ICB Conversations
Conversations program started in early 2006. In the first year the program comprised of four
ongoing “serial conversations” with each individual “serial conversation” structured around
a single theme and comprising of lectures, seminars and group discussions on topics
relating to the “theme of the conversation”. The first year program archive is available
HERE.
The program seeks to provide an opportunity to learn about Islam as a religion, as a way of life,
and as an energetic civilizational phenomenon that has changed the course of history many a times.
The program provides an opportunity to learn about Islam as a religion, as a way of life, and as
an energetic civilizational phenomenon that has changed the course of history man a times.
The lectures are scheduled on select Sundays usually during the second class (11:45AM-12:45PM) in the Reception Hall.
The program is open to members as well as the general public. Non-members are requested to contact Malik Khan,
the Program Organizer, at conversations@icbwayland.org to receive an
invitation.
Lectures List:
How to discuss Islamophobia with our children?
John Robbins, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
A talk about Islamophobia and how to discuss it with our children. The program will comprise of a
short presentation to be followed by QA and discussion. Mario Moreira of ICB Wayland will moderate the program.
The BRIDGES Initiative
Tahir Chaudhry and Dr. Batool Kazim, Islamic Center of Boston
An ongoing initiative to build bridges between various law enforcement authorities and the Muslim
communities in the state of Massachusetts. This work has been going on for past several years and, given its nature,
has been aptly named as the "BRIDGES" initiative. Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland, along with almost all other
Islamic Centers in New England, has been a part of this activity since its very inception and has, over the years,
hosted many of its monthly as well as event based meetings.
Book Reading: "The Lives of Muhammad"
Professor Kecia Ali, Boston University and a former board member ICB Wayland
Professor Ali will provide a summary of her new book "The Lives of Muhammad" and read a couple of select sections.
A limited number of copies of the book will be available for purchase.
Navigating Hajj
Mario Moreira, Islamic Center of Boston
An interactive presentation with an overview of Hajj, personal Hajj experience (with numerous photos),
and key insights for Hajj preparation including Expectations, Myths, and Recommendations for the trip.
The presentation is for those who are planning to go for Hajj this year as well as anyone who is either
interested in Hajj or is considering this trip in the future.
Family Promise Metrowest Introduction and Training
Kimberly Ho, PhD CCC-SLP
Please join us to attend an introduction to Family Promise Metrowest, which is a non profit organisation with 170 affiliates across the US.
ICB Wayland is planning an interfaith initiative with FPM. The mission of this collaboration would be to offer hope to homeless families with children, through safe transitional shelter, meals and supportive care management, as they seek permanent housing.
This will be followed by a volunteer training session for those who are interested in joining this initiative.
Navigating Hajj
Mario Moreira, Islamic Center of Boston
An interactive presentation with an overview of Hajj, personal Hajj experience (with numerous photos),
and key insights for Hajj preparation including Expectations, Myths, and Recommendations for the trip.
The presentation is for those who are planning to go for Hajj this year as well as anyone who is either
interested in Hajj or is considering this trip in the future.
Presentation Slides (PDF)
Navigating Hajj
Mario Moreira, Islamic Center of Boston
An interactive presentation with an overview of Hajj, personal Hajj experience (with numerous photos),
and key insights for Hajj preparation including Expectations, Myths, and Recommendations for the trip.
The presentation is for those who are planning to go for Hajj this year as well as anyone who is either
interested in Hajj or is considering this trip in the future. Dr. Giath Reda, ICB Imam and Director of Religous Affairs
will join Mario in answering questions about the logistics, requirements and performance of the Hajj.
Presentation Slides (PDF)
How to Prepare for College Admissions
Saadia Baloch, Tanvir Hussain and Tasneem Mohammed, ICB Wayland
Do you wish you had some insight into how to navigate the college admissions game?
Is your child headed for college in the next couple of years?
Did you go to school outside the US and find the admission system hard to figure out?
This is a seminar for high school students and their parents presented by members of our Center.
PRESENTATION SLIDES (PDF)
Civic Education - Part II
Attorney Maria Curtatone
In this two part presentation several subjects relating to the upcoming local and national elections
will be covered. As citizens, all of us should get involved in such civic activities in order to ensure that our
viewpoints are adequately represented at all levels. In the second part of this presentation the topics to be covered will include:
Master Chinese Arabic Calligrpher Haji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang
internationally recognized Chinese master of Arabic Calligraphy Haji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang will be joining us for
our weekly Conversations program. He will give a slide presentation on Islam in China followed by a Live Demonstration of his
Calligraphic Expertise. There will be an opportunity to purchase original pieces of his work.
21st Century Leadership For Teen Boys
Shahzad Bhatti and Ben Keeler, Axiom Learning
Parents' information for a course that has been offered free of charge to ICB community. Enrollment will be
limited to 12 boys ages 14-17.
Civic Education - Part I
Nazda Alam, Parwez Wahid, mambers of ICB Wayland and Democratic State Committee
In this two part presentation several subjects relating to the upcoming local and national elections
will be covered. As citizens, all of us should get involved in such civic activities in order to ensure that our
viewpoints are adequately represented at all levels. In the first part of this presentation the topics to be covered will include:
Learn about the Daughters of Abraham Interfaith Book Groups
Mary Lou Loveccio, Sheila Goldberg, Suraiya Hussain and Saadia Baloch
The Daughters of Abraham are Christian, Jewish and Muslim women who explore their religious faiths through books.
The mission of the Daughters of Abraham is to overcome stereotypes and to foster mutual respect and understanding among Muslim,
Jewish and Christian women. Through the discussion, insights and relationships that grow out of regular book group meetings,
we hope to: learn about the commonalities and differences found in Islam, Judaism and Christianity; develop an interfaith
community of women who can speak intelligently about the Abrahamic faiths.
We invite ICB members to learn about the bridges of understanding we have built over the last few years, and about how you
can join a group near you.
PRESENTATION SLIDES (PDF)
Kids 4 Peace Boston
Peggy Stevens, Founder and Program Director
Join us in teaching our children to take small steps towards peace and understanding.
PROGRAM FLYER
Job & Career Network @ ICB
Fehmida Malik, Islamic Center of Boston
A presentation on the need to setup a Job and Career Network at ICB.
The presentation will explore the need to:
Presentation Slides
A Two Part Series on Fostering Healthy Families - Some Insights and Solutions
Part 2: Islamic Perspectives on Family Relations and Domestic Harmony
by Dr. Ghiath Reda, Imam and Director of Religious Affairs of ICB
The Domestic harmony Committee of the ICB has arranged two conversation programs on
issues relating to family peace and harmony. In the second program, Dr. Reda will talk about the
Islamic guidelines relating to family harmony and how incorrect understandings of the Quranic
injunctions about marriage and structure of families can become a cause for abuse.
A Two Part Series on Fostering Healthy Families - Some Insights and Solutions
Part 1: Role of Faith Communities in Promoting Domestic Harmony
by Dr. Anne Marie Hunter, founder and director of Safe Havens
The Domestic harmony Committee of the ICB has arranged two conversation programs on
issues relating to family peace and harmony. This first program will be hosted by sister Mary Lahaj
who is a trained Muslim chaplain and a senior member of our center. She will explain the role of a
chaplain as a counselor and will introduce our main speaker for the program Dr. Anne Marie Hunter,
founder and director of Safe Havens, an interfaith organization.
Navigating Hajj
Mario Moreira, Islamic Center of Boston
An interactive presentation with an overview of Hajj, personal Hajj experience (with numerous photos),
and key insights for Hajj preparation including Expectations, Myths, and Recommendations for the trip.
The presentation is for those who are planning to go for Hajj this year as well as anyone who is either
interested in Hajj or is considering this trip in the future.
The Power of Dua
Subheen Razzaqui, Islamic Center of Boston
A talk about various Quranic Duas (supplications). Some of the topics covered include:
Presentation Slides (PDF) |
Some Quranic Duas (PDF)
Islamic Calligraphy and the Qur’an
Laura Weinstein, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Laura Weinstein, a specialist in South Asian and Islamic Art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, will look at how artists and scribes
and bookbinders made the creation of Qur’ans one of the highest art forms over the last millennium. Through examples from the MFA’s
collection made in Egypt, Tunisia and Iran, she will explore the changing materials and techniques that were used to create copies
of the Qur’an, the development of different scripts and types of decoration, and the religious and artistic meanings that Qur’ans hold.
Educating Girls in Muslim Countries - An Update
Mohamad Ali, Hina Bukhari and Michelle Syed, Islamic Center of Boston
An update on the ICB Wayland Sunday School and Parents Association project "Educating Girls in Muslim
Countries: Why it might be the single most important thing we can do to alleviate poverty.
Presentation Slides (PDF)
Challenges Faced By Muslim Children - Some Insights and Solutions
Abdul Malik Mujahid, President Sound Vision
A presentation and discussion about the alarming findings of some recent research and analysis about what our youth are going through.
Thus for example according to these studies:
Obviously it is not easy to be a young Muslim today. Brother Mujahid would offer his thoughts on the situation and offer some
strategic insights on what Muslim communities need to do to cope with this situation.
The Life of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) and His Progeny
Syed Ali Hur Mujtaba Kamoonpuri, Aligarh University, India
The life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his progeny, what we can learn from them, and how these
lessons are relevant to the contemporary times and issues.
Learn about the ICB Wayland Committees
Mario Moreira (ICB Secretary) and Committee Leads
The committee leads for our ICB Wayland Committees provided an overview of their respective committee.
An opportunity for members to learn about what each committee does and the opportunities you have in having a say
in the way ICB Wayland operates.
Islamic Etiquettes Session II
Dr. Ghiath Reda
Second session on Islamic Etiquettes continued with discussion about the Islamic concept of Adab
which involves refinements of individual behavior that are required to create a better society and to bring
about harmony in human relations at family, community and societal levels. It is an all encompassing paradigm
which deals with social, personal, prayer, business and environmental etiquettes, and provides the foundations
that underlay various theological, philosophical and social doctrines of Islam.
How to approach the study of the Quran with your heart and mind
Subheen Razzaqui
Discussions about how to approach the study of the Quran including
the methodologies suggested by the well known Muslim writer, Khurram Murad,
in his authoritative work on the subject, "Way To The Quran".
Presentation Slides (PDF)
Should I go to Law School?
New England Muslim Bar Association (NEMBA)
Hear experiences of lawyers and law students and find out answers to these questions and more:
Panelists include:
Educating Girls in Muslim Countries: Why it might be the single most important thing we can do to alleviate poverty.
A Project of the ICB Wayland Sunday School and Parent Association.
Mohamad Ali, Hina Bukhari and Michelle Syed
Members of ICB Wayland’s Girls Education Project, will talk about their first effort in collaboration
with Oxfam America, to support girl's education in developing Muslim countries, starting with Pakistan.
Students are raising $2,000 through bake sales and other means, parents and teachers are in the process
of establishing a “Sister School” in Pakistan for cross-cultural dialogue among our students,
and other parents are raising funds to rehabilitate up to 6 schools in rural Pakistan.
An imortant project to educate our ICB Wayland students and contribute to the alleviation of poverty.
Presentation Slides (PDF)
Islamic Etiquettes
Dr. Ghiath Reda
A talk about the Quranic directives of "Order goodness and forbid misbehavior" - and
"Invite to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching and argue with them in ways that are best
and most gracious" - and their judicious use when discussing Islamic Etiquettes. We expect this to
be the first of a series of Conversation programs on this topic.
Emotionally Supporting Our Children During Difficult Times
Dr. Gagan Joshi, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
A talk about the problems that Muslim parents have to deal with as they are trying
to raise their children in very uncertain times. With the constant in flow of negative messages
that our children are exposed to in the media today, it is very important that we as parents acquaint
ourselves with issues that we need to grapple with in order to ensure that our children develop
necessary emotional resilience to deal with these challenges.
Navigating Hajj
Mario Moreira
An interactive presentation with an overview of Hajj, personal Hajj experience (with numerous photos),
and some insights for Hajj preparation including Expectations, Myths, and Recommendations for the trip.
Presentation Slides (PDF)
Blueprint For Financial Success
Nathania Ustan and Elizabeth O’Boyle
An informative workshop on building a strong financial foundation for yourself
and your family.
raising Muslim Children In The U.S.A: How to Deal With Bullying in the Schools?
Dr. Giath Reda
Growing up is difficult in any country and at any time. Children in the schools
can be mean and unkind to each other and therefore societies take appropriate precautions and
institute remedial measures in order to deal with bullying situations. Experiences of Muslim
children are no different in this regard; however, in light of the difficult circumstances,
that prevail today, and which have led to the creation of ugly stereotypes of Islam and Muslims,
their parents have to deal with additional burdens and trauma.
Wisdom and patience are the endearing qualities needed by parents to deal with such situations;
the important thing for the parents is to not allow their anger to take over their approach to
this problem. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has said:
"He is not from us who does not have Mercy on our
little ones, doest not show Respect to our elderly and does not Recognize the ones with knowledge"
Raising Children in The U.S.A: Relevance of the Blessed Month of Ramadan
Dr. Giath Reda
During the month of Ramadan, Dr. Giath Reda, the Imam and Director of Religious
Affairs of our center, will give a sequence of four talks on issues that Muslim parents face
in raising their children while living as a minority religious group in the United States of
America. In this series we will explore how the month of Ramadan is relevant to this challenge,
what guidance it provides to the parents, and how we can benefit from it.
Haroon Ullah and Meryum Kazmi
Haroon Ullah and Meryum Kazmi, Meryum is an alumni of ICB Sunday School, will
talk about The Muslim Public Service Network (MPSN).The Muslim Public Service Network is a
tax-exempt nonprofit organization that assists Muslim undergraduate and graduate students
prepare for careers in public service and policy development. Its Summer Internship
Program, begun in 1994, was the first such program for American Muslims and still is the only
Muslim internship program in Washington DC. MPSN has graduated over 200 alumni, placing them in
organizations and policy formulation positions in places such as the World Bank, U.S State
Department, Congressional Offices and leading educational institutions like Harvard, Yale,
Stanford and Berkeley.
The Muslim Public Service Network takes a proactive approach to engaging American Muslims
in public service and policy development. Experience, education, and expertise are the means
to obtaining a seat at the table – the table where critical issues are discussed and far-reaching
decisions are made. MPSN provides an important conduit for young American Muslims to become
involved in effectively serving their communities and country.
Farah Husain
Farah Hussain will talk about MPAC. In this presentation Farah would introduce
MPAC to the greater Boston community and to describe her experiences while working with
the organization and the unique opportunities that it offers to Muslims who would like to
get involved with mainstream of public life in our country.
Farah is an alumni of the Sunday School at the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland. She got
involved with MPAC during the summer of 2005 when she worked as a government and media affairs
intern in MPAC's Washington DC office. During this time, she co-coordinated the drafting and
publication of the first National Muslim American Youth statement about the the terrorist attack
on the subways in London in the summer of 2005 and its aftermath. In July 2007, she participated
in the first National Muslim American Youth Summit in DC, which involved 27 young Muslims
meeting with top-level government officials.
Shamim Ahmed and Aneess Khan
sisters Shamim Ahmed and Aneess Khan will give a presentation about the Guidelines
For Isla mic Funerals for Women. They will discuss the special issues that we need to be aware
of when the deceased person is a female. Their talk will supplement the discussion that we had
in a Conversations program several weeks ago in January on this subject.
Leah Ann Fredrickson
Leah Ann Fredrickson an Intern from Harvard Divinity School would be giving a
presentation about "Know Your Neighbor". This is a program which has been designed to
bring various communities of faith in our area to get to kno! w each other better,
and to bring them closer to each other by encouraging them to visit each other's places of worship.
Dr. Syed Asif Razvi
Dr. Syed Asif Razvi will give a talk about “Islamic Perspectives on Cloning and Genetic Technology”.
The presentation will provide a brief historical background on cloning followed by a range of opinions on this
issue by a number of Islamic scholars. The talk will conclude with Dr. Razvi’s own comments on the subject
and a question and answer session.
Dr. Riaz Khan
Dr. Riaz Khan will give a presentation about the Guidelines
For Isla mic Funerals.
Omer Bajwa
Omer Bajwa presently the Interim Muslim Chaplain at Cornell University will
give a presentation about a three week journey through Saudi Arabia that he under took with
the well known American-Muslim scholar Hamza Yusuf. The presentation pays special attention
to Mecca and Medina from the perspective of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). During
their trip they were granted exclusive access to numerous historical sites that are not
normally accessible to the general public.
Brother Omer received his M.A. in Near Eastern Studies, with a specialization in Islamic Studies,
from Cornell University's Department of Near Eastern Studies. He also holds an M.S. in
Communications and a B.A. in English from Cornell, and is at present completing his pastoral studies in Hartford Seminary's Islamic Chaplaincy Program.
Dr. Ghiath Reda
Dr. Giath Reda, the Imam and Director of Religious Affairs of our center,
will give a talk commenting on the workings of court systems in the contemporary world
of Islam, in light of the normative concepts of Justice in Islamic Jurisprudence that
are contained in the guidance provided by the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).