As Salamu Alaikum to all,I want to begin by saying reminding the community that I'm leaving for Umra tomorrow insha-Allah. If I have offended or dishonored any of you, I ask your forgiveness. I will remember you all in my prayers as I travel and most definitely while in the Haram.I will return next Saturday, March 17th insha-Allah at 10am. Iqra will be open this Saturday for it usual program, minus my class. This Saturday Iqra will be having a potluck dinner. We ask everyone to bring a dish, enough to serve 30 people. Dinner is at 7pm.Next Saturday, March 17, my mother, Jihan Abdur-Rashid, will give an Islamic Art workshop at Iqra. This workshop will be interactive and each participate will have an opportunity to design their own Islamic tile mosaic. The workshop will begin at 8pm on March 17th.I'm pleased to announce the beginning of new Saturday night lecture series and a new Saturday course for adults at Iqra.Satuday Night Lecture Series beginning in April:1.) Imam Shair will give a lecture series and critique of Manning Marable's book: "Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention". The title of this lecture series is "Marable's Parable: Where X Missed the Spot! This lecture series will offer a critique of the late Columbia University professor Marable's biography of the life of Malcolm X. Imam Shair will present his own commentary of the contents and methods of the text and provide insight into the legacy of Malcom X for Muslims in the contemporary American environment. This lecture will be in English. Dates for the lecture: March 31, April 21 , May 12 ,2.) Ustadh Ebad will give a lecture series and analysis of Sherman Jackson's book: "Islam and the Blackamerican". Ebad will provide an explanation and analysis of the text in light of the career of Islam among American blacks and their interaction with immigrant Muslims. This lecture will be in English. Dates for the lecture: April 7 , April 28 , and May 19.3.) Imam Khalil will give a lecture series and analysis of the wives of the prophet Muhammad (saaws). This lecture will explore the lives and characteristics of the wives of the prophet Muhammad, and reveal how each of them played an integral role in the development of the sunna. This lecture will be in English, however some parts will be in Turkish. Dates for the lecture: March 24th, April 14, May 5 and 26.New Saturday Course at IqraTitle: Islam and Modernity: Competing Tensions of Identity Formation
Course Day and Time: Every Saturday from 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Instructor: Khalil Abdur-Rashid
Description: This course will explore the dual systems for fashioning identity. On the one hand, Islam through the Quran and Sunna, is primarily concerned with shaping us and reshaping human life and human interaction with one specific goal in mind - becoming servants of Allah through worship. One the other hand, Modernity also attempts to shape and fashion human life and human interactions with a different goal. Both systems, Islam and Modernity, share spheres which overlap and which are opposites in their objective in shaping human identity. This class will explore this dual tension at shaping subjectivity and uncover the similar and competing themes of Islam and Modernity and how we as humans are both subject to and subject of both systems. This course will rely heavily upon two types of readings, one through Islamic texts in English and the other through readings about Modernity.
Course Dates: March 24th until May 27th__,_._,___
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