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NATIONALNEWS NEWS BRIEFS ^ Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi was
elected president of the Academy of Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies at UCLA. The Academy, which has been working on relations between the three Abrahamic faiths for over 25 years, has a regular course of instructions at UCLA and conducts lectures and seminars on the issues of commonalities and history of relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Moving a Mosque to the North Pole First there was the “Little Mosque on the Prairie.” Soon there will be a little mosque on the tundra, thanks to a Muslim charitable foundation based in Manitoba. A 1,554-sq. ft. prefabricated mosque will be sent from Winnipeg, MB, courtesy of Canada’s Manitoba-based Zubaidah Tallab Foundation (www.zubaidahtallab.com), more than 2,500 miles to its new home in Inuvik, a resource-rich town of 3,500 people located two degrees above the Arctic Circle. Soon, its approximately 100 Muslims will be praying in the world’s northernmost mosque. Many Muslim families currently send their children elsewhere because the community has no mosque or Islamic education center. Until the mosque arrives and is established on the two lots of land purchased by the community, they will continue to use a 9’x14’ trailer. Originally established in memory of the late mother of Dr. Susan
The pre-fab building becomes the world’s northern most mosque __________________________________________
Ghazali, the foundation raised enough funds for a mosque in Thompson, MB, and then set its sights further afield. To contribute to the ongoing fund drive — CAD 300,000 (US$ 284,813) is still needed — contact the Zubaidah Tallab Foundation, BOX 532, Thompson, MB, R8N 1N4, Canada. Dr. Ghazali’s husband, Dr. Hussain Guisti, who serves as the foundation’s CFO, says that this “beautiful project” will make history by “sending a mosque [almost] to the North Pole.” The pre-fab construction will cost close to CAN$185,000, and the shipping another $80,000. It will be shipped 1,500 miles from Winnipeg, MB, to Hay River, NWT, and then travel another 1,000 miles by barge on the Hay and Mackenzie rivers to Inuvik. They plan to ship it before 30 Sept., when the last barge of the season will leave Hay River.
Grants Manager Dr. M. Iqbal Shafi (executive director, LeMoyne-Owen College Office of Sponsored Programs) has been involved in or has helped manage more than $10 million in grants from private and public sources. During his career, he has served as chairman of the division of natural and mathematical sciences (1994-present) and as professor of biology. Dr. Shafi has received recognition and numerous awards for his work in science and mathematics and is active in numerous professional associations and committees. 20 ISLAMIC HORIZONS JULY/AUGUST 2010
^ Bellingham, WA-based Saturna Capital Corporation
(www.saturna.com), an American investment management company, has received the “Failaka Islamic Fund” award (www.failaka.com) for the Best Global Equity Fund in the three-year category for its flagship Amana Income Fund. The award was presented at the Fifth Annual 2009 Islamic Fund Awards held 12 April in Dubai. The Amana Income Fund earned this distinction by achieving the best three-year performance among the thirty-eight Shari‘ah-compliant funds in the “Global Equity” category. Failaka Advisors (est. 1996) is recognized as the global leader in Islamic fund research and reporting. It currently tracks the performance of over 350 funds worldwide. Since Failaka began its awards program in 2005, the Amana Funds and Saturna Capital have received a total of eight awards. ^ Mohdudul Huq (senior
planner, planning and development department, City of Houston) received a “meritorious service award” from Mayor Annise D. Parker (D), which was presented by Marlene Gafrick (director of planning and development) during the department’s 75th birthday celebration. He is the first Muslim professional to receive such an award. ^ The multimillion-dollar Robertson Foundation for
Government (www.rffg.org) encourages graduate students to pursue government careers in national security, foreign policy, and international development. Set up by the heirs to the A&P supermarket fortune, the foundation plans to provide full financial support to students who agree to devote at least three years of service to working with a federal agency within five years of graduation: the U.S. Foreign Service, the U.S. Agency for International Development, congressional committees, intelligence agencies, and international development programs. None of the schools will be members of the Ivy League.