Month: January 2015

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Make a Difference in the House of Allah – Saturday January 31st 2015 – Fundraising Event

The Holy Prophet (SAL) said “The most beloved places to Allah are the masajid. Even when he is occupied with the matters of the world such as family, work etc, the heart of the Muslim should be always attached to the masjid”
Please attend a fundraiser for one of the most beloved places of Allah – Berlin masjid. Hear about all we do to make this a vibrant place for all!
Goals – Regular activities – we are paying two Imams and several others scholars and a new cleaning person for the masjid activities:
            Daily salat (including khatira after Esha almost daily with multiple visiting scholars),
            Jumma salat with Imam Refai (“one of the best khateeb’s in the area”),
            Quran classes twice a week from 6pm to 7:30pm Monday and Thursday,
            Arabic classes (for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels) on Saturdays,
            Sunday school (with 450 students),
            Heating and lighting and maintaining security for the masjid.
            Learn from the youth what is inspiring them to come to the masjid for youth programs.
            Support these and be associated with defending all the hate that we are steadily opposing as Muslims.
Your contribution counts – please support your masjid – regular collections are not adequate for these programs. Anything you give is considered Sadaqa jariah that gives ongoing reward even after ones death. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to make a difference.
Visionary goals: Full time Imam search, cemetery project and five year plan committee for the masjid
Date Saturday January 31st 2015 – from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Venue – Islamic Association of Greater Hartford – conference hall.
The Holy Prophet May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him stated in another Hadith that the condition of a believer outside the Masjid is that of a fish out of water. A fish obviously has no desire to be out water, and if it is taken out will long to return, and will remain restless for as long as it is out of water.
If you cannot attend please make checks payable to the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford and mail to: Treasurer – Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, 1781 Berlin Turnpike, Berlin, Connecticut 06037
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“Local Muslims Seek to Serve Humanity, Be a Voice of Moderation” – The Berlin Citizen

Assalaamu-alaikum,
The need for positive press coverage for Muslims is vitally important. Alhamdulillah the work of MCCT has shone the light on the importance of this work again:
Local Muslims seek to serve humanity, be a voice of moderation   
Published: January 14, 2015 | Last Modified: January 14, 2015 11:43AM
By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
For Berlin resident Dr. Reza Mansoor, his faith is a large source of inspiration that pushed him to consider a career in medicine. One translation of a verse that the Hartford Hospital cardiologist said inspired his interest in medicine reads, “To save a life would be as great a virtue as to save all of mankind.”
Mansoor is not alone in taking inspiration from his religion, Islam. According to Cornell University, 42.7 percent of American Muslims, such as him, hold an advanced degree and one in 10 is a physician or medical doctor.
Mansoor serves as president of the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, which is based in Berlin. He is also a founding member of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, an organization that seeks to serve its faith through social activism and community service as well as to educate the public about one of the less well understood faith communities in the state.
The group was “founded by some of the local leaders realizing that the actions of extremists had resulted in unfair stereotyping of Muslims,” the MCCT website reads.
“We wanted to live Islam through what the Quran asks us to do,” Mansoor said. “The Quran asks us to be aware and to serve humanity. That is the way you serve God… (it is) a form a worship.”
Local Muslims join members of other faiths to participate regularly in service at soup kitchens, including Mercy Shelter in Hartford and the Friendship Center in New Britain. Local Muslims also participate in Habitat for Humanity’s House of Abraham Program, which brings together Muslims, Jews, and Christians who share Abraham as a common religious figure.
Muslims also participate in the Foodshare Walk Against Hunger in Hartford every year. Mansoor said the community has welcomed service from Muslims. For example, the walk accommodates the Muslims’ midday prayer, which falls during the Foodshare program. All three faith leaders participate in an interfaith prayer, followed by the Muslims’ midday prayer, after which the walk goes on.
In the media, “you hear that Islam is a violent religion,” Mansoor said, but for him Islam is a religion that condemns violence; he cites a scripture that compares killing a person to “killing all of humanity.” Mansoor also said that Islam is not a religion opposed to free speech.
Local Muslims sought to spearhead efforts to hold a memorial service remembering victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on the 10thanniversary, and found their efforts welcomed by other local faith leaders, Mansoor said. The organization also recently posted a statement on its website condemning the attack by gunmen on the offices of the Parisian magazine Charlie Hebdo.
“I don’t think we should just blame the media,” for stereotypes of Muslims or the ways violent extremists are sometimes conflated with all Muslims, Mansoor said.
“We should try to make a difference in the community and allow people to ask us what Islam represents to us.”
One problem is that many people know very little about their Muslim neighbors in American communities. “Not only are we a minority community that is not well understood, we are a relatively new minority community in America,” Mansoor said.
“There are extremists in all faith communities, and we have our extremists,” Mansoor said. The Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, however, “actively tries to show the true calling of Islam, which is not only to serve humanity but to be a voice of moderation.”
According to Mansoor, moderation is an important tenet of his faith. “At all times, a Muslim should be thinking, ‘is this the middle course,’” avoiding extremism while also not becoming too lax in one’s faith, he said.
“This comes directly from the life of the prophet,” Mansoor said.
After the Islamic prophet Muhammad was forced to leave Mecca and settled in Medina, he drafted the constitution that would govern that community, which included local Jews as well as polytheists. “He formed the constitution of Medina, giving rights to women and to minorities, and this is hardly ever spoken about,” Mansoor said.
“Islam is very much a religion that asks you to go out and be part of the community and do service to the community,” Mansoor said.
For more information visit www.muslimcoalitionct.org/.
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January Events at IAGH

Assalaamualaikum,
Please visit our facebook to see the wonderful boys Qiyam-ul-layl event in December and like us https://www.facebook.com/IAGHBERLIN
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Saturday January 3rd – Masjid clean-up with Ann Minor. 10am to 4pm – Please join in this beautiful effort to beautify the house of Allah
Sunday January 4th 10:30am – IAGH Sunday School begins the new semester. Please plan to pray Salat-ul Dhuhr with your children in the masjid
Saturday January 10th Arabic classes begin – Beginner, intermediate and advanced classes from 10am to 12noon every Saturday. $100 registration for the whole semester – learn the language of revelation of the Qur’an. Classes will start weekly after registration begins on the 10th.
Saturday January 10th – “The Perfect Paradigm – The Life Example of the Seal of the Prophets” 1pm to 7:30pm with pot luck dinner. Invited scholars that will participate Inshah-Allah include: Imam Refai Arefin, Chaplain Omer Bajwa, Shaykh Ashraf Ibrahim and Maulana Shamsul Arefin. Please sign up to bring a dish at: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4caaa92da5f85-community2
(There will be babysitting for this program)
Saturday January 17th Youth Bowling Evening – 5pm to 7:30pm – coordinated through MYAC – Berlin masjid
Saturday January 31st – Winter fund-raiser event for IAGH 5pm to 7:30pm – funds go towards the full time Imam, graveyard and all the activities the masjid is coordinating. Please support the house of Allah and hear all about the activities in the masjid. Let’s aim high and show Islam through what we are capable of achieving Inshah-Allah! Dinner will be served Inshah-Allah!
DAILY AND WEEKLY EVENTS:
Fajr 6:30am, Dhuhr 12noon, Asar 2:30pm, Maghrib – sunset and Esha – 7:30pm
Qur’an classes – Every Monday and Thursday – 6pm to 7:30pm
Arabic classes – Saturdays from 10am to 12 noon – registration on January 10th for the new semester
Daily khatira after Esha – with Imam Refai, Sheikh Barakat, Sheikh Sami Shamma and brother Waleed. Tafseer with Imam Refai on Friday after Esha – now on Surat Hujarat. Saturday with Sami Shamma – basic Fiqh for all of us!
SUNDAY SCHOOL – 10:30am to 1:30pm – including youth-led salat in congregation
The masjid will also start a “masjid comfort food group” – to provide food for community members that are in need. We are looking for 20 individuals that can volunteer to cook a dinner in emergencies. We are also looking for volunteers who are willing to transport food. Please contact Sr. Sania Mahmood through her e-mail saniamahmood13@gmail.com. If you have an emergency please contact her so she can activate the group. Thank you Sania!
Please welcome brother Jan our new caretaker for the masjid – he speaks very little English but is a very hard worker.
Wassalaam,
Reza