Chicago Roundup
Chicago Bohra Community Celebrates100 th Birthday of His Holiness Syedna Burhanuddin . Gehwara e Adab’s Indo-Pak Yakjehti Mushaira Attracts Urdu Lovers . Devine Luster- An Art Exhibition by Designer Studio . Condolence Meeting for Late Moeen Akhter
By Dr. Mujahid Ghazi
Chicago Bohra Community Celebrates100 th Birthday of His Holiness Syedna Burhanuddin
Chicago, April 27 th, 2011: “We appreciate the friendliness, kindness and the warmth as we walk into this mosque. We feel closeness and it is wonderful because what His Holiness is teaching, you are doing right in the community,” said Mayor George Pradel of Naperville. He was one of the many dignitaries who attended the 100 th birthday celebration of the spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohra community his Holiness Syedna Burhanuddin Hassan in the Badri Mosque of Willowbrook, Illinois.
Mr. Vishvas Sapkal, Consul (Consular) & Head of Chancery, praised the services of HH Syedna Burhanuddin for the Muslim Ummah and the international community.
First Asian American Mayor Dr. Gopal Lalmalani, President Village of Oak Brook, said, “What binds us together is the love and compassion for each other and love for the entire universal people of diverse communities.”
Zaheer Pervez Khan, Consul General of Pakistan, praised the devotion, dedication and exemplary leadership of HH Syedna Burhanuddin and said, “ We have a great regard for him and his message of peace. His interconnecting of different religions is remarkable.”
Robert Grant, Special Agent in-charge FBI Chicago, commended the contribution of the Bohra community. He specially mentioned Aamir Chalisa who is the president of the FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni in Chicago and Chair of its National Board. He remarked, “This community is one of the best communities that we have engaged.”
Three members of Bohra Youth - Amna Matwala, Mohsin Daudwala, and Huzaifa Broachwala - spoke about their experience in Mumbai while they were attending the 100 th birthday of their spiritual leader.
Aamilsaheb Obai Nooruddin, leader of the Bohra community in Chicago, thanked the audience for coming and joining the local Bohra community in celebrating the 100 th birthday of their spiritual leader HH Syedna Burhanuddin. He also gave an account of meeting him in person and conveying the Chicago Bohra community’s sentiments on his birthday celebration in Mumbai, India.
Aamir Chalisa conducted the event giving details of the 100 th birthday celebrations in Mumbai which he attended along with a good number of members of the local Bohra community. A video report of this event was also shown on the occasion.
Gehwara e Adab’s Indo-Pak Yakjehti Mushaira Attracts Urdu Lovers
Chicago, April 29 th, 2011: Gehwar e Adab organized Indo-Pak Yakjehti Mushaira last week at Monty’s Elegant Banquets in Bensenville Illinois. The program started with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an by Rasheed Sheikh and Na’at by Tariq Fatmi and famous poet Hamid Amrohvi.
Before the commencement of the Mushaira, a book-launching ceremony was held to introduce “History of Ka’aba” by Rauf Siddiqi, Provincial Minister for Trade and Industry, Government of Sindh. Speaking on the occasion Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqi, Ex Federal Minister, Government of Pakistan said, “By writing the book about the history of Ka’aba Rauf Siddiqi has become a historian also.” This scribe was also asked to shed light on the book. I said “the intricate details about the structure of Ka’aba and the historical account of the construction of this House of Allah (SWT) gives the distinction a distinction to be present in every household.”
Addressing the audience, Mr. Rauf Siddiqi thanked Gehwara e Adab and talked about the process through which he went to compile the book. Later, he presented the book to the Consul General, Mr. Zaheer Pervez Khan, of Pakistan.
The Mushaira started with local Indian-American poet Mr. Chander Verma. The other local poets who presented their work included Nazar Naqvi, Anjum Gohar, Dr. Sadiq Naqvi, Hashmat Sohail, Mohtarma Razaia Fasih Ahmed, Prof. Naqi Akhter and Dr. Abidullah Ghazi. Professor Masroor Qureshi conducted the first session of local poets.
Dr. Malikzada Manzoor conducted the session of poets from India and Pakistan. In this session Tahir Faraz, Tariq Hashmi, Dr. Naeem Hamid Ali Al-Hamid and Dr. Malikzada Manzoor presented their poems.
Devine Luster- An Art Exhibition by Designer Studio
Chicago, April 30 th, 2011: Luna and Rasched Banuri of DesiGner Studio masterly converted their home in Naperville into an art gallery to exhibit the masterpieces created by Saba Shahid. Saba is a self-taught artist and has 10 years of experience working in ceramics and paints. Her paintings reflect elements of nature and her calligraphies reflect the absoluteness of God. There were 30 paintings which were on display.
Saba uses acrylics with materials like jute, cardboard, aluminum foil and other commonly available articles to create her work in mildly bold colors. It ranges from abstract to calligraphy, giving a spiritual touch to her work. It was also noticed that she doesn’t put any living subjects in her paintings.
Prominent Pakistani Americans and mainstream personalities visited the exhibition and praised the work of the artist. Most of the paintings were bought. Asad Hyauddin and his wife Lubna were in the host committee.
Condolence Meeting for Late Moeen Akhter
Chicago, May 1 st 2011: A condolence meeting was held at Holiday Inn Skokie last Sunday. It was organized by Mohammad Idrees, community activist and promoter based in Chicago. Speakers paid tributes to the late artist and shared their memories and interaction with the legend.
Mr. Mohammad Idrees suggested that a Trust be founded to support the people who were being helped by late Moeen Akhter during his life.
Surprise Wedding Anniversary of Chand and Jamshed Nasim
Chicago, April 26 th 2011: The friends of known community activists Jamshed and Chand Nasim were surprised last week by coming into Khan BBQ Restaurant and finding a hall full of their friends with a cake and gifts to congratulate them on their 13 th wedding anniversary. This couple was instrumental in the election campaign of Debra Silverstein, the newly elected Alderman for 50 th Ward.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
