Position: IMAM/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Islamic Center of Maryland (ICM) seeks to hire a highly qualified, energetic, and dynamic Imam/Executive Director for the Center.
Teaching from two opposing worldviews in Islamic schools is both false and damaging to students. God, that their intellect is a gift from Him, that their success or safety or arrival at a certain destination is dependent upon Him. Third, their “short stories” or “novels” were written for a religious purpose. (These genres are in quotation marks because they didn’t exist as such in the Muslim world.) “The Envied and the Envier” is a short, story from “1,001 Nights.” The central characters are not given personal names, like the characters in a modern short story. Instead they stand for certain characteristics. The Envier makes many problems for the good man he envies, but the Envied one is a good person who overlooks much and forgives all. The purpose of the story is to educate while entertaining, while the purpose of the modern short story is simply to entertain, or for the satisfaction of the author. The Treasury’s selections integrate Islam and literature and often history and geography. Every entry can be read for the purposes of secular language arts instruction (vocabulary development, spelling, beginning to advanced reading skills, listening, speaking, writing skills, common core standards), while at the same time every entry could be used in the religion class to teach Islamic values. Some of the selections can also be used in other classes, like history, geography, or science. There is a good case to be made for teaching Western classics in our Islamic school classes, but blind following of the usual reading texts will not lead to this objective. Instead Islamic schools could carefully consider which classics are important for North American Muslim students to be acquainted with.
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Freda Shamma, Ph.D., is the founder of the Foundation on for Advancement and Development of Education and Learning.
Islamic Horizons March/April 2013
Organization: ICM is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. ICM community consists of members from Asia (particularly from the sub-continent — India/Pakistan/Bangladesh), Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Americas. The Center serves anywhere between five to ten thousand Muslims in the upper Montgomery County area of the state of Maryland. ICM has two governing bodies: A seven member Board of Trustees and an Executive Committee headed by the Executive Director. Members of the Board are elected by the voting members (General Body), whereas members of the Executive Committee including the Executive Director are appointed by the Board. Imam / Executive Director is an invited member to the Board of Trustees. Responsibilities: ➧ You will design and execute plans and programs to help address the community’s educational and spiritual needs, particularly of the Muslim youth. You are expected to take initiative in enlightening and uniting the community through intellectually stimulating Islamic and social programs. These programs include courses in fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Quran hifz (memorization) programs, social programs/ workshops/seminars that address contemporary social, cultural, and religious problems including family issues and domestic violence, and establishment of a full-time Islamic school as a goal. ➧ Establish daily prayers and regular weekly programs as well as special programs during the month of Ramadan and Dhul-Hijjah. ➧ Help with formulating topics and themes for Jummah Khutba (Friday Sermon) at ICM and its satellite locations. Train khateeb (prayer leaders) in Jummah Khutba. ➧ Firm up Zakah and social services programs. ➧ Help establish creative fund raising programs to address the Center’s growing needs. ➧ Establish programs that will build bridges with people of other faiths and improve outreach to the community at large. This is particularly important given the prevailing environment and the need to reach out to others to address religious defamation. ➧ Help establish a library and make it the best source of Islamic literature for Muslims and people of other faiths in the Washington metropolitan area. ➧ Represent ICM at the conventions and meetings of national organizations. These include both Muslim and non-Muslim organizations. Requirements: ➧ A degree in Islamic sciences or equivalent. ➧ Must be well versed in the field of Tafseer with sound knowledge of Hadith. ➧ Must have a broad-based understanding of the science of fiqh andtheability to understand and accommodate different but established fiqhi positions. ➧ Eligibility to reside and work in the United States of America. ➧ Leadership qualities desired include: • Personable with excellent communication skills. • Ability to manage day to day operations of an Islamic center. • Ability to understand and analyze the needs and issues of Muslims in America, particularly of the youth (to work with the youth and to befriend them). ➧ Ability to work with Muslim women and to help them realize their full potential as mothers, daughters, sisters, etc. Compensation Package: ➧ Salary will be commensurate with education and experience. ➧ Benefits include health insurance and housing allowance. ➧ Depending on the need, a motor vehicle can be provided. Please apply in confidence by sending your resume to: trustees@icomd.org Islamic Center of Maryland 19411 Woodfield Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 • 301-840-9440 | www.icomd.org
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