Taqwa Connections

……………And MIST is back again!

2008-07-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

This time for the nationals in Atlanta.

For those of you who don’t know about MIST, its stands for Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament. It’s a competition between Muslim high school students forming teams to compete against each other in different categories including arts, knowledge and Quran, writing and oratory, bracket competitions, basketball and group projects. Each of these have different sub categories were the participant can choose what he or she wants to do.

They first compete in the Regionals against other teams in their area. This took place around May. The five winning teams from each region then go on to compete with other teams from all around the nation.

The winners from the regionals that were hosted have gotten together for MIST nationals in Atlanta Georgia. The nationals are there to choose the best of the best. This year at Atlanta, was no different from the last, except that it was bigger and better this time. Every year the program expands, Masha Allah, it was a great experience for all those able to drive down to Atlanta.

After the long tiring hours of stress and hard work, there was the award ceremony to look forward to. A startling total of 900 people attended nationals. And the number keeps getting bigger every year.

Even though everyone tried their best and many took home trophies and medals, only one team won the first place trophy. This team was from Houston, Texas. We should also congratulate every one else who participated in MIST as the competition was very tight and the results were very close. I would also like to recognize all the volunteers and contributors out there and let them know that all their hard work is appreciated greatly.

For more information go to www.getmistified.com
Insha Allah, MIST will be happening again soon. So keep checking their website for updates if you wish to join.

By: Shifa Khan...she will be entering the 8th grade soon

Sunday School

2008-06-30T20:30:00.001-07:00

By: Soha Hassan & Somayah Eltoweissy

Sunday school. I know you may not like the idea of going to school on a Sunday, but it is so worth it. To tell you the truth, I didn’t like the thought of Sunday school either at first. I really didn’t want to wake up early on a weekend to learn, but after a single class of Sunday school I fell in love with it. I got to learn a lot more about Islam and improve my Arabic. Now, my teachers and classmates are almost like family to me.

Dar Al-Taqwa provides several Sunday school classes between 9:00am and 2:30pm. Every Sunday, several kids ages 7 through 14 get together with one main goal – that is to learn as much as possible about their religion and its language. Registration for Sunday school is still open and classes are filling up fast.

So what are you waiting for? Go tell all your friends and parents about this wonderful program! Trust me, you won’t regret it!

Soha Hassan attends the Howard County Public School System and will be moving to 6th grade inshaa Allah this fall. Somyah Eltoweissy resides in Howard County and is homeschooling, comments on the article may be posted below

The Time To Relax Is Over

2008-05-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

By: Somayah Eltoweissy and Ayman Nassar

It is hard to recognize at first notice how much the Dar Al-Taqwa community has achieved over the past 2 years. With the grace and support of Allah (SWT), and the tens of hours a month its volunteers put into Dar Al-Taqwa, almost all of us can recognize the completion of the new Masjid facility and an expanded parking lot. However, the majority of us will fail to recognize the hard work and achievements we have come across in other domains.

Dawah is a whole domain in itself, a continuous outreach process towards non-Muslims as well as Muslims. One recalls how our Dawah activities used to be before we were blessed with the new building. We used to get groups of two to four people, maybe six at the most at any given time. It was very sporadic and inconsistent. The Imam used to visit a handful of colleges and schools in the area as well as a couple of other volunteers from the community. However the last 12 months alone have been a completely different experience for the community at Howard County. Over 800 copies of Quran translations were distributed. We had two major open houses; the largest had over 450 curious visitors. On an average basis we now get about one group of 20 to 40 non-Muslims visiting Dar Al-Taqwa a month. Groups range from middle school students, high school classes, college students, to church groups, public officials and just general neighborhood groups. Another aspect of change is that our relationship with most of these visitors is not a one-time experience. The community has established a relationship with many of these groups, in particular the church groups. Visits have been recurring and reciprocal.

Another area of Dawah that Dar Al-Taqwa has grown into is the inmate outreach. The goal is to not only serve the needs of the Muslims in detention centers, but also to be part of their transition back into the society through a stronger understanding of their Deen. Prior to 2006, Dar Al-Taqwa was active at the Women's Correctional Institute in Jessup. Through the hard work of five volunteer sisters and two brothers, weekly Saturday Halaqas and Thuhr prayer have been offered there. Today with the grace of Allah (SWT) and through the work of another four brother volunteers, Dar Al-Taqwa has been also providing services at the Howard County Detention Center which houses close to 320 inmates of which about 1% - 4% are Muslims. We have been offering Jumma Khutbahs for the brothers since October of 2007, during this period four inmates embraced Islam.

Dawah doesn't stop there. Today Dar Al-Taqwa has established relationships with the Police Department. The Imam and our community affairs officer met with the Police Chief as part of a larger Muslim group to discuss and share our community's needs and challenges. One of our Shura members is participating in Citizen's Police Academy, an 11-week program to learn about law enforcement and issues affecting the Howard County residents. Among the things we are interested in learning about through the Police Academy Program are youth gangs and challenges, drugs, community safety programs, employment opportunities and general knowledge. The Muslim community in Howard County had a difficult time in 2007 with two homicides from among the youth of our community. One took place in the quiet trails of Columbia and the other at a busy Ellicott City shopping center. Howard County had about 14 homicide cases in 2007, for the Muslim community to lose two of its members in two of those 14 is a large percentage. Other areas of Dawah and outreach Dar Al-Taqwa has been working on is the Howard County General Hospital where we have a strong relationship with the Pastor and are in the process of developing handbooks for physicians and nurses on how to deal with Muslim patient and employee needs. Insha Allah, we will soon have the ability to provide counseling services at the hospital for those patients who require it.

Education is another area Dar Al-Taqwa has been scoring progressively well. We are in touch with many of the 16 public high schools and visit various classrooms to discuss Islam. With a Saturday school that has grown to over 100 students in the first few weeks of its opening, and a Sunday school which has almost the same number of students, Dar Al-Taqwa is able to support the needs of our children ages 7 to 13. Recently we introduced Quran Tajweed workshops on Sundays. We currently have two groups of boys. The young teens, ages 12 - 15 started with three brothers, in a few months the number grew to seven, and more importantly they can read much more fluently. The older teens, ages 16 to 18, started with about six brothers and now are well over a dozen. It is a mercy from Allah (SWT) to see that we have such wonderful volunteers who are eager and competing in donating their time for the sake of Allah (SWT) for these types of events. The sister's teen Quran Tajweed is still struggling; it started with three sisters and then was unable to continue.

Taleem Al-Quran Institute (TAQI) is another flagship service the education committee has been working on establishing under the leadership of the Imam. Serving the needs of children, youth and adults during the week evenings and weekends, TAQI has gained strong compliments. Dar Al-Taqwa has also provided other Quran programs in partnership with area Masjids such as Dar us-Salaam's Quran Institute.

Education does not stop at formal classroom learning experiences, but also through Halaqas and workshops by highly knowledgeable scholars and Imams. Over the past year we offered close to a dozen educational opportunities ranging from Fiqh topics such as Zakah, Hajj and Salah to Aqeedah and the Muslim identity.

With the mercy of Allah (SWT) Dar Al-Taqwa has a very comprehensive Zakah support system. We moved from an organic growth process to a full fledged system. The Zakah committee which consists of six community volunteers have developed a system that analyzes each case in a very objective manner, it also has strong measures to weed out illegitimate requests and ensure that deserving cases receive the support they are entitled to get. We understand at Dar Al-Taqwa that Zakah is not a favor we are doing the needy, but rather it is their right, that Allah (SWT) has entrusted us with fulfilling. Alhamdullilah with the grace of Allah (SWT) we have been supporting dozens of cases a year. Most cases are sisters with children who face eviction or have already been evicted from their homes and families who can not afford the cost of living due to an illness. As a general policy the Masjid does not ask the community to support needy cases, as the need is year round and consistent, instead Dar Al-Taqwa has established boxes specifically to aid the needy labeled "Zakat" at the entrances of the building". The zakat committee will be starting soon a campaign to allow families to donate $25 per month to support the cause of the needy and destitute.

Among the other Zakah services Dar Al-Taqwa provides are food distribution, career advice, job networking and referrals, transportation support, clothing distribution, support of area Muslim shelters, housing arrangements and limited employment opportunities. To avoid waste and chaos we do not accept donations of clothes and food items from community members without prior notification. Community members interested in donating items such as used clothes, food items, infant and child products or toys contact the Zakah committee with a list of these items. The committee then establishes a match with those who could benefit from the items and then informs the donor of a time to bring the items in. We usually do not keep items on the property for more than a few hours to ensure optimum benefit and reduce the burden on the Masjid's facilities and storage resources.

Brother Ayman also stated "We should not be too comfortable; we have a long way ahead of us. Our community is faced with a long list of challenges, and that is no surprise. This is the way Allah (SWT) has made things. We will be tested more and more as we progress and grow". We are already being tested in our youth. Many of our younger brothers and sisters are facing daily challenges identifying their Muslim character and preserving it in the midst of all the temptations and trials around them. We are seeing more youth involved in legal problems and some even becoming detained on drug and violence charges. Dar Al-Taqwa needs more work in that area. "I am not a pessimistic person, but rather a realistic person. Every community has challenges, and here in Howard County like other places some of the challenges and needs are full-time Islamic education programs, youth development, economic development and other long term projects" mentioned brother Ayman.

Dar Al-Taqwa is very serious and has always been very serious about its youth. The youth committee - mostly formed of college age community members and recently getting an influx of high school age brothers and sisters - has been providing great opportunities. Over the recent six months Dar Al-Taqwa has even expanded various youth programs through the introduction of trips, off-site visits to area attractions, visits to other Masjids, extra Halaqas, volunteer opportunities, and are still planning on much more. Again adult volunteer support is a key factor to success. "Our 22 year olds are busy securing a job and searching for a life-partner. We need to recognize that they also have needs and as a community we need to support them and be there for them. We can not always expect them to be able to lead youth programs, but there is no doubt they are an integral component of a successful youth program" said Brother Ayman. He also added, "Raising our youth is a collective effort of the whole community, men and women, elders and youngsters, and everyone needs to pitch in”.

With the grace of Allah Dar Al-Taqwa has started a youth mentoring and leadership program. It is an opportunity for the youth to develop skills and put their energy into something beneficial to themselves, the community and society at-large. So far we have more than five high-school students as part of this program and we hope to grow it even further. One major growth inhibitor is lack of mentors.

Alhamdullilah since January of this year we have been able to sustain a weekly Halaqah and get-together for three youth groups on Friday evenings. We have a sisters group for ages 8 -18 and two brothers' groups for ages 7 -11 and 12 -18. We look forward to splitting the sisters group into two and the older brothers into two. That means we will have soon Insha Allah five groups in parallel, hence five volunteers are needed. Initially there was some skepticism about our ability to offer weekly gatherings for our youth every Friday night. It is very hard to come up with programs and events on a weekly basis, especially when it involves young people. One volunteer involved in facilitating these weekly gatherings once mentioned, "I remember when I was 15, some 25 years ago I used to hangout every weekend with my friends. We can not settle for less than that, we as adults must be committed to provide our youth with what they deserve. There is no reason Masjid can not be safe haven for them to learn, play and grow as strong Muslims".

The road ahead of us is still long with needs for full-time educational programs, home schooling, elders' needs, quality activities, sister's programs, youth programs and much more we need to be stronger than ever. We received a $25,000 grant from the state of Maryland for security and are adding on more parking spaces. Dar Al-Taqwa shura has also been keen on renting the old property to a cause that will provide benefit to the community besides being a source of revenue. Al-Andalus Institute a full-time high school has been renting the property since the start of the current academic year. Al-Andalus is a great asset and resource in the region. The purchase of the new property next door at 10760 Route 108 brings modest revenue to the Masjid as some students are renting it. Some ideas for benefiting from the property in the long run are converting it to a full time school, a library for Muslims and non-Muslims, a Quran Institute extension, or a center for the youth. With the help of Allah (swt), we will be able to make what are now just ideas into reality and expand the Muslim community.

Somyah Eltoweissy resides in Howard County and is homeschooling, Ayman Nassar is on the shura of Dar Al-Taqwa. Comments on the article may be posted below.

Snapshots from DAT's Youth Snowtubing Trip

2008-04-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

By: Somayah Eltoweissy

The Dar Al-Taqwa youth snow-tubing trip attracted much attention throughout the Muslim community. Initiated by brothers Danish Iqbal and Amr Bayomi and organized by brothers Amr Bayomi and Yasser Ameen with coaching from brothers Ashraf Hassan and Ayman Nassar, it was a huge success. Although planned for March 8, it was postponed to Saturday, March 15 due to inclement weather. On this day, over forty youth and several parents arrived at Dar Al-Taqwa to pray Fajr and begin their journey to the Whitetail Ski Resort.

Upon arrival, participants were served breakfast and directed to the Masjid to pray. Around 7:30am, Br. Mohamed Abode pulled up into the parking lot with a school bus. Volunteers helped everyone file in and get comfortable as it would be a long ride. After two hours of sitting and playing games, the bus finally reached Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. As soon as ID’s were passed out, everyone ran to the booth where they received their tubes. Eager to slide down the mountain, everyone jumped onto the “moving carpet” which quickened the walk up. Laughter could be heard echoing throughout the mountains as participants sled down on backs, stomachs, and sides with newly met friends.

Two hours later, stomachs began growling. Lunch was served at a Chinese Buffet in Hagerstown, where everyone had a chance to get to know each other better over noodles and chicken. Once everyone had eaten their fill, it was time to go pray.

At the Islamic Society of Western Maryland, prayers were completed and one was also able to witness tamed roosters roaming freely in the yard. There was also a halaqa by Br. Ayman Nassar about the miraculous mountains; they spoke of how the mountains act as pegs, keeping the land stable; how on the Day of Judgment they will crumble; and how they refused to carry the trust from Allah (subhana wa tala') and were about to crumble to hear that mankind claimed Allah (subhana wa tala') has a son.

Later, as the boys went outside and played football, the girls exchanged phone numbers and took pictures. Around 4:30pm, participants were told to board the bus as the day was coming to an end and it was time to head back to Dar Al-Taqwa and go home.

On the way back, a delighted participant said, “Going to public school, field-trips with both girls and boys had to be avoided as it was un-Islamic. I never thought that there was a fun and educational way to combine both genders in a way that was Islamic until today.” As many children attend public schools, such Masjid-sponsored events would allow them to socialize with other Muslim youth. Dar Al-Taqwa aims to continue providing opportunities for this Ummah’s youth to learn and have fun together in an Islamic environment.

Somyah Eltoweissy resides in Howard County and is homeschooling, comments on the article may be posted below

MIST 2008- Team Taqwa: 5 years and still growing strong

2008-04-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

By Sehrish Ameen

A month ago, fourteen brothers and sisters of our blessed community, Dar-Al-Taqwa, headed for a weekend full of excitement, competition, and character building. The Muslim inter-scholastic tournament (MIST) is a weekend all towards having the right intentions, a strong team, and a great time. This tournament has been held for six consecutive years at the University of Maryland, College Park (the first year it was held at Dar us-Salam) where this year the record high of at least 330 student’s from the Washington DC metropolitan area competed together during the weekend of March 1st. New coach and former competitor, Sabih Iqbal, relates MIST as “ an eye- opening experience.” Team Taqwa was one of the 27 some teams that came this year to compete with not only academic knowledge but as well as Islamic knowledge.

Shehab Hady, once a competitor, an organizer, and now coach of a team he was once part of, explains MIST as a “learning experience for all the youth that participate and [also] a great way for the youth to come together for the sake of Allah.” Though Taqwa was a young team this year, with four new competitors, Shehab proudly states, “They were a much closer group of youth that worked together when MIST ended.” Hady mentioned that every year, MIST creates a theme where the students should be able to use the understanding of it to compete and create the projects required. This year the theme every project had to be related to was: Puzzle of Diversity: Piecing together a vibrant community. A junior at Wilde Lake high and third place photography winner from Taqwa, Sidra Hashmi, describes MIST “like an adventure away from your usual ‘boring' life.” Team Taqwa was prepared to take any adventure, and MIST brought them to their spiritual and physical victories in the end.

The tournament starts off with basketball, where the teams opted to compete athletically instead of academically. This year, basketball was held at two different places, where the boys and girls competed separately showing their sportsmanship, talent, and Muslim character. Iqbal explains team Taqwa’s role throughout the night of basketball. “We didn’t have all the size or basketball related talent in the gym, but MashaAllah I doubt any other team there had the heart that we did.” The boys advanced to championship, returning home with second place and still carrying the same heart they did before. The basketball victory has always been consistent for the team ever since basketball was first created as a competition.

At times, MIST creates a mind set of not even winning the big trophy, but building bonds with Muslims just like one another. Omar Abbasi, a sophomore at River Hill high as well as a returning competitor of team Taqwa, thinks that one of the amazing aspects of MIST is how it can make him “ a better person socially and Islamically,” emphasizing how MIST “really makes the Muslim brother/sisterhood better.”

Many other competitions are included that were judged during the three day weekend. Categories varying from writing, oratory, Qur’an tajweed and tafseer, and even in arts where, 3D art and photography ‘wow’ the ball room during the award ceremony. Competitions like these can really motivate the competitor to advance at either website deigning or Qur'anic memorization outside of MIST also. As for Abbasi, Qur’an is what he loves, and he proved it through the MIST competition. Competing in a new competition, Qur’an tajweed, Abbasi deteremined that, “Winning the [tajweed] competition wasn't easy.” However, first place proves that when one puts their intention only for Allah (SWT) the best comes forth from it. After long, tiring, yet fun filled hours passed by, the tournament ended with entertainment, dinner, and the awards ceremony. A total of more than 600 mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, all came to cheer on the many MIST winners and competitors. Iqbal with much confidence said, “The best part of the weekend is the awards ceremony and I guarantee that will change any youth’s attitude about attending MIST in the future.” Taqwa came back with first place in Qur’an tajweed, third place in photography, and second place in boy’s basketball. MashaAllah, they all dedicated themselves towards the tournament and scored high in various other categories such as poetry and fashion design.

“The Dar Al Taqwa community has always been there for the youth. When I was a competitor, their support was shown through the smallest pat of encouragement from the generous donations during the bake sales held at jummah prayers to their presence at the award ceremony,” stated Mahvish Ameen, formerly a competitor, an organizer, and now as regional director. One of the community goals is to invest and support their youth as the future of the ummah. By having the community aware of what MIST is, and “how important and beneficial it is,” according to Iqbal, is the only way that MIST can become an intergenerational experience. MIST can develop to be part of a student’s annual event that he/she awaits year after year until graduation. Families of our community should be part of the excitement and the competition by having their child registered as a competitor starting from the age of thirteen with either the masjids team or their future high schools MSA team.

Ameen concludes, “Alhumdullilah, the Dar Al Taqwa youth have branched out into many teams, with all their thanks going back to one community. So as a community we should applaud everyone’s hard work at MIST, not only team Taqwa’s, but all the competitors that we, as a community, have raised.” Which ever one is chosen, high school or masjid, the community is always there. Not only the communities support, but also the coach’s advice giving, the family’s role of transportation or the presence at award ceremony, or even someday, professional employed adults mentoring for a specific competition such as digital art, or just the competitors of the team, helping out each other. Hashmi agrees about her team, “our [team] gets along really well and we all care for each other no matter what our age is; we treat each other like team mates and as friends.”

The reasons are laid out. There should not be any reason for a son or daughter, or a brother or sister, or even a close friend that shouldn’t be part of MIST. This event comes only once a year, and each year, every competitor tries their best to make the most out of it, before, during, and after the tournament, in friendship, knowledge in an academic or fine arts field, and especially in becoming closer to Allah (SWT). The youth of our community have doors wide open, they must take full advantage and communicate with others so that team Taqwa, can inshaaAllah, “return to its glory days.” Together, as brothers and sisters for the sake of Allah, they can create a true, strong, successful ummah.

Sehrish is a resident of Howard County and attends River Hill High School, comments on this article may be posted below

Welcome to Taqwa Connections

2008-03-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

Connecting Motaqeen in the Greater Howard County Region. A monthly publication by Dar Al-Taqwa.

Have an article to share with the Motaqeen, please write to us at pr@taqwa.net