ICLI News Jan. 2006

Temple Beth El where the event was hosted. Since events in that region also are important in shaping attitudes throughout the rest of the world, working for peace is absolutely crucial for all parties concerned.

4. Members of ICLI volunteered at St. Francis Hospital and at North Shore Hospital on Dec. 25 th so as to allow our Christian neighbors to celebrate Christmas. I believe this helps build bridges with different communities and show our involvement in the larger community as well.

5.I have been invited as a guest speaker, on behalf of the Muslim community, at The Sixth Induction Ceremony of the Nassau County Legislature on Jan. 3rd. Their theme this year is Charity, Respect and Acceptance.

As members of the new Executive Committee we plan to keep the lines of communication open with the whole community. We would welcome ideas, suggestions, comments which would help improve ICLI and help all of us too. We would also certainly welcome volunteers for the various projects that ICLI is involved in. Please do not hesitate to contact me or another member of the Executive Committee.

Nazli Chaudhry Gets Nominated for Multicultural Advisory Council at SUNY at Stony Brook

Sr. Nazli Chaudhry, a member of the Multifaith Forum of Long Island and ICLI's Domestic Harmony Committee, has beennominated by Sr. Sanaa Nadeem,to serveon the prestigious "Multicultural Advisory Council," a major advisory body that will report to the President of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.The University's President, Dr. Shirley Strum Kenny, held talks with Sr. Nazli as well ascommunity leaders fromAfricanAmerican, Hispanic, Asian- American and Native American communities at an inaugural meeting of the Council at the Stony Brook campus on November 29, 2005.Sr. Nazli is one of only two Muslimmembers of the Council.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful ISLAMIC CENTER OF LONG ISLAND

835 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury, NY 11590

Tel: 516-333-3495 - Fax: 516-333-7321 - Email: icli.icli@verizon.net Website: http://www.1icli.com

January 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006 January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007

To: The President, The Islamic Center of Long Island 835 Brush Hollow Road Westbury, NY 11590

Asalaamu ‘Alaikum:

and the following members of

Jazakallah

Khair, Habeeb Ahmed jifsha@yahoo.com

The missionof the Council is straight forward yet farsighted.The Multicultural Advisory Council seeks to provide a channel for Asian-American, AfricanAmerican, Hispanic and Native American community leaders to speak directly to the University President, to give insight into external issues affecting their communities educationally, socially, and politically. The council is also designed to serve Stony Brook's President by informing her ofthe needs, strengths, and dynamics of the under-represented communities that the University serves. As part of that mission,the President of the University may call upon the members of the Council for input and help in resolving issues that are especially relevant to these communities, and conversely, may solicit input form Council members about how the University can assist them in their various roles in the community.

"I am very excited about being appointed to this important position" said Sr. Nazli. "We, as Muslims living inthe United States,have an excellent opportunity here to have our voices heard in a major educational institution on Long Island."

Sr. Nazli has asked members of ICLI's congregation to provide her withinput regarding the issues and challenges we may need to address with this Council and also to provide her with constructive and useful suggestions so that she may serve the Islamic community fully and well on this body.

Renowned writer Karen Armstrong shares her thoughts

“Quran’s message is so inclusive and pluralistic towards all humanity and it's up to you young American Muslimsand Muslims in the west to bring this beautiful message to your fellow nonMuslim Americans,” was the message that Ms. Karen Armstrong asked me to bring to the community of ICLI, “a very lovely community”, she said as she reminisced her visit to the center in 2002.

As a member of ICLI and alumnus of St. Joseph’s College, it was a pleasure and an honor for me to be seated next to Ms. Karen Armstrong, the author of many books on the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Personally, it was a humbling experience to find myself in the presence of a great scholar and a renowned writer like Ms. Armstrong, with her kindness patience and full attention towards me during the two hour dinner as she listened and answered my zillion and one questions.

She expressed her empathy towards American Muslims as she understood the challenges faced by us especially at these trying times in our country. She shared her thoughts, and her advice, which to me was heartwarming and optimistic as well as an eye opener.

Later on in the evening she gave a lecture to a packed audience on the role of religion in the modern world. She urged listeners to work to bridge the “gulf” that exists between first world countries such as the U.S and Britain and those now undergoing the “painful rite of passage to modernity”.

Homaira Mamoor, Karen Armstrong and Dr. Thomas. Petriano (Chair of Religious Studies Dept. who also teaches Islam classesat St. Joseph's College)

Joseph's College

A History of Hajj (Pilgrimage)

Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically however it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allah in the time of the Prophet lbrahim [Abraham] (AS) and he was the one who was entrusted by Allah to build the Ka'bah - the House of Allah - along with his son Ismaa'eel [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allah described the Ka'bah and its building as follows:

"And remember when We showed Ibrahim the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worship] with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.]."

[Surah Al-Hajj 22:26]

all sincere remembrance of Allah and was instead reduced to a series of hand clapping, whistling and the blowing of horns. Even the talbeeyah [1] was distorted by them with the following additions: 'No one is Your partner except one who is permitted by you. You are his Master and the Master of what he possesses'.

Sacrifices were also made in the name of God. However, the blood of the sacrificed animals was poured onto the walls of the Ka'bah and the flesh was hung from pillars around the Ka'bah, in the belief that Allah demanded the flesh and blood of these animals.

Singing, drinking, adultery and other acts of immorality was rife amongst the pilgrims and the poetry competitions, which were held, were a major part of the whole Hajj event. In these competitions, poets would praise the bravery and splendour of their own tribesmen and tell exaggerated tales of the cowardice and miserliness of other tribes. Competitions in generosity were also staged where the chief of each tribe would set up huge cauldrons and feed the pilgrims, only so that they could become well-known for their extreme generosity.

Thus the people had totally abandoned the teachings of their forefather and leader Ibrahim (AS). The House that he had made pure for the worship of Allah alone, had been totally desecrated by the pagans and the rites which he had established were completely distorted by them. This sad state of affairs continued for nearly two and a half thousand years. But then after this long period, the time came for the supplication of Ibrahim to be answered:

"Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them your aayaat (verses) and instruct them in the book and the Wisdom and sanctify them. Verily you are the 'Azeezul-Hakeem [the AllMighty, the All-Wise]." [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129]

Educational Section

Sunday School Visits Temple Beth El

On Monday 5th December 2005 members of the Education Committee and a few outstanding students from ICLI decided to brave the snow and accept an invitation from Temple Beth El in Great Neck to engage in an inter-faith dialogue.

Upon arrival at the Temple we were met by our host Bobby Rosenberg a teacher named Marni and some of their students. The similarities between the two religions were striking from the very beginning. Members of ICLI greeted each other by saying "Asalaamu Alaikum" and our counterparts greeted each other with a similar greeting "Shalom-Alai-Khum", both greetings meaning the same thing - “May peace be with you”. Everyone introduced themselves and we spent some moments mulling over pictures from the Shokkot/Ramadhan ceremony which had taken place at Temple Beth El earlier this year. It was very moving to see familiar faces from ICLI gracing a whole display cabinet at the synagogue.

of our constitutional rights and maintain peace and harmony amongst all religions.

To end the meeting we all sat together and enjoyed pizza and soda and each others company. We have invited the members of Temple Beth El come to ICLI next year and attend a similar inter-faith dialogue at Westbury.

By Humma Qureshi

After building the Ka'bah, Ibrahim (AS) would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son. However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Ka'bah lost its purity and idols were placed inside it. Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be placed around the Ka'bah.

During the Hajj period itself, the atmosphere around the sacred precincts of the Ka'bah was like a circus. Men and women would go round the Ka'bah naked, arguing that they should present themselves before Allah in the same condition they were born. Their prayer became devoid of

Sure enough, a man by the name of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah (PBUH) was born in the very city that Ibrahim (AS) had made this supplication centuries earlier. For twenty-three years, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spread the message of Tawheed [true monotheism -SA] - the same message that Ibrahim and alI the other Prophets came with - and established the law of Allah upon the land. He expended every effort into making the word of Allah supreme and his victory over falsehood culminated in the smashing of the idols inside the Ka'bah, which once again became the universal centre for the worshippers of the one True God.

Not only did the Prophet rid the Ka'bah of all its impurities, but he also reinstated all the rites of Hajj which were established by Allah's Permission, in the time of Ibrahim (AS). Specific injunctions in the Qur'an were revealed in order to eliminate all the false rites which had become rampant in the pre-Islamic period. All inde-

The whole group then proceeded to a meeting room where both groups of students sat around a single table and exchanged details of whether they were juniors, sophomores or seniors at high school, which schools they went to and typically which types of food they liked. Such an informal exchange naturally led to a discussion about favorite festivals that each religion celebrates. There was mention of Passover, Ramadhan, Roshashana, Eid-ul-Fitr, Yom Kippur and Eid-ul-Adha. Both the Jewish students and the Muslims students were definitely in unanimous agreement about one thing. That no matter what the festival or what the symbolism the food made at these festivals is the most delicious. Students from both religions were very accommodating to each others beliefs and were very inquisitive about each others practices. The role of women in Islam and Judaism was a hot topic for the evening as was the discussion of sectarianism. Both sides gave mirrored responses to these issues deducing that sometimes culture is confused with religion and causes difficulties where religiously there aren't any.

We were also graciously accompanied by Rabbi Davidson who importantly highlighted the fact that as minorities in the U.S. we need to work harder to maintain our identities and to ensure that our freedom to practice our respective religions is not compromised. He correctly emphasized that in a country such as the U.S. where we have laws that protect us we must continue to make use

Parent, Teacher & Education Committee General Meeting Held on December 11th during the Adult Session

VOLUNTEER NEEDED SUNDAY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR

Responsibilities:

Handle all student registrations which includes completion of various forms; collection of fees, and sale of books

Maintain excel spreadsheets detailing student and family information

Submit all monies collected to ICLI accountant

Provide monthly financial reports and manage the budget

Responsible for handling Sunday School petty cash fund, including the receipts; payouts and record keeping

Maintain an inventory of books and reorder as needed.

Organize volunteer group to assist with registration day

Work closely with Education Committee and the PTO to resolve problems, plan curriculum and events, hire teachers and make decisions regarding the Sunday School function.

Note: The person should have strong organizational skills, and a background in office administration or bookkeeping.

Contact: Sohail Nabi - (646) 286 0060 or msanabi@yahoo.com

(From Invitation to Islam Newsletter & Quraan.com)

The Golden Age of Islamic Art in Cosmopolitan New York

One of the most interesting and educational Islamic Art exhibits in the world can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in Manhattan, located on 5th Ave and 82nd Street, along the eastern boundaries of Central Park, popularly know as the Museum Mile.

Many of the exhibits in the museum, however, have been removed due to major renovations that is still under reconstruction. One of these exhibits under reconstruction, is the Islamic Art Gallery.The new wing will not be completed until 2007, and promises to be more exciting than the previous exhibit with donations coming from all over the Middle East.Presently, the museum has a small, but modest temporary gallery situated on the second floor, protected behind glass windows.The exhibit contains artifacts dating from the seventh century to the nineteenth century.A various assortment of vases, pottery, and Islamic calligraphy originating mostly from Persia (or Iran), Anatolia (or Turkey), Egypt, and Iraq are represented in the exhibit showing the various cultures that have influenced al-Islam.

On my visit to the museum this past Spring, one artifact that caught my attention was an ewer, made in Iran, circa the seventh century, formed out of bronze.The ewer, shown on the right, taken from the museum’s website. The handle of the metalwork is shaped like that of a cat, or panther.The designs on the body of the ewer are reminiscent of the landscape and plant patterns of that time. Despite the appearance of the ewer to Islamic designs, the ewer in fact derives from pre Islamic era.

Another artifact at the museum that caught my attention is the beautiful Turkish calligraphy, written in the Ottoman tughra or the Turkish calligraphic emblem which can clearly be seen in the picture below. The calligraphy is from the Ottoman Empire, circa the sixteenth century, from the reign of Sulayman the Magnificent. The name of the sultan and the phrase “ever victorious” are written in the lower right corner of the paper.

Another artifact worth mentioning, was a ninth century calligraphically piece below, possibly Syrian, containing many fascinating shapes and arabesques, written in Kufic script (i.e., a horizontal form of broad Arabic script originating from the town of Kufa in Iraq). This artwork is taken from a page in the Qur’an written on parchment, as opposed to paper in the Ottoman

/Dhu al-Hijjah1426

cent and shameful acts were strictly banned in Allah's statement:

"There is to be no lewdness nor wrangles during Hajj." [Surah al-Baqarah 2:197 ]

Competitions among poets in the exaltations of their forefathers and their tribesmen's' achievements were all stopped. Instead, Allah told them:

"And when you have completed your rites [of Hajj] then remember Allah as you remember your forefathers; nay with a more vigorous remembrance." [Surah al-Baqarah 2:200]

Competitions in generosity were also prohibited. Of course, the feeding of the poor pilgrims was still encouraged as this was done in the time of Ibrahim (AS) but Allah commanded that the slaughtering of the animals which was done for this purpose should be done seeking the pleasure of Allah rather than fame and the praise of the people. He said:

that the pagans put forward to justify this ritual was sharply rebutted in Allah's question:

"Say: Who has forbidden the adornment [i.e. clothes] given by Allah which He has produced for His Slaves?" [Surah al-A'raaf 7:32]

Another custom which was prohibited through the Qur’an was that of setting off for Hajj without taking any provisions for the journey. In the pre-Islamic period, some people who claimed to be mutawakkiloon (those having complete trust in Allah) would travel to perform Hajj begging food the whole journey. They considered this form of behaviour a sign of piety and an indication of how much faith they had in Allah. However Allah told mankind that to have sufficient provisions for the journey was one of the preconditions for making Hajj. He said:

"And take a provision [with you] for the journey, but the best provision is at-Taqwaa (piety)." [Surah al-Baqarah 2:197]

tughra.The Arabic vowels in this piece are marked with red, yellow, and green dots; while some diacritics are represented in the form of red diagonals, and the tenthverse marker in the margin, is shaped as a triangle containing six gold dots.

In conclusion, the donation of the tughra by scholar Professor R. M. Riefstahl, dates back to the 1930’s. The 1930’s was without question a renaissance period for the field of archeology. During these years many serious excavations were being made throughout the Near and Middle Eastern territories, in particular, in Egypt, following the amazing discovery of King Tut’s burial chamber in 1922 by Howard Carter. King Tut’s coffin was laced in gold with many other valuables, including furniture and paintings.Since that discovery, many other archeological discoveries were being made pertaining to religious affairs.In particular, many lost books excluded by the religious authorities of ahl-al kitab , known as the apocripha were discovered. With the donation of this page from the Qur’an, this piece makes a nice donation from that era when knowledge of religious text spanning hundreds of thousands of years across various religious communities was accumulating.

Farooq AbdurRaheem

"So mention the name of Allah over these animals when they are drawn up in lines. Then, when they are drawn on their sides [after the slaughter], eat thereof and feed the beggar who does not ask, and the beggar who asks." [Surah al-Hajj 22:36]

In this way, all the pre-Islamic practices, which were based in ignorance, were abolished and Hajj was once more made a model of piety, fear of Allah, purity, simplicity and austerity. Now, when the pilgrims reached the Ka'bah, they no longer found the carnivals and the frolic and frivolity that had once occupied the minds of the pilgrims there before. Now, there was the remembrance of Allah at every step and every action and every sacrifice was devoted to Him alone. It was this kind of Hajj that was worthy of the reward of paradise, as the Prophet (PBUH) said: "The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing less than paradise." [2]

May Allah grant us all the ability to visit His House and perform the Hajj in the manner of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Footnotes

1 Labbaik Allaahumma labbaik... (Here I am present, O' Allah, I am present...) This is the chant which the pilgrims say when they are going around the Ka'ba.

2 Saheeh al-Bukhari (Eng. trans. Vol. 3 p. 1 no 1)

As for the deplorable practice of splattering blood of the sacrificed animals on the walls of the Ka'ba and hanging their flesh on altars, then Allah clearly informed them that:

"It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is Taqwaa (piety) from you that reaches Him." [Surah al-Hajj 22:37]

The Prophet (PBUH) also put a stop to the practice of circling the Ka'ba in a state of nudity and the argument

Hajj Rites - in brief

On the first day of the Hajj, pilgrims sweep out of Makkah towards Mina, a small-uninhabited village east of the city. Pilgrims generally spend their time meditating and praying, as the Prophet (PBUH) did on his pilgrimage.

During the second day, the 9th of Zul-Hijjah, pilgrims leave Mina for the plain of Arafat for the wuquf, "the standing," the central rite of the Hajj. As they congregate there, the pilgrims' stance and gathering reminds them of the Day of Judgment. Some of them gather at the Mount of Mercy, where the Prophet (PBUH) delivered his unforgettable Farewell Sermon, enunciating far-reaching religious, economic, social and political reforms. The Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have asked God to pardon the sins of pilgrims who "stood" at 'Arafat, and was granted his wish. Thus, the hopeful pilgrims prepare to leave this plain joyfully, feeling reborn without sin and intending to turn over a new leaf.

cut off a symbolic lock, to mark their partial deconsecration. This is done as a symbol of humility. All prohibitions, save the one of conjugal relations, are now lifted.

Still sojourning in Mina, pilgrims visit Makkah to perform another essential rite of the Hajj: the tawaf, the seven-fold circling of the Ka'bah, with a prayer recited during each circuit. Their circumambulation of the Ka'bah, the symbol of God's oneness, implies that all human activity must have God at its center. It also symbolizes the unity of God and man.

After completing the tawaf, pilgrims pray, preferably at the Station of Abraham, the site where Abraham (PBUH) stood while he built the Ka'bah. Then they drink of the water of Zamzam.

Another, and sometimes final, rite is the sa'y, or "the running." This is a reenactment of a memorable episode in the life of Hagar (PBUH), who was taken into what the Qur'an calls the "uncultivable valley" of Makkah, with her infant son Ishmael, to settle there.

The sa'y commemorates Hagar's (PBUH) frantic search for water to quench Ishmael's (PBUH) thirst. She ran back and forth seven times between two rocky hillocks, al-Safa and alMarwah, until she found the sacred water known as Zamzam. This water, which sprang forth miraculously under Ishmael's tiny feet, is now enclosed in a marble chamber in the Ka'bah.

These rites performed, the pilgrims are completely deconsecrated: They may resume all normal activities. According to the social customs of some countries, pilgrims can henceforth proudly claim the title of al-Hajj or Hajji.

Just after sunset, the mass of pilgrims proceeds to Muzdalifah, an open plain about halfway between 'Arafat and Mina. There they first pray and then collect a fixed number of chickpea-sized pebbles to use on the following days. Before daybreak on the third day, pilgrims move en masse from Muzdalifah to Mina. There they cast at white pillars the pebbles they have previously collected. According to some traditions, this practice is associated with Prophet Abraham (PBUH). As pilgrims throw seven pebbles at each of these pillars, they remember the story of Satan's attempt to persuade Abraham (PBUH) to disregard God's command to sacrifice his son.

Following the casting of the pebbles, most pilgrims sacrifice a goat, sheep or some other animal. They give the meat to the poor after, in some cases, keeping a small portion for themselves. As the pilgrims have, at this stage, finished a major part of the Hajj, they are now allowed to shed their ihram and put on everyday clothes. On this day Muslims around the world share the happiness the pilgrims feel and join them by performing identical, individual sacrifices in a worldwide celebration of 'Id al-Adha, "the Festival of Sacrifice."

Men either shave their heads or clip their hair, and women

They now return to Mina, where they stay up to the 12th or 13th day of Zul-Hijjah. There they throw their remaining pebbles at each of the pillars in the manner either practiced or approved by the Prophet (PBUH). They then take leave of the friends they have made during the Hajj. Before leaving Makkah, however, pilgrims usually make a final tawaf round the Ka'bah to bid farewell to the Holy City.

Hajj at a Glance