On Saturday Jan 30, 2010, we had the pleasure of having two special guests with us. The first guest is a pillar of the Muslim community in Boston and America at large. To prove it, he was appointed by former president Mr. Bush as a commissioner at the United States commission on International Religious Freedom. Imam Dr. Talal Eid is the founder and executive of the Islamic Institute of Boston. He had served as the Muslim chaplain at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, Tufts and is currently serving Brandeis University and Mass General Hospital of Boston. He is an Adjuct professor of Arts of Ministry at Hartford Seminary, Connecticut. Imam Talal Eid is a Doctor of Theology in Comparative Religion from Harvard University. He studied Islamic Law ‘Shari’aa’ at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. The Imam is a consultant, specialist and expert on Islamic law, including issues of marriage, marital dispute, marital violence, divorce and child custody. Imam Dr. Talal Eid spoke to the parents about the importance of realizing and properly dealing with their American Muslim youth regarding the topic of dating and marriage.

The second special guest we had was a groom and bride from Tunisia joining together in a religious ceremony led by Imam Dr. Talal Eid himself. This event marked the first religious ceremony at YUSUF MOSQUE and hopefully there will many more to come, and more importantly many more content couples and successful families. The family of the groom and bride provided delicious sweets and desserts as a special touch to the social community potluck dinner.

The evening also was a time to recognize three special volunteers at YUSUF MOSQUE for their dedication, tirelessness and excellent service to the mosque and the community: Mr. Nazir Khan, Mr. Malhar Saheed and Mr. Masdooq Saheed.

Mr. Kurt Morrill contacted us early this year (2010) requesting the possibility of a visit to the mosque. He represented a group of university students with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the Boston area who were hoping to learn more about Islam and the experience of Muslims in America. Some students needed to have a different cultural experience for class requirements, but most of them would simply like to learn more. They were also interested to talk with a representative of the mosque who could help Christian students to understand what the Islamic faith is in a deeper way and share some about his/her spiritual journey in Islam. Indded, the group of students and their coordinators attended one of the weekly Saturday lectures when Mr. Suheil Laher gave a talk, and we all enjoyed their presence and they did too.

Dear Kurt,

Thank you so much for joining us along with your wonderful group tonight at YUSUF MOSQUE. Everyone was pleased and delighted to see and socialize with all of you. We hope your visit was worth it and please know that you are welcome anytime. The students were so kind it felt like family. They were also curious and asking interesting questions. If they have further questions or reflections on anything they didn’t have time to ask please email us. Until next time please send the entire group our greetings.

Kind Regards,

YUSUF MOSQUE

186 Chestnut Hill Ave, Brighton MA 02135

www.yusufmosque.com

Thank you for your nice note. We were so happy to get to come there and felt very blessed to get to meet you, converse with you, and learn a bit more about Islam. They could not stop talking about how much they enjoyed getting to talk with some people from your community.

One interaction that really stood out for a student was that a couple of young women got to talk with a middle-aged Ethiopian woman who asked their advice about her niece going to prom. They were very touched by this. They were able to share their own advice with her about how they have tried to live faithful and pure lives in the midst of people who do not fear God. They of course liked talking with the younger people too!

Greetings to everyone there.

kurt

We were delighted to have two special guests this evening. The first was a group of wonderful students from various schools in Boston who happen to go to the same church. Mr. Kurt Morrill coordinated their visit and we thank him and the entire group deeply for their warm interest in experiencing an evening at a mosque and learning about Islam. The second guest visits us for the second time, Mr. Suheil Laher. He reflected on the perished nation of Aad and reminded us to strive to strike a balance between fearing God’s anger and punishment and hoping for his pleasure and reward. The evening was followed by a social community potluck dinner in the lounge, so thank you to all those who prepared and brought food with them.

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Dear families and friends,

We had such a wonderful and blessed evening last night closing the Fall 2009 Kids Sunday School Level 1 at YUSUF MOSQUE. We hope you enjoyed it as much as your children. They are now becoming our dear children as well. It was satisfying and heart-warming to see them engage, speak freely on the microphone in public, laugh, play and bond with each other. It was powerful to see the parents and friends cheer, applaud, support and hand the gifts to the kids.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who contributed to making the event memorable. Many thanks to everybody who attended the ceremony. Thank you to Sheikh Abdel Monim for teaching the kids. Thank you for caring for your kids and bringing them to classes every Sunday even when the weather conditions weren’t the best.

Of course, we couldn’t have put this together without the will of God. The success of the kids, of the ceremony and of anything is clearly strengthened by the grace, reward and the pleasure of the most graceful, the best giver, the most knowledgeable, the one and only God. So many thanks to Allah.

We will try to put together a few memorable photos and videos that covered the event and publish them online in the next few days.

Thank you again, and inshallah the students in the Spring 2010 session Level 1 and Level 2 will continue to learn more and progress in Arabic and Quran.

Kind Regards,

YUSUF MOSQUE
186 Chestnut Hill Ave, Brighton MA 02135
www.yusufmosque.com

Preliminary Registration Form (one per child):