Good Article on AlMaghrib

Finally some good press.. from the Washington Report.

AlMagrib Institute: Islamic scholarship meets “cool” and “hip”

Contrary to conventional wisdom, fundamental Islam and “cool” are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In fact, since 9/11 the pursuit of Islamic scholarship has grown exponentially, and part and parcel of this revival is a new generation of hip and self-confident young Muslims. While previous generations sought to emulate mainstream American society by shedding their scarves and beards, today’s younger Muslim Americans increasingly show up in classrooms wearing traditional Muslim garb with self-esteem.

Much of this phenomenon is in response to the microscope put on Muslims since 9/11. The intense scrutiny and resulting introspection have caused Muslims to defend, protect and relish their faith and identity. As a result, North America is witnessing a burgeoning of organizations promoting Islamic education and awareness. Foremost among these is AlMaghrib Institute, which offers university-level double-weekend seminars to a growing student body of 7,000 in the United States and Canada.

Perhaps the AlMaghrib phenomenon is the result of its state-of-the-art advertising, graphics and 21st century vernacular. Or maybe it’s the way reverent material is delivered with a touch of, well, irreverence.

TDC06 - Moderation in Theology of Ahlus Sunnah - Yasir Qadhi

The full title of this talk is actually “Theology of Ahlus-Sunnah: Moderation Exemplified” and concentrates on how Ahlus Sunnah is really the middle (or moderate) path in regards to its Aqeedah. It covers the meaning of wasitiyyah (moderation) and gives 10 examples from points of Islamic Theology describing what the moderate path is vis-a-vis other groups that went to extremes. *This is not a transcription but just typed up from my notes.

Moderation in Arabic is the word wasitiyyah. As occurs in the ayah describing the ummah, “And thus we have made you a wasat [just] nation” (2:143). Note that this ayah occurs in exactly the middle of Surah al-Baqarah which has 286 ayaat.

Moderation is not the only meaning though. There are 2 primary meanings,

TDC06 - Progress with the Progressives - Yasir Qadhi

This lecture and the “Role of reason in revelation” lecture I think were by far the single 2 best talks at the whole conference. I think they hit it on the head in terms of, information, relevance, motivation, and action. They properly addressed something we all face in our communities, educated us about them, and then gave tips on how to fix it.

I hope that insha’Allah you will benefit from these notes, I actually went back and tried to transcribe the lecture from the CD (alhamdulillah I was of the lucky few to get one). With that said, please check out the notes, I know it is long, but I really feel its important to have this available.

The lecture started out with a definition of progressives, and then a fictional story to help explain the rest of the talk.

Progressives: Muslims who feel like Islam has to change from time to time. Progressives take this to an extreme level, for example the Friday prayers led by a woman.

This movement is gaining more force in North America, and they have a bigger presence here than anywhere else in the world.

To better explain this, we will begin with a story:

Imagine a land called the United Lands of Veganopolis,

TDC06 - Animal Rights in Islam - Yasir Qadhi

I don’t think I have ever seen a lecture that garnished so much interest purely out of sheer curiosity. It seems everyone showed up simply to see what the heck this was all about. He began by talking about the way animal rights have been viewed historically, and mentioned the different extremes people have gone into, and essentially covered the secular perspectives on animal rights.

Then he mentioned what the Quran says about animal rights.

First, that they are a creation of Allah, made into different species. Sufyan ibn Uyaynah said that animals have characteristics we can learn from. For example, arrogant like a peacock who spreads its wings, and people whose talking resembles a dog barking.

Secondly,

TDC06 - Milestones in Dawah - Ibrahim Dremali

More from the Texas Dawah Convention.. This one was entitled Milestones of Ahlus Sunnah in the Path of Da’wah by Ibrahim Dremali.

I didn’t take too many notes in this one but I thought it was a really good talk, so I will just post a couple of brief points:

TDC06 - Khutbah Workshop I - Mamdouh Muhammad

The Khutbah workshop is something I was looking forward to, but unfortunately I missed the second session and the third one was cancelled. Still though, the first one was very nice, and it was a pleasant surprise to see Dr. Mamdouh teaching it, even though he was not on the program (I think he left the conf early though).

Here are some brief notes and highlights of what was said:

Texas Dawah Conference 2006 (recap)

i am back from TDC alhamdulillah. since it seems a lot of ppl are interested in what went down etc i will inshallah post some of my notes from the lectures i was able to attend, so keep an eye out. the posts will all contain “TDC06″ in the title.

the highlights of the conference were definitely yasir qadhi’s lectures, but i dont think i was really disappointed in any of the lectures i was able to attend, esp ibrahim dremali, kamal mekki, and waleed basyouni’s. the final session on monday night was also extremely motivational and ended the conf on a very nice note.

i will try to post links to other blogs and stuff in the comments for general recaps, etc.

inshallah more details to follow..

Success of AlMaghrib vs. Other Organizations

I have been reflecting on different da’wah strategies and successes employed by various institutions/organizations/masaajid throughout North America for at least a few months now. By this I include different activities such as halaqat, sunday school, conferences, lectures, intensives, etc. What I have found through just my own personal experiences is that the AlMaghrib model is the most successful, and in turn makes the other activities more successful. I know this is a long read, but please take a look and leave your comments. I will begin with current models and then move on to what I think works the best at the end…

Texas Dawah Conference 2006

Make sure you try to attend this year’s convention inshallah, probably the best conference in the country hands down. Click here for more info. Enjoy the following trailer:

Sign up for Muhammad AlShareef’s Email List

This is a nice project from his websites PowerWorkshops and DiscoverU. Its weekly emails with a brief ayah and hadith that I find to be very useful. You can sign up by sending a blank email to successinIslam@getresponse.com, or following the DiscoverU link.

Here is an example email:

Week 16: Gotta Luv’em

Hadith:
Narrated Al-Bara: I heard the Prophet - Sal Allahu alayhi wa
sallam - saying, “None loves the Ansar but a believer, and none
hates them but a hypocrite. So Allah will love him who loves
them, and He will hate him who hates them.” - Saheeh AlBukhari

[Lessons from this Hadith] Make a special effort today to read
stories of the Ansar. Read about their sacrifice for the Deen.
And in this journey, you will win the love of Allah for
yourself!

[Suggestions on how to implement these verses]
http://www.powerworkshops.org in the “Free Stuff” section