| Message From the Imam: To Our Graduates |
It is said that we are but where we want to be. We are now in the season in which many of the youth will be graduating from high school. This message is for them. You are where you always wanted to be, at your graduation ceremony receiving your diploma. I can imagine how great it feels when you hold on to your diploma after years of dedication and hard work.
The joy of such a moment will make you forget the long days and nights of homework, preparation for tests, and working on projects. I remember a statement of the Prophet (God's peace and blessings be upon him): "On the Day of Judgment, a person who was afflicted with much hardship [in this life] would be dipped into Heaven for a one brief moment. He then will be asked: Do you remember ever facing hardships? He will say: No." The pleasure and joy of graduation will make you forget the toil of school work.
While graduation is a time to celebrate, it also reminds us that life is full of doors of opportunities.  Whenever one closes, another one opens. In a few weeks, colleges and universities will be your second home and you will be busy running from one class to the other.
It's important that our graduates keep in mind the following advice as they begin a new phase of life:
1. The proper response to any accomplishment is gratitude. So please do not forget that your educational progress is due to the grace of Allah the Exalted. One sure way to ensure your gratitude is to strengthen your commitment to excellent character and prayers. And also, thank your parents and let them know how grateful you are for their support, love, and guidance. The Quran mentions that God will increase in bounty and all kinds of graces whoever is thankful.
2. Striving to gain knowledge is a form of worship. If knowledge is accompanied by a sincere intention to please Allah, then it will be a source of light for you in this life and in the Hereafter. With this in mind, never stop seeking knowledge, for it brings joy and protects one from ignorance.
 3. As they say, "Failure to plan is a plan for failure." Look into yourself and see what you want to be and then proceed. Our beloved Prophet said: "Allah loves of His servant that when he does something, he does it with excellence." So seek the area of knowledge you love and find yourself drawn to. Do so with effort and a full heart.
4. Many challenges are awaiting you, but remember that what you think of yourself is more important than what others think of you. Depend on Allah, have faith in your abilities, guard yourself by staying away from what is forbidden, never turn away from good counsel, choose good people as friends, and always remember that Allah is with you.
5. Our community needs you. Years from now, insha Allah, you will be celebrating another graduation from the university and looking for a job. Never forget that you belong to a community that needs you. We need you back as a leader, contributor, and a volunteer, or in any other capacity you could serve others. It is only when our youth live in the sense of belonging to the community we can move forward and prosper as a group insha Allah.
We pray for your continued success and that Allah protect you always.
Sh. Kifah Mustapha
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| Message From the President: The Key to Growth is Service |
"Service" is a word that has been losing its meaning. We often forget that "service" is beloved by God Almighty Himself. In fact, He has made service the essence of the mission of all of His Prophets and Messengers, who worked to convey God's guidance and to show the way to achieve happiness in this world and the Hereafter. But we also remember those who believed in the prophets and helped them in their cause. They too were in the service frame of mind.
In a way, a Mosque has the faint role of exemplifying the "prophetic" mission. A Mosque, for example, helps people to gain knowledge; helps with their spiritual progress; offers strength and solace when people have doubt or are under great stress, when they mourn and when they celebrate; and a Mosque provides quiet space and retreat from the enormous pressures of the "world" and when despair crowds in. With this in mind, we should remember that serving a Mosque and its community is sacred work. It is crucial for the success of our families and preservation of our religion in this area of the world. In a well known narration by Uthman Ibn Affan, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said, "Whoever builds a mosque, desiring thereby Allah's pleasure, Allah builds for him the like of it in paradise."
Building a Mosque needs collective community participation, pooling of resources, financial sacrifices, and, more importantly, purity of sincerity and intentions. We are in the midst of our largest expansion, which will triple our capacity (from 17,000 to 42,000 square feet), provide us with two new prayer areas for our sisters, a new prayer area for men, three baby sitting areas, a reading room and library, lecture hall for educational programs and interfaith activities, new offices for the Imams, secretary, the executive committee, and counseling, a new kitchen, a new washing area for women and men, a board and meeting room, a welcoming lobby at the entrance, all within a beautiful structure that connects aesthetically to the original Mosque building and crowned by a symbolic minaret and three additional domes.
This expansion is supported by state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure, a new audiovisual system, and a new security system. With God's grace and your generosity, we are closer to raising the funds needed to complete this unique facility, a total of approximately $5,000,000.
 Long after the last brick is securely placed and the last nail is hammered, the work of "building" a mosque continues and has requirements that invite consistent work and sacrifice from the community. But this involvement is not a one-way venture. It brings untold blessings to all of those who are directly involved and to those whom we seek to reach and serve. Therefore, expansion in space is meaningless without expanding our services and our outreach. This growth requires hiring and training more staff, more volunteers, increased emphasis placed on professionalism and excellence, as well as an open-minded attitude and serious resolve in tackling our deficiencies and strengthening our competencies.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard and consistent work, and courage to learn from failure. It is important also to articulate an ideal that we need to keep before our eyes. It gives an objective to reach for and prevents us from falling into compliancy.
The ideal American Mosque should address the challenges facing the American Muslim community and provide its members with solutions to overcome these challenges. Some of the major internal challenges that American Muslims face are the Muslim Youth and their dissatisfaction with the current Muslim organizations and their confusion about their Islamic identity. These youth are underserved and face issues that relate to inadequate Islamic education, inefficient and often irrelevant weekend schools, family disintegration and higher rate of divorce, turning away from Mosques, leadership vacuum, ethnic focus and disunity, separation of immigrant and indigenous Muslims, intergenerational disconnect, extremism, assimilation, and marginalized role for women.
Whether you were born Muslim or have embraced the faith through conversion, whether you come to the Mosque every day or once a month, whether you are an Arab, South Asian, African-American, or Caucasian, whenever you walk into any Mosque, you must feel that you entering your Mosque. You should feel welcomed, spiritually fulfilled, intellectually satisfied, provided with relevant Islamic knowledge, and have your faith strengthened and heritage respected. You should receive social services and zakat, if you are in need. Islamic counseling should be readily available to you, or you may be referred to professional and trusted services. Finally, you should have the opportunity and means to become civically engaged with your local community and be an active citizen in your society.
In the past few years, we have seen a rise in malicious attacks against Islam and our institutions (through both words and deeds). Slander in the media and physical attacks continue to escalate. In response, we have broadened our services to the larger community and have vastly improved our civic engagement and our relations with the media and law enforcement agencies. We have joined hands with organizations such as United Power for Action and Justice and Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugees Rights. We have also reached out to Arab-based organizations, like Arab Religious Leaders of Greater Chicago, ADC, Arab American Police Association, Arab American Bar Association, AAFS, and AAAN. Moreover, we have strengthened our roles in local and national Islamic based organizations, like CAIR, CIOGC, MAS, IMAN, and ISNA. We have extended our outreach initiative with our neighbors and organizations of other faiths, focusing on local charitable initiatives, improving our interfaith dialogue, and strengthening our youth programs.
 By the grace of Allah, our efforts have been very successful. Our Mosque is recognized as one of the leading Mosques in the Midwest and possibly the nation with regard to its services, charitable work, and community building. There has been more positive media coverage in both print and broadcast journalism. Many public officials have visited our Mosque. We have had several civic campaigns, including our active participation in support of comprehensive immigration reforms with our Latino brothers and sisters. Our political empowerment initiatives have led to the registration of thousands of new voters.
Our priorities in the coming years must focus on improving our core services, our educational programs and weekend school, and youth development and programs (including connecting to our youth in the public schools and colleges). We must also strive to make our Mosque more welcoming to all. Our outreach must expand so that our message reaches those who attend the Mosque and those who don't.
In order to accomplish these lofty goals, as God wills, we need a sound financial base and innovative financial solutions. For this reason, we will be launching the Mosque Foundation Endowment Fund (or Waqf) in order to secure financial stability, benefit the most from planned giving, and expand the diversity of income sources.
We have an ambitious and optimistic plan for the future, in which our community will become stronger, more focused, more open, more unified, and more empowered. In doing so, however, we must never forget that we are a community that serves others, especially the needy, the disenfranchised, the oppressed, and the misinformed.
Dr. M. Zaher Sahloul
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| Mosque Foundation Raises Close to Half a Million Dollars |
On Sunday, May 11, 2008, the Mosque Foundation held its annual Fundraising Dinner at the Chateau Del Mar in Hickory Hills. While the children enjoyed fun and games next door at PGN amusement park, the adults were treated to dinner and a full evening of family entertainment. 
Kareem Irfan, former chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, and special guest speaker for the Fundraising Event, applauded the Mosque Foundation community for its continuous support and generosity.
Our own Sh. Jamal Said and Sh. Kifah Mustapha shared inspirational words describing the enormous rewards for donating for the sake of Allah. The audience must have taken those words to heart as the generosity was apparent in raising close to half a million dollars in contributions and pledges.
The evening was rounded off by drawing the names of the contest winners who had answered all those challenging contest questions correctly, and were awarded amazing prizes, including two Umrah tickets, and a bedroom and living room set.
A very special thanks goes out to all the generous donors, sponsors, organizers and guests of this special event. Next year, we hope for a larger place!
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| Community Center Corner: MSA High, Bringing Islam to Public Schools |
Following Islam correctly in today's world is a struggle which requires patience and perseverance. Growing up and going through the public school system, or any school system for that matter, is challenging. I encountered many things which were hard for me as a Muslimah, like any child trying to be good and avoid inappropriate things. From a very young age, I was exposed to drugs, out of wedlock pregnancy, violence, and suicide, just to name a few. Therefore, it is extremely crucial to become involved in the schools that our youth are attending.
Working primarily with youth at the Mosque Foundation Community Center (MFCC), has made us realize that we should take a big part in building bridges to help secure or limit the youth's temptations in following the wrong path. The MFCC is working along with the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), and a few leaders from some of the local public and private high schools to do just that. Alhamdulillah, we have formed a small group of individuals who are working together to initiate Islamic Student Associations. The committee members are Amal Ali, Razan Salih, Ahmed Aduib, Dalia Al-Ramahi, Nimeh Mahmoud, Amira Ezeldin, Mohammad Moufti, and myself.
 As a committee, we decided to limit our focus to a couple of schools at a time since much time needs to be invested, so we chose Stagg and Oak Lawn High School to begin our project. Not only do we want to establish Muslim Student Associations, but we also want to ensure there is an available room for students to complete their prayers on time which is a necessity, as well as initiating attractive programs during the month of Ramadan, Fast-A-Thons for Muslims and non-Muslims in the schools, Community Service Projects, and Leadership Building among the students, and much more. This is a team effort from our committee and the Muslim students in the public schools for the betterment of the Muslim Student body. May ALLAH (swt) give us the patience and the strength to continue our work in bringing Islam to the forefront of anything and everything we do, AMEEN.
Lena Tleib
Assistant Director of MFCC
ltleib@yahoo.com
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| Helping Support the Fight Against Breast Cancer |
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On Sunday, May 11, 2008, groups representing the Mosque Foundation, Universal and Aqsa Schools, and Arab American Family Services, participated in the Y-ME CANCER WALK. Tens of thousands of people participate in this walk each year to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer.
 It was very inspiring to see that despite the rain and cold winds, a good number still came out to participate in this Y-ME Walk for such an important cause. It would have been much easier to stay home and sleep late on a Sunday morning or enjoy breakfast with the family, warm and dry inside their homes rather than to choose to come out and support this walkathon, but thank God so many did make that choice. Maybe by giving up our comfort for those few hours might bring comfort to a breast cancer victim or her family.
There is not a single person among us who hasn't been affected in some way by cancer, either directly or indirectly. Many of our community members have lost their lives to breast cancer, so inshallah next year we hope to see even more participants from our blessed community.
May ALLAH (swt) cure our illnesses and strengthen our weaknesses. May ALLAH (swt) grant us gratitude for all He gives us and for all He takes away, AMEEN.
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| Building Bridges for Common Ground |
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 The long running Muslim/Catholic Women's Dialogue Group between the Mosque Foundation and St. Fabian Parish recently held its 7th Annual Women's Interfaith Potluck Dinner. Women of all faiths enjoyed a potluck dinner which included many ethnic dishes from the Middle East, India and Pakistan, Poland and Mexico, to name a few. Getting to know each other through informal dinner conversations is the basic goal of this yearly get-together, as many reconnect with old friends and acquaintances, while others forge new friendships. The two guest speakers; Amal Ali, Youth Organizer for the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago; and Rita George Tvrtkovik, former Associate Director of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Chicago, elaborated on the commonalities and sisterhood between women of faith, and emphasized the importance of continuing and expanding interfaith groups such as this one.
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| Volunteering For the Sake of Allah |
Any sister who frequents the women's programs at the Mosque Foundation is familiar with Montaha Salem. Even if you don't know her by name, you will definitely know her by face. Montaha is one of the most active and supportive volunteers in the Mosque Foundation. She is a familiar face on Fridays, selling the falafel sandwiches and snacks, and she is also one of the volunteers who prepares the sandwiches every Friday morning before the Friday prayers.
 Montaha served on the Mosque Foundation Board of Directors from 2005-2007, and she has been an integral part of organizing the fundraising dinners, as well as helping to keep everything running smoothly during the taraweeh prayers and eid prayers.
How does a mom with 4 kids, a husband and a house to take care of, as well as a large extended family, find time to volunteer? "You have to have the right neeyah. When you do something for the sake of Allah, He puts barakah in your time," Montaha says. She also volunteers at Aqsa and Universal Schools whenever she is needed. "Rasulullah (PBUH) encouraged us to help, and I believe everyone has something to offer. Whatever you give now, you will find it waiting for you on the Day of Judgment," Montaha further states.
Montaha's late father used to encourage her to attend the mosque, but it was only after his death that she really took his advice to heart. About 12 years ago when Montaha started attending programs at the Mosque Foundation, she noticed some of the women helping in the kitchen, so she approached them and offered to help. That was the beginning, and the rest is history, as they say.
What advice would Montaha give to others interested in volunteering their time and services? "I advise everyone to get involved, especially parents, because your kids will see what you do at home and in the community, and you will be a role model for them. Always have a good neeyah, and don't be afraid to approach someone and offer your help."
May Allah bless our sister, Montaha Salem, and reward her for her outstanding efforts.
Volunteer Today!
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| Al-Siddiq Sunday School-Reflection of a Year Past |
 Al-Siddiq Sunday School has become an integral part of the Muslim community, particularly in that of the southwest suburban region of Bridgeview. The school serves over 650 registered students-many of whom travel great distances from areas such as Joliet, Kankakee, and DeKalb-as well as an estimated 80 staff members. Over the last few years, the school administration was compelled to set a capacity limit to the number of students able to attend the Sunday school, and as a result, have now incorporated a waiting-list for potential students. The staff members are comprised of paid certified teachers as well as high school students completing community service hours as a graduation requirement.
Al-Siddiq Sunday School has evolved into an institution that not only focuses on Islamic education, but also integrates Islamic values and principles to be incorporated into each student's daily life. Multiple activities are included in the school's curriculum to promote the emergence of a well-rounded Muslim living in present day America. These activities are designed to provide the students with the appropriate resources and alternative outlets to present-day concerns such as drug and substance abuse. In fact, Muslim law enforcement officials have been invited to speak with the students about these issues.
Other religion-based activities performed over the last year include Eid celebrations within the classrooms, Quran recitation/tajweed contests and Arabic reading/writing contests. Students are rewarded with prizes ranging from gifts to free dinner courtesy of their teachers. Fundraising, as well as donations by the students themselves, were collected this year to encourage the importance of giving sadaqa (the funds helped to support the Mosque Foundation's expansion project). In addition, a simulated Hajj was enacted, complete with walking laps (Tawaf) around the school and discussion of the appropriate attire and behavior required while performing Hajj.
 To end the year, graduation ceremonies are held for the students who have successfully completed the program at the highest level offered within the school's curriculum. This year there were eleven students who graduated during a special program which highlighted many of the achievements of students on all levels.
Al-Siddiq Sunday School is constantly working to improve the level of education and services offered to our community and we appreciate the support we have received as well.
Aisha Rahima, Principal
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| Life of Jalaybib-Companion of the Prophet |
Around the Prophet, there were people like 'Umar and Hamza, whose presence alone caused many a heart to tremble. The vigor of their faith and gravity of their justice required no words to be conveyed. Others among the Companions of the Prophet had similar commanding personas, whose auras were humbling and awesome. But not all were this way.
Among them, for example, was a person named Julaybib, a man short in physical stature; in fact, he was dwarf-like. His looks were not impressive either. The Arabic words that describe him, as they are recorded in the books on the Companions of the Prophet, say that he was a man tested with a repulsive appearance. Some have said that he suffered from a malformation that was no fault of his own but nonetheless difficult to look at.
But his problem did not end there. Julaybib was someone whose parentage was unknown or, at the very least, open to speculation. In the Arabian Peninsula of his day, this was no small handicap. Given that the Arabs at that time considered one's pedigree to be the source of all honor and respect, Julaybib was out of luck, or so it seemed. Because of his appearance and lack of family protection, Julaybib avoided public space and, in fact, often took refuge from the bullies of town and accompanied the circles of women in Yathrib who found enough mercy in their hearts to permit him among them.
 Julaybib seemed destined to live out his life scorned, avoided, and without any hope for advancement or notoriety. But apparently that destination was not written for him. Instead, we remember him today, even on the pages of a Chicago newsletter some fourteen centuries later. When we mention his name, we offer the honorific phrase, "God be pleased with him," as we do when we mention 'Umar, 'Ali, Hamza, and 'Amr (God be pleased with them). But an honor greater than all of this is the fact that the Final Prophet sent to humanity (God's peace and blessings be upon him)-the man more beloved to God than any other creature-took in Julaybib, loved him, was pleased with this company, and said of him: "He is of me, and I am of him." If we really understood the power of those words, we would gladly trade in our health, pedigree, and appearance for them.
The task before the Prophet, we must remember, was enormous. To establish a society that believed in God and in the brotherhood of the sons and daughters of Adam was no small accomplishment. The enmity that the Prophet and his small community faced from the idolaters of Quraysh, the hypocrites of Madinah, and the hostile tribes among the People of the Book was not subtle. The success of his community was connected with the success of all religious history, from the day Adam stepped foot on earth. With all of this on the chest of the Prophet (God's peace and blessings be upon him), Julaybib-who had a life of rebuff and rejection-was embraced, accepted, and respected in a way he never before experienced.
The Prophet took care of Julaybib to the point that he sought for him a bride. One day the Prophet approached a believer among the Ansar (the native inhabitants of Madinah) and said, "I wish to have your daughter married." The man became overjoyed, thinking that the Prophet himself was asking to marry his daughter. "I do not want her for myself," the Prophet said. Disappointed, the man said, "Who shall she marry, Messenger of God?" He told him, "Julaybib." Taken aback by the thought, the man controlled his repulsion and simply said, "Let me speak to her mother." And when he did, the mother protested: "Julaybib! Never. By God the Ever-Living, we will not marry her to Julaybib!"
The daughter overheard bits of the conversation and demanded to know who they were talking about as a potential husband. She was then told that the Prophet recommended that she marry Julaybib. The daughter, a beautiful young woman herself, became disturbed, but not at the proposal, but at her parents' reaction: "Do you refuse the Messenger of God? Send me to him; he will not cause me ruin." She said, moreover, "I am pleased and accept what the Messenger of God deems good for me." The Prophet learned of her reaction and prayed for her: "O Lord, bestow great good upon her and do not give her a life of toil and trouble." She and Julaybib were wed and lived together until Julaybib died when on an expedition with the Prophet.
During the expedition, a group of men hostile to the Muslims battled with the Prophet and his Companions. The Muslims fought and successfully triumphed over their attackers. After the battle, the Prophet grew concerned about his small friend. "Where is Julaybib?" he asked. His Companions searched the battlefield for Julaybib and eventually found his body amongst seven enemy combatants who apparently had fallen at the hands of this small giant of a man. The Prophet stood over him and said: "He is of me, and I am of him." He repeated it more than once. He then bent over and personally carried the body of Julaybib, whose head rested against the forearm of the Prophet. The Prophet then dug a grave for him and gently laid his little body therein. He then prayed for him.
Once shunned and rejected, Julaybib found love and acceptance with the greatest of human beings; and at his death, Julaybib's body found acceptance again, carried in the arms of God's Final Messenger, gently lowered in a grave that the Prophet himself dug for him, and finding words that went to the Throne of God. No earthly honor compares with this.
One should never wonder why Muslims found honor and succor in the land. When a people form a community and society in which all find space, love, dignity, and brotherhood-succor and triumph shall be theirs. Conversely, when a people harbor contempt for others, wrong and oppress them, lord over them in tyranny, and cause fear to be the milk they drink, the flesh they swallow, the air they breathe, and the thought upon which they sleep and awaken-then debasement and loss shall be their lot.
In the Quran, the Prophet is described as a "mercy to the worlds," a torch that would light the way for all who seek out God and His guidance. The slave and the king, the weak and the mighty, all were welcome.
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| The Judaization of Jerusalem |
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 The Mosque Foundation was honored to have Dr. Hasan Sanallah to speak in the Monthly English Program on a special night, Thursday, May 22nd. Dr. Sanallah presented undisputable evidence of the excavation under and around the Aqsa Mosque compound by Israel. Such excavations have already taken a toll on the surviving mosque structure, as well as the continuous weakening of the surrounding foundations. Dr. Sanallah showed slides of various theories the Israelis have for locating and rebuilding the so-called Temple Mount, as well as the disturbing images of a small synagogue which has already been placed at the western corner of Aqsa's compound, and already in use.
Dr. Sanallah also stated that the term "nakbah" is weak to describe what should be more accurately called a "genocide" of more than 200 thousand Palestinians since 1948. May Allah continue Dr. Sanallah's work to educate the public of the horrors inflicted by this occupation.
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| On Grief and Hope by Mozaffar Omar |
Ours is an era of diminishing hope, an era of increasing cynicism about those things we hold most sacred. It is hard enough in our era to be a believer in God. It is even harder to believe in virtue, and harder still to believe in hope. But that is the nature of belief itself, isn't it? Belief requires hope. The world around us is here for no purpose but to serve us. The world serves us by sheltering us, nourishing us and comforting us; that is the world's obligation to God: to serve us.
Still, a few elements in this world attempt to distract us. The piece of paper you are now reading is no less temporary than a fleeting thought in your imagination. It's all temporary. It's all a veil. And on the other side of that veil is your Creator, looking straight at you, and He is seeing things within you that your self might not see.
 But those few elements in this world around us, and in this world within us, attempt to convince us that this world is more permanent than it really is. And these elements attempt to convince us that our Creator's knowledge, bounties, and love are limited. But we seek refuge in God from those elements because we know that our Creator's love, bounties, and knowledge are without limit.
Our beliefs are marked by choices. We choose to see this material world as immaterial. This world is nothing but a set of moments. But what happens when one of our loved ones leaves this world? Is it okay then, to mourn? Of course, that mourning is a mercy from God. Of the different types of tears we have, one of those types includes the tears of purification. We may cry out of envy. We may cry out of hate. But, when we cry out of mourning, we experience those tears of purification. Think of our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when his beloved son Ibrahim, a young child, was reclaimed by God, think of the sweet tears that came from the Prophet's eyes. His tears are a mercy for us, and the tears of mourning are too a mercy. Without such sweet tears (running from our eyes, and running through our hearts), we would truly suffer.
Think further about this beloved Prophet, who outlived not just Ibrahim, but all of his children save for one: his beloved Fatima. In our material world, death never seems to come at the right time. When we've given up our hopes, it seems to come too late. When we are filled with hope, it seems to come too early, and it comes so early that it sometimes shocks us. But, we know that our moment of death - for each of us - is already set. No need for regrets. No need for doubts.
So, when one of those near-to-us leaves, they leave us with this void. We find ourselves searching around our homes, to see if s/he is hiding somewhere. We search for them in our dreams, hoping that the shock was itself nothing but a dream. We sometimes see their faces in the faces of others. 
Such then is the journey of the believer through the temporariness of this world. Remember each moment you can think of. Honor those companions who can share new memories for us. Think further about our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who lost his close wife, his beloved companion, Khadija. She believed in him before he believed in himself.
Sometimes, despite our tireless conviction in God, we sometimes need a simple reminder: we need to believe in ourselves. We need to know that we can make it through the days ahead of us. For that, sometimes, we need only a comforting hand. So, to my fellow readers, if you see someone in such need, extend your warm hands and warm thoughts.
Part of the diminishing hope is that sense of alienation we each may experience; it is part and parcel of the modern experience. And as insan - beings who need interaction and intimacy - this alienation is painful even when times are good, and is isolating when times are rough. Thus, in this modern world, when we mourn for our loved ones, we often mourn alone. Pagliacci, the clown, makes his audiences laugh; when alone, he cries. Such is often our experience.
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Mozaffar Omar is a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago.
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| Tips For a Happy and Productive Summer |
Summer is just around the corner, and as school nears its end, many children are left with a void in their time and activities.  The temptation to sleep until noon everyday and stay up in front of the television all night seems harmless enough after a grueling schedule during the school year, but it makes it much harder to get back into the groove of a schedule when school begins again in the fall. While that's true for teens, younger children always seem to have an overabundance of energy, and can become very frustrated and agitated without proper outlets.
Many studies have shown the tendency of children to gain weight during the summer vacation, resulting from excessive snacking combined with lack of activity, even though there are so many summer activities available. Here are a few tips for ensuring a happy and productive summer for our children.
- Try to maintain a daily schedule or routine.
- Give children some responsibilities and chores of their own so they will feel the sense of achievement.
- Provide alternatives to unhealthy snacks.
- Maintain some family time, especially at mealtimes and prayer times, or try to plan fun and interesting family outings.
- Enroll your child in one of the many summer programs available, such as the Mosque Foundation Summer Quran School, Universal's Summer Camp, Summer Reading Programs at the local libraries, or one of the many various activities offered by the local park districts. Even some of the Community Colleges offer many summer classes for children of all ages, starting as young as 5 years old!
- Always maintain proper adult supervision of younger children playing outside, and always know where older children are.
- Maintain open lines of communication, always show interest in your children's activities, and try to be involved with them. Reward them for good behavior, and give them opportunities to earn extra privileges.
Summer vacation should be a time to refresh after a long school year, but also a time to grow and prepare for the coming school year. Children are our most precious commodities, so let us provide them with the tools they need to grow and prosper.
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