Chicago Roundup
Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) Raises Funds at MCC Chicago . Drs. Abidullah and Tasneema Ghazi Address Community Builder’s Monthly Meeting . Gehwara e Adab Chicago Holds Mefil e Musalma
By Dr. Mujahid Ghazi
Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) raises funds at MCC Chicago
Helping Hand held a fundraiser for the flood victims of Pakistan last Saturday. The event was organized at the Muslim Community Center in Chicago. It was attended by a good number of supporters from the Greater Chicago area.
A recitation from the Hoy Qur’an was done by a young volunteer, Usama Kamal. He was also the emcee of the event. Regional Coordinator of the Midwest Region Ishrat Rahman welcomed the guests and explained the need of such fundraisers. The executive director of HHRD USA Shahid Hayat introduced the global relief work of the organization.
With the help of power point presentation and slides he stressed the gravity of the present crisis in Pakistan’s flood-affected areas and highlighted the work being done by HHRD.
A young religious scholar from Naperville, Sheikh Saqib Shafie, spoke on a topical issue: “Inspiring youth in crisis.” He quoted incidents from Islamic history where the youth played a pivotal role in a time of crisis and succeeded in motivating the young audience to participate in relief efforts.
Sheikh Abdul Rehman spoke on “Orphans in Islam.” Quoting Hadith and verses from the Holy Qur’an he emphasized the importance of helping orphans and the rewards for such noble work.
Dr. Shagufta Yousaf, a physician volunteer of HHRD, spoke on “Volunteering with HHRD.” She gave a brief account of her involvement with HHRD in relief missions to Haiti and Pakistan.
Sheikh Ahmed Dialo gave a motivational speech stressing the importance of donating for a good cause in Islam. He was then joined by this scribe in raising funds for the flood-affected victims of Pakistan. Surprisingly, the major amount was donated by sisters in the audience who helped to raise funds for a water filtration plant costing $ 35,000.
Nadia Zeeshan, coordinator for Chicago, thanked the audience, the speakers and the donors who made the event so successful.
Drs. Abidullah and Tasneema Ghazi address Community Builder’s monthly meeting
At the monthly meeting of Community Builders, Drs. Abidullah and Tasneema Ghazi spoke on the importance of Islamic education in America.
Dr. Abidullah Ghazi gave a brief history of the evolution of religious schools and the Islamic curriculum.
Dr. Tasneema Ghazi gave a detailed presentation on the work of IQRA’ in this regard. She spoke about the efforts of IQRA’ International Educational Foundation in promoting Islamic education in North America and the West.
Earlier, Munir Choudhry of IFANCA, introduced the honorable speakers.
Gehwara e Adab Chicago holds Mefil e Musalma
Gehawara e Adab Chicago held a Mehfil e Musalma at Sabri Banquet in Chicago. A large number of people attended the event.
The first session was devoted to highlight “The role of Marsia in Urdu Literature”. Professor Naqi Akhtar read his paper on this topic.
The second session was conducted by Professor Masroor Qureshi.
Prominent and well-known poets of Chicago, including Rasheed Sheikh, Shah Naeemuddin, Qaiser Naqvi, Nazar Naqvi, Wajid Nadeem and others presented their kalam on the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and the Ahl e Bait. Hashim Imam read Josh Maleehabadi’s poem.
