of the IFN community for the last 21 years. He has contributed tremendously and been a pure blessing to the IFN community. He is a beacon of Islamic Knowledge, and has been spreading Islamic values and promoting love towards Allah SWT and His Prophet Mohammed PBUH through his powerful Juma khutbas, halaqas and lectures in Ramadan and at different occasions. He has been a constant source of counselling and advice to the members of the community, including EC and BOT members. In the past he has served as BOT member, and presently is a member of IFN Religious committee.

Br. Parvez Patel served as the Treasurer for 4 years. He was instrumental in Strategic Planning, Fundraising events, Sunday School and various other initiatives at IFN. At the time he moved he was the Chair of the Zakat Committee.

Al-Ihsan Academy (A Full Time Early Childhood Program at IFN)

Al-Ihsan Academy is offering a full time Early Childhood Program (Pre-KG & KG) to provide a school that nurtures each child’s best potential- spiritually, academically, socially, and in a holistic manner.

For more information, please contact -Website: aia.ifnonline.com email: alihsanifn@gmail.com Phone: (708) 205-1238.

Al-Ihsan Academy also held a fundraiser event on September 14th at 6pm in the banquet hall to help raise seed money for the full time early childhood education program at IFN. The speakers for the event were Br. Habib Quadri and Br. Shahid Ansari.

A lecture was given on 'Bullying Prevention and Interventions' by our very own IFN member Sr.Saddaf Raheel, who is an experienced school psychologist. The event was held on Sunday September 29th at noon in the IFN Banquet Hall.

Imam Azfar met with non muslim guests and educated them about Islam at IFN.

The IFN Fund Raising Committee held the yearly Fundraising Dinner on October 6th, 2019 at Holiday Inn, Gurnee.

The fundraising Dinner event was for our communities space needs so that all the services that are being offered can be accommodated via the Campus Expansion Project which was held on October 6th, at Holiday Inn Gurnee. The Social Hour started at 4:30pm.

This year we had Imam Khalid Latif as our Guest speaker. Imam Khalid Latif is the Executive Director and Chaplain for the Islamic Center at New York University (NYU). In 2005, Imam Latif was appointed the first Muslim chaplain at NYU. In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg, nominated Latif to become the youngest chaplain in history of the NYPD when he was 24 years old. Latif has developed skills as a spokesperson for co-existence, mutual understanding, and productive relationships between cultures, communities, and religions.We are honored to have him as our guest speaker for our fundraiser on October 6th, 2019.

We thank the members of the fundraising committee who put in a lot of effort to make the fundraising dinner a successful one. Thank you so much Sr. Fehmida Khan and all members of the fundraising committee for organizing such a memorable event.

The BOT hosted its Q4 Open Meeting on Sunday October 13th, 2019 from 7:00am - 9:00am in the IFN basement.

Below is a recap of the activities of the Board of Trustees for Q4, 2019

Agenda:

1. Opening – Br. Diallo

2. Chairman's Remark - Br.Masood

3. President's Update – Br.Jaseem

4. Finance Update – Br.Shahabuddin/Br Abdullah

5. Fundraising Update – Sr. Fehmida

6. Submitted Questions

https://ifnonline.com/meeting-minutes

On October 17, IFN participated in 'An Evening Of Interfaith Prayer' and a vigil against violence at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Waukegan. This event was organized by WACA (Waukegan Area Clergy Association). Many local religious congregations were present at this event and they had the opportunity to listen to Brother Mamadou Diallo explaining how Allah describes kindness in the Quran and how Prophet Muhammad (S) taught us to be gentle with one another. Imam Azfar provided Sami Yusuf's music video "Gift of Love" which was played in the background during the candle lighting.

Pictured below Qur'an reading in Spanish.

Maulana Yusuf Islahi, a well known Islamic scholar and author of over 60 books on various aspects of Islam gave a lecture at IFN on Friday 10/18/19 in the banquet hall.

Bio of Maulana Yusuf Islahi

He has authored and published more than 60 books on various aspects of Islam. Famous among them are Aadab e Zindagi (Etiquettes of Life in Islam) , Asan Fiqh (Everyday Fiqh), Quraani Taleemat, Sura-e-Yaseen, Sura-e-Saff, Tafhimul Hadith, Guldasta-e-Hadith, Islami Muashrah, Husne Muashrat, Dai -e-Azam, Roshan Sitare and others. Many of his books are translated in other languages .

Maulana Islahi's lecture was in Urdu, which was followed by Question and Answer session.

Below is the link to Maulana Yusuf Islahi's lecture.

https://youtu.be/TrZI1GwzLZE

The GRIT Group is a monthly peer support group for those interested in connecting with others to talk and to share personal experiences and feelings, coping strategies, or first hand information about symptoms of anxiety and depression.

SSU hosted a bake sale on October 20th, 2019 in the IFN Lobby. IFN has a chapter associated with Sisters Steppin’ Up (SSU). The high school focused group meets on Friday evenings and has various activities throughout the year. All sisters 14 and up are encouraged to partake in the gatherings and activities.

For more information regarding Sisters Steppin’ Up, go to http://ssuchicago.weebly.com/

Warren MSA hosted their bake sale in the IFN Lobby. Muslim Student Association(MSA) is an organization that strives to increase awareness about muslims and their beliefs, and bring muslims together to practice our faith and serve the community.

Below is the list of candidates for 2019 Board of Trustees (BOT) and Executive Committee (EC) Elections:

BOT Nominees

Ambareen Sheriff

Anjum Mujeeb

Farzan Mahmood

Hafeez Haroon

Irshad Khan

Kazim Hasan

Naveed Ismail

Saquib Ahmed

Shakeel Syed

Taha Suglatwala

Vaseem Iftekhar

EC President

Imran Khalique

Ishaq Mohiuddin

Jaseem Anwer

EC Vice President

Mohammed Waseem Khan

EC Treasurer

AbdulHai Khaleel

EC General Secretary

Aamir Ahmed

EC Social Events Director

Altaf Hussain

Mona Ahmad

Key Dates:

Candidate Statements Due: Oct 27th

Candidate Question and Answer sessions:

BOT: Nov 17th 10am-1pm in IFN hall

EC: Nov 24th 10am-1pm in IFN hall

Electronic Voting Opens: Nov 25th

In Person Voting on Election Date: Dec 8th 10am-1pm

Election Code of Conduct

1. Exhibit Islamic akhlaq and etiquette
2. Abide by IFN Bylaws
3. Respect the cultural diversity of the IFN community
4. Focus on issues
5. Run a clean and positive campaign
6. Elected officers running for re-election should not use their authority, masjid platform, or membership to get undue advantage.

Basketball camp will be held at Oak Grove School on Sundays after Sunday School (1700 O'Plaine Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048) which is exactly 2 miles south of IFN.

We would like to say "thank you" to all the camp leads Br.Azmat Mohammed, Br. Imran Khalique, Br. Amaan Rakhangi, Sr. Raabia Khan, Sr. Kim Rihman for the amazing camp experience that you are giving to our youth.Thank you so much for giving the gift of your time to these kids.

QUESTIONS: contact Azmat Mohammed azmat.mohammed@gmail.com

or 312-404-7003

Help refugees, on Thursday, October 24th from 3 to 7 pm at The Picnic basket for an evening of SNACKS, SHOPPING AND SMILES. Sr. Cathie Amin will have several items sewn by refugees in Cyprus (as well as complimentary Syrian snacks made by a family from Syria.) These refugees have become active participants in the many enrichment programs at the Dignity Centre run by Refugee Support, EU.

October is Domestic Violence awareness month.Domestic violence does not discriminate. Anyone of any race, age, religion or gender can be a victim – or perpetrator – of domestic violence. It can happen to anyone. It affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.The Family Advocacy Committee of IFN has arranged a talk by a visiting speaker Alda Buresh on October 27, 12:00-1:00pm in the banquet hall.

A little bit about the speaker :

Alda Buresh has been a Certified Victim Advocate at the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) in Iowa City, Iowa for twenty years. Before then, she was a journalist specializing in writing about equine activities and articles. She had a syndicated column which appeared in several equine periodicals. She received her Social Work degree from Mount Mercy College (now University) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2000 and was hired immediately by DVIP upon graduation.

IFN Annual Flu Shot Clinic is Sunday October 27th 10:00am -12:00pm in the basement lobby

IFN Community Potluck Night is coming up on Sunday 27th October, 2019. The event will start at 5:30 PM before the Maghreb Prayers followed by a short lecture , social hour, games , Potluck Dinner and Isha.

Please RSVP:

Aamir Ahmed - (312) 848-3149

Zeeshan Humayun - (847) 890-2700

Vaseem Khan - (847) 693-9222

Faisal Abedin - (847) 544-6488

General Body Meeting will be held on December 15th from 11am to 1pm in the banquet hall.

The IFN Community Chronicle for the month of September 2019 and October 2019 was compiled by Sadia Thiryayi. If you would like to share any community achievements or celebrations , please email Sadia Thiryayi at sadiathiryayi@gmail.com

Email: sadiathiryayi@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/SadiaThiryayi
Twitter: @Smos77