Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

By: Editor 

Dating back to 2002, the ICSC has compiled Dr. Maher Hathout’s Friday khutbas.

To view this impressive volume of knowledge, click here.  

By: Marium Mohiuddin, MPAC

The Muslim Public Affairs Council is honored to announce that Dr. Cornel West, New York Times bestselling author and progressive cultural icon, will give the keynote address at its 11th Annual Convention on Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

MPAC is honored to have such a powerful philosopher and speaker join the lineup for the 11^th Annual Convention. West has emerged as a thoughtful and thought-provoking leader with a long legacy of activism, justice and prominence in American culture and civil rights.

West has emerged as a thoughtful and thought-provoking leader with a long legacy of activism, justice and prominence in American culture and civil rights. In this year of critical change, MPAC is honored to be joined by a speaker who not only can speak about that change, but also has a long track record of working toward that change in America. Over his decades-long academic career and most recently in the Occupy Wall Street movement, West has given voice to the countless numbers of people who feel voiceless.

West is a prominent and provocative intellectual, who is a professor in the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University. He has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard and the University of Paris. The author of 19 books and editor of 13 books, West is best known for his classics“Race Matters” and “Democracy Matters,” as well as his new, “Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud, A Memoir.”

He appears frequently on the “Bill Maher Show,” “Colbert Report,” CNN and C-Span, as well as on his dear Brother, Tavis Smiley’s PBS TV Show. He is also co-host of the popular radio show “Smiley & West” heard on PRI around the country. The “Smiley and West” radio show is a highly-acclaimed progressive program.

He made his film debut in the “Matrix,” and was also the commentator (with Ken Wilbur) on the official trilogy released in 2004. He also has appeared in more than 25 documentaries and films, including “Examined Life,” “Call & Response,” “Sidewalk and Stand.”

He also has made three spoken word albums, including “Never Forget,” collaborating with Prince, Jill Scott, Andre 3000, Talib Kweli, KRS-One and the late Gerald Levert. His spoken word interludes were featured on Terence Blanchard’s “Choices” (which won the Grand Prix in France for the best Jazz Album of the year of 2009), The Cornel West Theory’s “Second Rome,” Raheem DeVaughn’s “Love & War: Masterpeace,” and most recently on Bootsy Collins’ “The Funk Capital of the World.”

In short, West has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.

MPAC’s 11th Annual Convention will focus on the Arab Spring and America’s role in this new era by engaging some of today’s greatest thinkers and activists. The convention will feature a dozen high-profile speakers who will explore the ramifications of the changing Muslim world, as well as nonviolent revolutions, foreign policy developments, toppled dictatorships and the evolving nature of the Arab Spring.

By: Shahida Alikhan

Dear Parents,

Assalamu – Alaikum. On behalf of The Sunday School, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new and returning families for the 2011-2012 school year. We are looking forward to a year filled with a lot of learning and many exciting and new experiences. Below you’ll find the required supplies as well as the Sunday School Policies.

Read the rest of this entry »

By: Editor 

Join the AIT as they launch Module I of the 2011-2012 year. All are welcome regardless of educational or religious background.

Visit www.academyofislamicthought.org for information & registration.

434 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020 • Email us: info@academyofislamicthought.org

It is not by chance that the first word revealed to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) by Angel Jibreel was ‘iqra’ or ‘read’. The importance of education has long been a focal point in the Islamic faith. From the crayons of the kindergarten room to science labs of high school to the thesis statements of graduate school, Muslims are encouraged to pursue knowledge in any and every form available to them.

ICSC and the Bureau of Islamic and Arabic Education (BIAE) have honored the graduates of this community every year for the past nine years and this year was no exception. On the sunny Saturday afternoon of June 12, twenty-one middle school, high school and college graduates gathered to be honored by their friends, families and the ICSC and BIAE staff. Mrs. Azmerelda Alfi presented each graduate with a Diploma as well as a signed copy of Dr. Maher Hathout’s latest book, Islam 2.0.

Each graduate shared their thoughts on what they were proud of as an American-Muslim student and acknowledged their friends and families for the continued support to get them through the daily struggles of school and life.

After the ceremony, everyone gathered in the Social Hall to enjoy celebratory graduation cakes and chat over refreshments. ICSC and the BIAE are incredibly proud of the young women and men who struggle to pursue their education, while retaining their strong Islamic identities. We salute you!

On June 9th, ICSC officially joined Claremont School of Theology’s “University Project,” the first graduate-level consortium in history to educate Christian ministers, Jewish rabbis and Muslim imams.

The University Project is comprised of Claremont, a Methodist university, the Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJR, CA) and the ICSC, with the goal to foster understanding, correct misconceptions, and promote mutual respect between the faiths. Although each group will maintain its own school and curriculum, all three will also contribute to a unique shared curriculum in areas including ethics, politics and society.

According to ICSC’s Religious Director, Jihad Turk, Islam has the most to gain from the project because it remains the most misunderstood faith in the U.S.
“This is a very American approach. It’s an expression of an American religion and American religious attitude,” notes Turk. “It’s better that future religious leaders are getting their training in America if they’re planning to work in America.”

The ICSC is working closely with the University Project to create an Islamic program that will set the standard for training American imams, an endeavor that is slated to be completed by 2011.

The Islamic component of the University Project will cater to the hallmarks of Islam in America, which is more inclusive of women in leadership roles, involved in interfaith relations and has a higher degree of civic engagement.
Claremont has already received $10 million to begin funding this collaboration, but is seeking additional donors to reach its $40 million mark.

With a very successful launch of the ICSC’s Academy of Islamic Thought and completion of the first module on Islamic knowledge taught by Dr. Maher Hathout, AIT is now looking forward to the second module on personal development. I have been tapped to teach this course which will focus on laying the foundations for our relationship with God.

As Muslims living in the United States, we are often challenged to find opportunities to deepen in our knowledge of Islam. The AIT program is designed to provide just that opportunity. The curriculum is designed to enhance one’s whole personality and this coming module is intended to help individuals improve in character and faith to help in achieving greater success in the hereafter as well as in this life. Read the rest of this entry »