The MessageThe Message Vol. 49a / No. 4 / Rajab-Shaban 1439/ April 2018

A Publication of the Muslim Community Center, Chicago, IL

Dear Brothers and Sisters, السالم عليكم,

As we move closer and closer to Ramadan, at MCC we have been striv-ing hard to bring events that are rele-vant to the public and our congrega-tion. Whether they be programs hap-pening every week or installing a new Audio/Visual System at MEC and then at MCC, Insha’Allah we will make MCC a place that is updated with modern amenities. Please be patient as we go through the process-es as there are always glitches that can happen. Ramadan is fast approaching and we have started a program series called the Road to Ramadan and you will see that every weekend we will have something going on at the mas-jid up until the beginning of Rama-dan. Whether it be Mufti Hussain Kamani at MCC on April 6th speaking on justice, or the highly requested encore of our janazah lecture by Muf-ti Nazim on April 21st, to a film on sexual violence in faith-based com-munities sponsored by HEART For women and girls on April 14th, there will be something that should pique everyone’s interest. I welcome you all to check out one or all of these pro-grams the rest of the month. You should see flyers and ads for them soon. Last month, we had a very success-ful dinner for the MCC Academy. Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad shared her journey as a Muslim woman in the sport of fencing. Alhamdulillah, we raised over $300,000 for the school. We thank you for all your sup-port for all the different endeavors we have embarked on and hope you continue to support your masjid.

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President’s Report

This year’s Coming Together in Skok-ie and Niles Township celebrates the rich, multifaceted Muslim-American cultures and the Muslim residents of Skokie and Niles Township who repre-sent a wide variety of cultural back-grounds. The program is an important partnership between many different groups in Skokie, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove and Niles, and presents a unique opportunity for dialogue, enriched un-derstanding and a valuable learning experience. Hence, from January to March, many programs have been or-ganized celebrating Muslim-American cultures. On Wednesday, March 15, MCC Imam, (Mufti) Nazim Mangera, joined Rev. David Haley of Central Unit-ed Methodist Church in Skokie, along with Rabbi Memis-Foler to discuss "Love of God and Love of Neighbor" at Temple Judea Mizpah in Skokie. Ap-proximately, 75 people were present for the program. The comments on the surveys were overwhelmingly positive with several comments of needing more common ground "like these" pro-grams. During the event, (Mufti) Nazim

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Open Communities Fun-Raiser and Awards Ceremony on Sunday, March 18th was a beautiful event. Many di-verse people from the near suburbs attended to learn about the social jus-tice work that Open Communities does for 17 suburbs. MCC I&O committee received the Spirit of Open Communi-ties Award for being an organization that has timely topics that deal with immigrants rights, refugee crisis, gun violence and other social justice work. The event was attended by about 150 people and it was a community building opportunity to have our voice in this social justice work. Open Communities (OC) promotes housing, economic & social justice in north suburban Chicago. OC Board Member, Herb Brennar said, "Your organization has been at the forefront of defending the rights of un-documented individuals as well as mi-norities who have been targeted since our last election. MCC continues to have enlightened programs with di-verse speakers and truly reflect the so-cial justice values of Open Communi-ties." Thank YOU all for your constant sup-port. This award belongs to all of us. Together we are stronger-Dilnaz Waraich

From the Imam’s Desk…..

Mufti Mangera

L-R: Rev. David Haley, MCC Imam Nazim Mangera

and Rabbi Amy Memis-Foler at Temple Judea

shared the following inspirational story about “Love of Neighbor.” Abdullah ibn Mubarak (726-797), a famous Muslim scholar, had a Jewish neighbor who decided to sell his house for 2,000 of the local currency. It was said to the Jewish neighbor, “It only costs 1,000 so why are you selling it for 2,000?” The Jewish neighbor replied, “1,000 is for the house and 1,000 is for having a neighbor like Abdullah ibn Mubarak!” When Abdullah ibn Mubarak was in-formed about what his Jewish neighbor said, he called the Jewish neighbor and gave him 1,000 and told him not to sell the house. May we all continue to be good neighbors! Aameen

(Coming Together page 1)

The MCC Sunday School is starting a discussion group for parents. Dis-cussions will be held from 10:15am-11: 00 am in the MCC Community Hall. The schedule for the rest of this Sunday School year is as follows: April 1st - Protecting Our Kids On the Internet. April 8th - Cell Phone Addiction and Managing Screen Time April 15th - Bullying/Cyberbullying April 22nd - Stress and Our Chil-dren April 29th - Disciplining Children May 6th - Understanding American Culture These discussions are open to all parents and concerned community members. For more information, please email: info@mccchicagosundayschool.org. The MCC Sunday School held its

annual Qirat competition on March 18th. Congratulations to the follow-

ing winners:

1st Grade

1st - Maria ElHarbi 2nd (tie) - Naima Wazir 2nd (tie) - Zuleyka Idris 3rd - Dania Adgouadi 4th - Hekima Wako

2nd Grade

1st - Vaania Siddiqui

2nd - Miftahul Ali 3rd - Mya Taj

4th - Hanan Hashim

3rd Grade

1st - Jenan Mahmud 2nd - Hafsah Abdullah

3rd - Ayoub Tesbia 4th - Tasneem Abdurahman

4th Grade

1st - Azebe Salah

2nd - Maryam Ahmed 3rd - Soha Vohra

4th - Tanisha Islam

5th Grade

1st - Mohammed Farshad Siddiqui 2nd - Samir Abdella

3rd - Taqayyah Ahmed 4th - Abid Chowdhury

6th Grade

1st Faiyaz Husain

2nd - Zeshaan Ahmed 3rd - Amal Sarwar 4th - Labib Azam

7th Grade

1st - ZamiZam Abdella

2nd - Abdul-Rauf Abdullah 3rd - Hambalat Idris

8th Grade

1st - Amir Abdella

2nd - Sohail Ahmed 3rd - Hamido Idris

4th - Ayaan Gul

9th Grade

1st - Fahim Husain 2nd - Rahasan Rahim

3rd - Firdousah Abdullah 4th - Ezazul Haque

10th Grade

1st - Ammaar Khan 2nd - Rashid Diallo

Youth of MCC Updates The mission of the Youth of MCC

youth group is to establish a foundation

for building Islamic character, values,

and behaviors in Muslim youth of our

community. It’s a place to make new

friends, develop our identity and pur-

pose, grow as leaders, and practice our

commitment to service.

This month we collected soccer

equipment for our Rohingiyan friends,

engaged in a meaningful discussion on

the love of Allah, anger management

and harms of sin shaming and welcomed

community members Rasha Ali who

spoke about her humanitarian trip to

Burma and MCCA nurse Hadessa Plum-

mer who emphasized the importance of

knowing our roots and heritage. Youth

members volunteered at the annual

MCCA fundraising dinner on March 4

and attended the Chicago area youth

event held at the MECCA center on

March 9th.

We welcome all high school and col-

lege Muslim youth from our community

to join us. We meet on Sundays from 10-

12pm in Skokie. Please contact Sarah

Kadir for additional information at:

sarah.kadir@gmail.com

MCC Sunday School

Parent Discussion Group &

Qirat Competition

The Mommy and Me program by the

Women's Committee had two very ex-

citing sessions recently. On Feb 13,

2018, mommies and their young chil-

dren met at the Morton Grove Public

Library for a fun story time. Kids also

enjoyed fun activities and playtime

after the story time. Moreover, on

March 6, 2018, the Mommy and Me

group met the MEC Mosque Banquet

hall to work out together as a group. It

was a great way for moms and their

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MCC Publication Committee:

Shabnam Mahmood—Chair/Editor-in-chief Syed Mahmood—Co-Chair

M. Sabih Uddin—Advertising Manager

Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari—Prayer Timetable

Mohsin Bhatty—Distribution The Message is a monthly publication of the Muslim Com-munity Center that informs members of administration, organization and committee activities of MCC/MEC. Submit your questions and comments editormccpublica-tions@gmail.com. The opinions expressed in The Message do not necessarily represent those of the Publication Com-mittee. The editors reserve the right to edit all material.

Masha'Allah, we were over-

whelmed and humbled by the sup-

port and generosity of our guests and

volunteers at the MCC Academy An-

nual Dinner on March 4, 2018. The

evening was a true delight with en-

tertainment from our talented stu-

dents, speeches from alumni and a

graduating 8th grader, school high-

lights video, lots of exciting raffle

prizes, an enormous dessert buffet

that had guests truly awed and last,

but not least, a motivating and inspir-

ing keynote address by US Olympic

Medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad. Guests

were mesmerized by her story and

advice for empowering our youth.

Our thanks to Hafiz Azam Hashmi for

inspiring our community to support

MCCA. JazakAllahkhairun to the gen-

erous families whose donations to

MCCA will help keep us going strong

and ever-improving, Insha’Allah. Our

sincere thanks to the many business-

es who donated raffle items. Lastly,

our thanks to the many staff mem-

bers and volunteers whose vision

brought this evening to fruition.

Any questions or comments or con-cerns, please feel free to contact me. Regards, Kamran Hussain president@mccchicago.org 847-452-5811

(President: Continued from page 1)

For information regarding these and any of

our events please visit us at

www.mccchicago.org for further information.

MCCA News

MCC Academy Annual Dinner a

Success!

Since this is an Islamic publication, please dispose

of it in a respectable Islamic manner. Recycling

bins are available at both masajids.

Once again, Alhamdulillah, we have three students who won Gold at re-gionals and will be heading to the Illi-nois State Science Fair competition at Bradley University in Peoria on April 28! Mabrook to Tabassum Mubeen, Khadija Kerrada, and Hamine Arifi. Eleven of our students received silver and two won bronze. Jazakallakhairun to Middle School Science Teacher Ms. Waseeya Barkat and Middle School Director Mrs. Abeer Saleh for coaching all of the students throughout this pro-cess and accompanying them to the regional science fair.

young ones to exercise while socializ-

ing. It was also a great opportunity for

moms to instill ways of a healthy life-

style in their young ones.

Women's Committee's February event

On Feb 17, 2018, the Women's Com-

mittee organized a Sisterhood Potluck.

Sisters were able to get together, relax,

and get to know each other. Sisters

brought a dish to share. Dr. Fauzia Lo-

dhi was also invited to talk about

'Breast Cancer' which was much appre-

ciated by the sisters attending the pot-

luck. The Women's Committee utilized

this time to run a drive for the local

Rohingya refugees. The Women's Com-

mittee collected household items and

deliver the donated items to the Roh-

ingya Cultural Center on Devon Street.

(MEC-WC Continued from page 2)

Dr. Fauzia Lodhi

MCCA MIDDLE SCHOOLERS MEDAL AT REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR, THREE

HEADED TO STATE COMPETITION