Recently, I attended a graduation ceremony for an Islamic weekend school.  It was a heart warming experience to watch, as the students brought many of the parents to tears with their songs about the prophet, their recitation of the Quran, and their speeches in Arabic. I saw in them a bright future for Muslims in the U.S.  The students truly projected their love of the Prophet and their pride in their faith. One third grade student in particular stood out among the many young stars. She was born in Chicago to an immigrant Palestinian family, but she recited the Quran and read Arabic poetry with clarity, confidence and eloquence, better than many who were born and raised in Arabic speaking countries.

In a recent PEW study, American Muslims were asked if they consider themselves Muslim first or American first.  About 47% of American Muslims considered themselves Muslim first compared to 28% who considered themselves American first. Higher percentages among younger Muslims considered themselves Muslim first (about 60%).

Mosque attendance was particularly high among Muslims under the age of 30, at about 51%. Young Muslims who were "more practicing" and who were attending Mosques more frequently were more likely to consider themselves as Muslim first, indicating a strong sense of Islamic identity.

Many factors affect and shape one's identity. Today's youth live and develop in a society that offers tremendous choices and challenges during the formative period of adolescence. The 13-17 year olds are particularly vulnerable to outside influences when their values and ideas have not fully developed.

Some of the factors that affect youth identity are the schools, their peers, Hip-Hop culture, popular music, the media, movies, video games, internet and chat rooms, facebook, myspace, youtube, and many other factors. They are influenced by the dominant values in the society like consumerism, materialism and individualism.

The first and most important factor influencing the children is their parents and immediate family. This influence begins from the first minutes of life. The Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, recommended that the father recite the call for prayer in the right ear of the newborn and Iqama in the left ear of the child immediately after birth, so the first words the child can hear are the words of calling to prayer.

Both parents must work together to encourage and nurture the good tendencies in the child so he or she can become a useful person that helps himself and people. The absence of the father can lead to economic and social poverty. The majority of school dropouts, drug additions, criminal behavior, and out-of-wedlock pregnancies can be traced to the absence of a healthy father relationship in the home. The effects can be devastating on children and often last a lifetime.

The second important factor shaping the child's identity is their school. Children spend more time in schools than at home. Their teachers, counselors, peers, along with the curriculum and dominant values in the school have a strong influence on them.

Every Muslim child should attend some type of Islamic schooling whether it is a full time or weekend school. Without the experience of attending Islamic school and having Muslim peers and friends who share the same values and beliefs, the child's sense of Islamic identity may not be that strong, especially with the continuous bombardment of societal messages that are against the core values of Islam. Parents should get involved in their children's schools, volunteer and participate in PTAs, encourage celebrating Islamic holidays, help to provide a healthy environment for their children during fasting in Ramadan, educate teachers and staff about Islam and Islamic practices, and run for election to local education boards and other school committees so they can affect the policies in the public schools.

The third important factor is the Mosque and the Muslim community. Mosques are places where children and youth come to worship together and feel connected to the rest of the community. That experience has a very positive and nurturing effect on the Muslim child and the youth's sense of identity, especially if the Mosque environment is welcoming and accommodating. This is why the first thing the child should hear is the call for prayer. Prayer connects to the community horizontally and to the Creator vertically.

Many other factors shape youth's Islamic identity such as youth centers, camps, Islamic organizations, Islamic media and conferences. Even major political events like 9/11 and islamophobia can affect identity development in a positive or negative way.

Allah (S.W.T) says in surat At-Tahrim, (verse 6), says "O you who believe, protect yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones."

The prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) said: "Each and everyone of you is responsible and accountable for your responsibility. So the man is responsible in his house and accountable for his family, the woman is responsible in her husband's house and accountable for her husband's family." {Reported by Imams Bukhari and Muslim}

He also said (Every newborn is born on the pure nature (Fitrah, which is Islam), and his parents would either make him a Jew, a Christian, or a fire worshipper." {Reported by Imams Bukhari and Muslim}

If we care about the future of our children and the future of Islam in this country, then our focus should be directed to foster a strong Muslim identity among our youth. Dr. Maher Hathout, one of the prominent American Muslim leaders once told me: "our generation is the fourth wave of Muslim immigration to the US, what happened to the first three?"

Dr. M. Zaher Sahloul
 

Dr. Anas Nahhas might not be one of the more familiar faces the Mosque Foundation congregation is used to seeing, but the value of our behind-the-scenes volunteers is immeasurable.  Dr. Nahhas is a busy physician who approached one of the Food Pantry volunteers last year about becoming involved, specifically, volunteering to pick up the Food Pantry orders from the Greater Chicago Food Depository twice a month.

The Mosque Foundation Community Food Pantry has really been blessed with dedicated and outstanding volunteers, such as Jeanean Othman and Kifah Shukair, who drive to the Food Depository every Monday morning at 7 AM to bring fresh produce for distribution when the pantry opens at 10 AM, and Nahida Abdallah, who comes early to open the doors and prepare for distribution, and the many other dedicated sisters who volunteer their time to help the less fortunate.

Dr. Nahhas and his wife, Raghad Amine, set aside time from their hectic schedule to drop everything and drive the mosque's truck to pick up the Food Pantry supplies, usually between 2 - 4 thousand pounds of boxes, which they, along with a couple other volunteers unload themselves, and unpack the perishable items to the refrigerators and freezers. 

Allah has blessed everyone with something to donate, whether it's money or time or a little elbow grease, we all make a difference.  May Allah bless Dr. Anas Nahhas, his wife Raghad Amine, and all our dedicated volunteers.

BECOME A MOSQUE FOUNDATION VOLUNTEER TODAY!

Amal is hope. The word occurs infrequently in the Quran, though there are many other words with similar meanings, and they are found repeatedly. (The Quran in itself is all hope, since it offers guidance, without which hope is extinct, let alone possible.) In the two occasions in which amal (amala and al-aml) does occur in the Quran, extremely important concepts are given. First, Wealth and children are ornaments of the life of the world. But abiding good deeds are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope (Quran, 18:46). This verse gives us important outlook regarding our priority in life and our foundational understanding of our purpose and God's plan. While people naturally love wealth and children, they are not signs of God's estimation of people. In other words, children and wealth in abundance do not indicate that God is pleased with their possessors. They are, as the verse states, ornaments of life. The pre-Islamic Arabs (and people of all ages, in fact) found solace in the stuff of this world and were deluded into thinking that abundance of the things of this world are signs of their inherent status and rank. This verse states plainly that such possessions are not the criteria by which one judges his or her true success, for success is with God and for God.

So what are the signs of success? In this verse we are told what is successful and what is important: But abiding good deeds are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope. According to commentators of the Quran, "abiding deeds" are obligatory acts of worship, followed by extra devotions that are done consistently and sincerely. Among the specific deeds associated with "abiding deeds," as recorded in the books of hadith, are the phrases of God's glorification, such as, "Glory be God. Praise be to God. No god but God. And God is great!" These words, when said with sincerity and presence of mind, raise a person in God's estimation and offer such a person greater reward and hope of salvation in the Hereafter. What is amazing about this is that anyone (no matter his or her material or physical condition in life) can achieve success that not only affects our worldly life but that continues forever in the Hereafter.

Second, the word al-aml occurs in the following verse: So let them eat and enjoy themselves, and let them be diverted by vain hope; for they will come to know (Quran, 15:3). The kind of "hope" mentioned in this verse is actually false hope. Specifically, it is the hope of those who disbelieve in God but yet somehow feel that their condition is sound and, in fact, correct.  

Hope is vital in human life, but it is most effective when connected with truth, which always brings warmth to a person, no matter the trials that we face. 
 
 

The Bridgeview Public Library kicked off its annual summer reading program June 19th, which runs until July 31st, for children of all ages to utilize their time during the summer vacation.  The Mosque Foundation is a proud sponsor of the program this year with the donation of a popcorn machine, one of the library's wishlist items.  The library offers various activities, crafts, games, and contests throughout the duration of the summer reading program that's sure to peak the interest of children of all ages, including a storytime for children too young to read by themselves.  Along with the great prizes children earn for reading books during the program, many of the public schools offer a reading award at the beginning of the school year for children who have completed their required reading at the local public library.  So, turn off the television and video games, and get in the REAL game, READ!

Our beloved prophet Muhammed (PBUH), was sent as a mercy to all mankind, a perfect role model for every generation until the Day of Judgment.  His life, his words, and his traditions have all been meticulously detailed for our benefit, and it is our duty to know his history in order to know him (PBUH) and follow his example.

Sister Banan Said is volunteering her time to teach this history of our beloved prophet's life every Tuesday evening from 8:30 PM - 10 PM at the MFCC for sisters of all ages.  The first class began on June 17th, with a fascinating account of the pre-Islamic history of the Arabian peninsula, beginning with prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) following Allah's command to leave his wife Hajar and firstborn son Ismail in a remote, desolate area which later would become the thriving city of Makkah.  Sister Banan explained how tawheed spread throughout the Arabian peninsula, and later how other religions, including paganism were introduced into the region.

The course is expected to last for 16 weeks, with a certificate awarded to everyone who completes it in its entirety.   
 

At which point did my journey to Islam begin? This is a question that I've often asked myself. I was seemingly the most unlikely of candidates, but then there is no real prototype of a likely convert, everything is in the hands of Allah Almighty. He needs only to say 'Be' and the most unlikely becomes the most likely, even myself.

Ever since my transition from one without faith to one blessed with the recognition of the existence of our Creator, I have tried to put my finger on what it means to believe. But I cannot, for belief is too powerful to be restrained by language. I know that I always had a sense of something Great, an elusive feeling that Meaning sat just outside of my grasp. A feeling of holiness and longing. I was a vessel that needed to be filled! Now that I am Muslim, these feelings have a structure and I have a focus and a goal. Most importantly, I have a method. Islam has given me the means to decipher my spirituality, to understand my humanness. My life, once ambiguous and lurking, has clarity and perspective. Alhamdulillah! But once more, how did I get here?

Ever suspicious of organized religion but filled with an emptiness and a desire to 'know', at the age of twenty I set out to explore the world. At some point towards the end of my journey, I found myself in a North African village. Here, for the first time, I felt a balance... things were in place somehow. What was it? I couldn't tell. It was subtle but pervasive. I was too immature for it to occur to me that it had something to do with Islam. I left with a feeling of jealousy: they had something that I didn't. I crossed the border and pulled off my disguise (jilbab and hijab) in full view of the guards, back to "being free," so why did I sense that I was leaving behind something precious?

Back in Australia, my friends laughed at my newfound obsession with all things Arabic. I laughed with them. Never content with staying in the tent of my own culture, I had been playing the ethnophile for years. First China, then India, my cupboards full of exotic fabrics, my nights spent reading subtitles. So there was nothing strange about my buying Arabic newspapers that I couldn't read or sitting at home repeating alif, ba, ta, jeem, my throat getting stuck at 'ayn 'ghayn. At least to those around me there was nothing strange, but I sensed there was something enduring about my attraction. It didn't feel like a superficial fad. I had always been the first to laugh at my forays into other worlds, this time it was different.

It didn't pass, time passed but the attraction remained. What was it about the Arabic language that I found so captivating? I listened and felt a stirring deep in my being. I sat for hours gazing at Arabic Calligraphy, feeling it penetrate my heart. What gave it such power? How could something so beautiful come from such a backward and repressive religion?

My friends still chuckled to themselves until they realized that I was really thinking about converting. They had discussions about me anxiously: what should they do?

How could I explain how the Qur'an had opened itself to me, offering me its beauty and vastness? How could I describe how it felt to attend the fajr prayer and watch the people as they prayed? To watch them and not feel like a detached observer, but to understand their love. I didn't have the words to convey my feelings. All I could do was retreat into myself, my books, and turn towards Allah and beg that He not leave me behind, not leave me alone.

And here I am five years later, knowing that everything that happened could never have occurred any other way. Subhan'Allah, please always let me keep this awareness of the immensity of this gift of Islam and please let me convey it to my children as they grow.

I still remember the first time I ever saw the Mosque Foundation.  It was late February 1990.  I had just moved to Chicago from a small city in Louisiana.  There had been a blizzard the week before, so there were mountains of snow all around as I drove around the corner of W. 93rd Street.  It was late evening, already dark, and the masjid was already locked up for the night, but I will never forget the moment I saw it.  I was overcome with emotion seeing the dome rising up in the midst of this tiny little suburb.  It was the first mosque I ever saw in America that was actually built to be a mosque, not a renovated warehouse or church, but a real mosque built from scratch to be used to worship Almighty Allah.  Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I drove around it, silently, almost reverently, trying to take it all in.  As a convert coming from a small town in the deep south, it meant something to me.  I saw the future for my children to be raised with other Muslim children, to learn their religion and grow up with the sense of Islamic identity which had eluded me.  I saw a chance for myself to be part of a whole community, rather than the misfit, the only one of my kind, hijabi girl, that I was back home.

Fast forward, eighteen years later, to a sunny Tuesday morning, June 10th, 2008, as I stood in the Mosque Foundation parking lot with a crowd of people, young and old, gathered together to witness a momentous occasion in Mosque Foundation history - the raising of the Minaret.  I felt some of the same pride and amazement I had felt that first night, and again the emotion overwhelmed me at times.  I was overwhelmed again as I drove to the masjid the next morning and discovered that the new Minaret was clearly visible from Harlem Avenue!  It was a beautiful symbol, calling out to my heart, "Hasten to the prayer!  Hasten to success!  God is Great!  There is no god but Allah!"

We are a blessed community.  Allah has showered His barakah on this masjid, and we should never dismiss it lightly or take it for granted.  You see, I lived in a Muslim country for over a year in the Arabian Gulf, and I saw beautiful mosques on every corner, but the first mosque I ever stepped foot inside to pray was a tiny little mosque in Bridgeview, Illinois called the Mosque Foundation.  Unfortunately, the mosques in most Islamic countries are not "women friendly."  Sadly, most women living in those countries live and die without ever praying one prayer inside the mosque other than during their Hajj time.  I know women who have never tasted the sweetness of praying Salat Taraweeh at a mosque during the nights of Ramadan, or never gathered with other families to pray Salat al Eid at a mosque.  It was sadly evident to me when I was in Hajj as I witnessed so many women from predominantly Muslim countries who had never prayed a janazah prayer and didn't know how to!   We are privileged.  Our beloved mosque offers programs for all, no one is excluded, rather we are encouraged to attend.  Our daughters grow up with the Islamic knowledge and etiquette that some of their mothers and grandmothers were excluded from. 

So the next time you gaze up at our new Minaret, remember to thank Allah for blessing our community.  May Allah reward all those who worked so hard to build our beloved Mosque Foundation on a vacant lot in the middle of nowhere almost thirty years ago, and may Allah continue to bless our ever expanding mosque and all the ones who work so hard now and in the future to keep it alive.  Ameen.