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Islamic Society of North America 2000 |
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| An Experience to Remember | Pictures | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| About three weeks before our proposed trip to the 37th annual Islamic Society of North America convention in Chicago, I heard (from an unmentioned source) that we might have to cancel the 47-passenger bus the MSA had chartered due to the low response. My shock at hearing that was nothing compared to my shock just a couple of weeks later when I learned that the bus was quickly running out of available spaces.
Alhamdulillah, all of a sudden, it seemed like everyone wanted to come. When I arrived at the mosque late Thursday night, I was excited to see the almost luminous presence of our "Barakah Bus," whose name became official after it was adorned with banners on the outside and inside. As I waited and watched the passengers arrive, I was amazed at the great diversity of people who would be traveling together. There were Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the old and young (as young as six months to be exact), some who I had known all my life and others who were complete strangers to me. After being introduced to our bus driver, Carl, and getting all the appropriate information from Tarek, we made the traveler's supplication, in which we declared our absolute faith in Allah. We set off for our journey just shortly after midnight, on the most sacred day of the week. I must admit that I was at first a little worried about traveling throughout the night with two small infants. However, as the whole bus quickly learned, it was the sisters in the back who caused the most noise. (I can say this because I was among them.) Tarek and Carl were intent on making the trip as swiftly and comfortably as possible, so we only stopped three times on the way there. After our first stop, Tarek laid down the law, telling us there was to be no talking and that no lights could be turned on. In fact, we were told that if anyone was talking or had their light on, we were to stare them down until they got the message. Apparently everyone listened, because from that moment until Fajr, the bus was completely silent, and almost everyone slept. After praying Fajr together in a rest area and eating breakfast at Burger King, almost everyone (excluding myself) was awake, watching a Sheikh Hamza Yusuf lecture and anticipating our arrival into Chicago. I was woken up around 10:30 Knoxville time to the view of the buildings and skyline that are emblematic of downtown Chicago. However, the ISNA convention was actually being held in the city of Rosemont, just outside of Chicago, so we had another 20-30-minute drive past the city. Finally, after a total drive of about ten hours, we reached the Holiday Inn, where our rooms were waiting for us. I am happy to say that, although the sisters' rooms were filled beyond capacity, it seemed that we were nowhere near the discomfort level of the brothers, who were sharing the modest-sized rooms with as many as nine people. We had only about an hour to recover from the trip and collect our ISNA registration materials. Tarek stood in the middle of the road and stopped traffic as the 45 of us all jaywalked across the street to the Rosemont Convention Center. This was my first ISNA convention, and although I had been to similar conferences, I knew that the sheer size of this one would set it apart from all other conventions I had known. The first line of duty after receiving our registration packets was to look through the program and plan out which lectures we would attend, which was a very hard task, considering there were parallel ISNA, MSA, and MYNA sessions, which all sounded equally enlightening. While we were doing so, we were blessed to see many of the scholars and speakers arrive, including Hamza Yusuf. The Jum'ah khutbah began soon afterwards, with ISNA president Muzammil Siddiqi giving an inspirational talk on the topic of this year's convention ("Islam: Faith and Civilization"), as well as on our intention in being there. Although the majority of people had yet to arrive at the center, the congregation was overwhelming. The barakah in praying Jum'ah with a group this large, all there seeking to gain Islamic knowledge, was immediately felt. Saimah and I spent much of the time before the first lecture browsing in the bazaar-the seemingly never-ending aisles of Islamic books, audio, and clothing. While we were there, we saw the Syrian scholar Sheikh Mohammad Yacoubi walking with his beautiful children. I also got a chance to see Sheikh Yacoubi in the first lecture later that afternoon on the essence of Islamic Civilization. We also had a chance to greet Sheikh Mokhtar Maghroui and ask him about his plans for a trip to Knoxville in November (inshaAllah). This was truly one of the highlights of my first evening at ISNA. Friday night began what would be a weekend of pushing my way through huge crowds, especially those that were waiting outside the venues of Sheikh Hamza and Imam Zayd Shakir lectures. I was rejected from a MYNA lecture featuring Sheikh Hamza because I was too old. Instead, I attended an MSA session on the topic of the heart. This year's MSA sessions focused on the testimonies that the various parts of our bodies-our hearts, limbs, and senses-will give for us on the Day of Judgement. All the lectures pertaining to this topic were awe-inspiring to say the least. The next two days were a continuation of Friday night, except that the crowds seemed to multiply. Saturday morning began with a panel lecture on "The Awakening of the Muslim Mind and Soul." In it, Sister Maha Hamoui explained how, if we awaken our hearts to the Light of Allah, we could in turn awaken our entire beings. Sheikh Hamza followed up by explaining the universality of Islam and pleading with us to invite all of humanity, with all their faults, to accept this wonderful religion of al-Islam. Other sessions I attended that day included a workshop on MSA activism and a lecture on the Qur'anic perspective of the rise and fall of civilizations. Once again, I was barred from a MYNA session, this time featuring Imam Zayd Shakir. However, I did get a chance to hear him later in the evening speaking to a booked MSA crowd on ways we can control our inner desires. The first day of the convention, when I saw the size of the main lecture hall, I thought that there was no way the entire room would ever get filled. I was proven wrong Saturday night, when at least 20,000 people crowded into the hall to hear Br. Abdallah Idris Ali and Sheikh Hamza speak on the topic of "Asserting Islamic Identity." After Br. Abdallah led a fundraiser for ISNA, Sheikh Hamza gave another of his frank and motivational talks. SubhanAllah, the next morning, we were once again blessed to start a day in the presence of great people, as Br. Abdallah Idris and Sheikh Yacoubi spoke on the key elements of establishing an Islamic civilization. The crowds for the MSA and MYNA lectures were also bigger than ever. After arriving late for an afternoon session, I wasn't able to catch a discussion by Imam Zayd and Sheikh Yacoubi on "The Testimony of the Eyes." However, I did manage to finally get good seats for a lecture entitled "The Overflowing Eyes" by Sheikh Ahmed Kutty and Sheikh Mokhtar. From this session, I managed to write about four pages of notes on the softening of the heart and our eyes with the tears that will inshaAllah save us on the Day of Judgement. The MSA program of this year's ISNA convention finished off powerfully that night. I arrived at the final session about 20 minutes early, thinking I would be among the firsts in line to get into the lecture. A couple thousand other people were apparently thinking the same thing. The MSA organizers tried to make things run as smoothly as possible, but it is hard to control that many people who were all so eager to attend. We were all forced to show our school I.D.'s before we were allowed into the hall. I didn't mind that much though, for I felt this made up for all the MYNA lectures I was dismissed from. Alhamdulillah, after we finally were able to get seated, the over-capacitated crowd listened to the accounts of Turkish civil rights leader Merve Safa Kavaki, who Sheikh Hamza later referred to as "The Super Muslimah." Sister Merve's stories of the injustices of the Turkish government against hijab and all other active displays of Islam moved the audience. After her short presentation, in which she urged us to protect all the Muslims around the world, Sheikh Hamza gave the final talk, which began on the topic of "The Muslim Mind" but digressed to many topics beyond that, Alhamdulillah. Afterwards, all the knowledge and motivation we had been given throughout the weekend was used by MSA president Altaf Husain to induce positive energy for activism. They told us about the situation of one of America's foremost Muslim educators, Imam Jamil Al-Amin, who earlier this year was wrongly arrested on the severe charges of murdering a police officer. Imam Zayd urged us to take action and make this congregation a turning point in the history of Muslims in America. One would think that after such an emotionally and physically exhausting day, we would be quick to go to sleep to prepare for our drive back home early the next morning. Yet, I think our activities that day, especially the closing session, gave us too much energy to merely sleep. Many of us stayed up later than usual that night, and some of the sisters were able to attend a sisters' Question and Answer session with Sheikh Yacoubi. I was told that we would be leaving the hotel at 9:00 Monday morning, so I was a bit worried when I woke up at 8:15 and my entire room was still sleeping. Still, we all managed to pack and get ready in good time. We finally left Chicago just shortly after our scheduled time. Since it was daylight, Tarek was gracious enough to allow us the freedom to talk on the way home. The bus ride home was truly one of reflection and anticipation. We discussed many of the topics we had heard about and how to implement what was said into our lives in Knoxville. Many were eager to arrive in Knoxville, to get back to their comfortable homes and beds. Perhaps no one was more eager to get home than our bus driver Carl, who was not too happy with all the unscheduled stops we made. |
We truly savored each other's company on the ride back. On this trip, Sadaf and her daughter Zubaydah and Rosie and her son Adam joined us in the back, making the travel even more delightful. However, in some ways, the ride back home was rather depressing. The whole ride back,
Reem, Marwa, Rania, and I lamented over our departure from Chicago and the ISNA convention. Although we had only seen a limited portion of the city, we fell in love with it. Or perhaps it is more precise to say that we fell in love with a place that could foster such a communion of Muslims. We didn't want to leave and face the realities of our daily lives, away from the Muslim majority and away from people of such great knowledge and Islamic capacity. We cheered the very stops Carl complained about, knowing that each delay kept us closer to Chicago. |
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