The Message April 1st, 2015

THEMESSAGESpecial Issue: April 1st, 2015

Islamic Center of Rolla Missouri (ICRM)

CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF ROLLA, MO

Its the time to embrace one another and make everyone feel welcome to the ICRM

HISTORY

WELCOME

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Muslim Student Association, established in 1967, is the most influenced organization to ICRM

During Ramadan and Eids, ICRM shining with social stars whose working hard to bring a smile to all community in Rolla

20

Welcome to ICRM; Pages 3-5

Muslim Student Association; Page 6

Planning & Construction; Page 7

Social Events : Page 12-13

Community Services; Page 10 Education; Page 14

2.

03 Letter from Shura 04 Your Muslim Neighbors

HISTORICAL ASPECTS

6 Muslim Student Association (MSA) 7 Planning and Construction of Current ICRM Building 8 Grand Opening of Recent ICRM Building

8 Interview with Dr. Salah Taqieddine

COMMUNITY SERVICES10 Contributions to Local Community

11 Organizational Structure of ICRM 12 Social Events

14 Educational Programs

CONTENTS:

Contact

3.

Chief EditorMohammed A. Debree

EditorAlsedik Abousif

Contributing EditorsDr. Yaqoob Ali Alsedik AbousifAnan TakhroriEsam AliMohammed DebreeTarique AhmadRashid KasimEl Jilani HamudaGhaith Alshaia Emad AbdulrasoulAbdulsalam AlamriAdel Elkurry

RevisersDr. Yaqoob AliMarwan HameedRashid Kasim

Photography Azzam AlsaihanyYousf AliEsam AliAnan TakhroriHesham TuwairTameem Ahmed KhanEmad Abdulrasoul

LETTER FROM SHURA

elcome to the very 1st and special edition of the

Islamic Center Rolla Missouri (ICRM) annual magazine,

The Message. ICRM had its humble beginning back

in the year 1994 and by the grace of Allah, the Rolla Muslim com-

munity moved into its new building in the year 2012. This last year,

we marked an important milestone for our community, the 20th year

anniversary of our foundation. This is also a very gratifying and emo-

tional time for those who have worked tirelessly to see the dream of a

new Islamic center come true. This Masjid is one of up to 3000 Islamic

centers across America and its goal is to provide a convenient place

of worship, interfaith dialogue, Islamic education and community

outreach services. Located near the campus of the Missouri university

of Science and technology (MS&T), the Islamic center hosts a diverse

group of individuals, students and professionals, from many different

countries around the world.

The magazine provides a historical overview of the Islamic center and

its construction. It also details the ICRM structural organization, pro-

vided community and social services and the introduction to the avail-

able educational programs for adults and kids. Everyone is welcome

to participate and help us grow as a strong community.

Through the magazine, we intend to reach the Muslim and non-

Muslim community of greater Rolla region, introduce folks about what

we have to offer the area and seek suggestions for our continued

improvement. It is the time to embrace one another and make every-

one feel welcome to the house of Allah. The previously conducted and

future planned open house events at ICRM also hope to build bridges

between different faiths and promote a culture of peace, inshaAllah

(God willing). In the end, I also like to take the opportunity to thank all

those who have spent their time and effort, contributing towards the

preparation of this magazine.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Dr. Yaqoob aliChairman, Shura Council

W

Surat Al-Ĥujurāt (5-2)

4.

“ O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you”

bY: alseDik abousif

he city of Rolla, which is often

described as “in the middle of

nowhere”, has a Muslim com-

munity with members that

came from all corners of the world includ-

ing students, engineers, and doctors. For

them, it was not easy to relocate unless the

next place will meet their spiritual, academ-

ic, and economic requirements. Missouri

S&T, Mercy clinic, and Phelps County

Regional Medical Center (PCRMC) became,

undoubtedly, significant reasons for stu-

dents and doctors from all over the world

to study and to work in Rolla. Moreover,

the Islamic center of Rolla Missouri became

an additional reason for Muslims to

choose Rolla city as their final destination.

Today, there are nearly 300 Muslim stu-

dents, and about 6 faculty members of the

University of Missouri for science and tech-

nology. Moreover, the number of Muslim

alumni from this scientific institution far

exceeds the number of active students and

faculty. Many of them have left this city, but

their research and contributions are still

talking about them. For example, Farouk

El-Baz who graduated in 1961 was a mem-

ber of the Apollo mission to explore the

moon. In 1969, he helped to locate the

landing site on the moon and also helped

to train of astronauts for the most famous

trip of the humans outside this planet.

T

YOUR MUSLIM NEIGHBORS

Countries from which the Muslim community in Rolla cames from:Green: current students and residenceYellow: Alumni and former residence

“ I hope every Muslim in the local community will continue to contribute for the wellness of the society and make ICRM as an exam-ple institution for future generations”Shikayat Ali Graduate Student at Nuclear Engi-neering

“Thank you Rolla community for your tolerance and hospitality that made us live peacefully and freely practice our religion. Your support is so much appreciated”Dr. Mohamed Zobaa Geology & Geophysics Alumni

“ICRM plays main role to show the Islamic religion as valid for all time. So, we should share and partici-pate in volunteer work to show a better image of Islam”Esam Altalhi Graduate Student at Physics Depart-ment MSA President

I really believe that the committee who are running the ICRM are doing a wonderful job, and I know it takes patience and hard work to run a place like the ICRM. Rashid KassimGraduate Student at Petroleum Engi-neering

“The ICRM com-munity should really appreciate the building which serves the com-munity not only for prayers but also for education, infor-mation and others activities”Dr. Mohd Fitri Chemical Engi-neering Alumni

Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Rollamo, Missouri S&T Yearbook, 1961. Land-ing Site Selec-tion secretory and Astronaut Training mission.

“ It was 34 years ago when I first set foot in Rolla together with 10 other Malaysians. Nice to see that there is a perma-nent Masjid for Miners to pray.Khairi Osman Civil Engineering Alumni, Former MSA president

5.

The feedback of the Missouri S&T Muslim

alumni reflects a good impression regard-

ing the Alumni’s day-to-day experience and

various Islamic events in Rolla. Mr. Khairi

Osman, civil engineer graduated in 1984,

was one of the former presidents of Muslim

Student Association (MSA) and he sum-

marized his own experience by saying: “In

August 1980, there were quite a few Muslims

from other countries such as Syria, Iran, Iraq,

Egypt, Turkey, Palestine etc. The first Jumu’ah

(Friday Prayer) coincided with Eid ul-Fitr

(Ramadan breakfasting celebration), and the

university allowed us to use one of the cam-

pus empty rooms as our prayer room”. Later

on, Mr. Osman and his colleagues rented an

apartment for their prayers and social activi-

ties. Dr. Mohamed Zoba, who was one of

the most active students in the department

of Geology and Geological and Petroleum

Engineering department and graduated in

2012, said: “ICRM provided a real nourishing

environment for me and my family. It pro-

vided the space for us to freely practice our

religion and meet with our fellow Muslims”.

Mr. Rashid Kasim, a petroleum engineering

graduate student, said: “I am very grateful

to God for giving us this wonderful place

for worship and to fulfill our religious obli-

gation. I use the ICRM for prayer, Ramadan

activities, and as meeting place for the com-

munity”. Also, Shikayat Ali who is a current

graduate student at the nuclear engineering

department was so impressed about his

experience in Rolla that he said: “ICRM has

a very warm and comfortable environment

not only for Muslims but also it welcomes

people from other faiths too to come and

learn about Islam. Members of ICRM are very

friendly and helpful for every one”. Finally, Dr.

Mohamed Fitri and his family visited ICRM

for daily prayers and other activities espe-

cially during Ramadan. “We like the environ-

ment of the ICRM and the members were

friendly and helpful”, Fitri said. It was amaz-

ing to see a diverse group of Muslims in this

city, here to achieve their academic inten-

tions and then be able to go back to their

home country after a wonderful experience.

Despite a different and not so positive atti-

tude toward Islam, during this last decade,

your Muslim neighbors here in Rolla have

showed in many different ways, a pleasant

coexistence, openness, and how peaceful

religious Islam is. This has been reflected

in various social activities including three

community blood drives, Joplin tornado

relief campaign, child abuse stand, Ramadan

open Iftar for the local communities and

neighbors, and various food and clothes

distribution. In fact, your Muslim neighbors

are gratified to be a part of greater Rolla

community and proud representatives of

their countries in their labs, classrooms, offic-

es, and other avenues of daily interactions.

Muslim Student Association (MSA)

MSA Founders (from Rollamo, Missouri S&T year-book, 1967); Mangunwidjojo, A Secretary; Ata-Abadi, P., President; Honarpour, M., Treasurer; Farazandeh, A., Mirbab, M., Rezghi, E., Dorosti, J., Rezvani, J., Gharagozlou, F.

MSA 1984 soccor team (Source Khiri Osman, MSA former president); Mohd Azudin Yusof, Nor Zamri Abu Zarim, Adnan Mohd Yassin, Kamarul Cabe, Ham-dan Suhaimi, Wan Asma Ibrahim, Sue Tryon, Azlan

Raja Ismail, Abdulhalim Abhamid, Khairi Osman, and Zulkefli Mohamad.

MSA photo in front of a rented house used in their activities (from Rollamo, Missouri S&T yearbook, 1994): Back Row: Azzedine Missoum, Yahya Khawaja, Wajid Khan, Muhamad Aulia, Md Ishfaqur Raza, Ali Al-Qahtani, Shahrul Azmi Yusof, Mohamad Ramad-hian, Roziman Abd. Rahman, Abdul Jaleel Afridi, Add Fadhil, Bisma Husen, Maamoun Alhalabi, Mohd Zaidi Jaafar, Ismael Sated, Zeyad Abanmay, Md. Shari! Suki, Shaharudin Saleh, Khalid Khiran, Mohamad Nasir Ibrahim, Abdul Halim Ariff, Mohd Shah Hanif, Thayer Jawhar, Yehia Al-Amrani Front Row: Azmi Zainal Adnan, Nazarudin Che Salleh, Adik Soedarsono, Ahmed Mustafa, Mohamed Al-Tholaya, Reza Mohdar, Roslan Ahmad, Ahmad Fatani, Nanang Burhan, Iwan Sudrajat

6.

HISTORICAL ASPECTS

istorically, the earliest date

of the known MSA as a stu-

dent organization goes back

to 1967. Before that, individual organiza-

tions representing the students from dif-

ferent Muslim countries were present, like

the Organization of Arab Students and

Pakistani Students’ Organization. MSA rep-

resented the strongest student organiza-

tion and have unified the effort of these

isolated organizations. Since 1967, the MSA

has been responsible for arranging stu-

dent activities, especially Eid celebrations,

Jumu’ah Prayers, and other Islamic occa-

sions by requesting prayer places from the

university or renting a building for the same

purposes. In early 1992 or 1994, MSA played

a major role in establishing the Islamic

Center of Rolla-Missouri (ICRM), which is the

only Islamic center within a 60 mile radius.

The Muslim student association (MSA) is a

student organization on the Missouri S&T

campus founded on the basic tenets of Islam.

Its goal is to deliver the message of Islam

through the daily interactions of its mem-

bers with peoples from other believes while

creating a lifelong bond amongst them.

MSA also seeks to uphold the values of tol-

erance, compassion, and sincerity in hopes

of raising awareness and building under-

standing among different campus com-

munities. Events such as Islam Awareness

Week have formed the core of a strong

tradition of outreach that we wish to build

upon and continue in the years to come.

Our members come from different parts

of the world. They all share the same

principles and goals, which is to succeed

in life and learn how to become better

Muslims. All our members participate in

various activities such as Ramadan daily

Iftar, Eid celebrations, games, and field trips.

Today, the Muslim Student Association still

plays a significant role to serve the Muslim

Students, both in the Masjid and the uni-

versity campus, under the leadership of

the current MSA president, Mr. Esam Ali.

“The most memorable moment for me is

when he served for the preparation of daily

Iftar (breaking fast in Ramadan). It was

wonderful experience for me as I met and

worked with Muslim students from differ-

ent countries”, Mr. Ali said. MSA organizes

different kind of events to benefit not only

the Muslims students but also the local

Rolla Community”. These events included

blood donation drives, Arabic language

classes, Arabic calligraphy classes, Open

Houses, food distribution, Guest lectures,

Graduation dinners, workshops, and partici-

pating in interfaith dialogues. In addition to

that, our members play a big role in MS&T

campus activities; they sponsor activities

such as Peace day, earth day, and Census

information day. They also provide the

necessary help to the international office

to help incoming Muslim students get in

touch with other friends and get the help

necessary to make their lives a little easier.

H

bY: anan Takhrori & esam ali

Planning and Construction of Current ICRM Building

Working on the exterior and the walls of the ICRM building

Starting work on the current ICRM building

Breaking ground ceremony, MPCC committee

7.

s a result of the growing size of

Muslim community in Rolla, the

need for a new place of worship

that could accommodate the cur-

rent and future needs of the Muslim com-

munity became clear to everyone. Many

meetings were held to brainstorm and to

come up with a viable development plan to

build a Mosque that could accommodate

the growing community needs. In the final

analysis, there were two options; expend the

old Mosque, or build a new Mosque. Though

building a new Mosque would present a

bigger challenge in terms of finding loca-

tion buying the land and financial resources,

the Muslim community of Rolla decided to

go ahead and build a new Mosque because

the community felt that the other option of

expending the old building would not meet

need. The first task for the Muslim community

of Rolla was to put in place a credible plan

with tangible goals and benchmarks for build-

ing the new Mosque. Shortly, two commit-

tees were established; the Mosque Planning

and Construction Committee (MPCC) and the

Fundraising Committee (FRC), each commit-

tee was assigned with specific duties respon-

sibilities.

The first task of the newly formed MPCC was

to find suitable land that was affordable,

close to the old Mosque or at least not far

from the University campus since most of the

congregations were students. With the help

of Almighty God, MPCC was able to find and

purchase the land adjacent to the old Masjid.

In May 2007 the house that was neighboring

to the old Mosque with two other houses

within the same block became available for

sale in the market and the MPCC quickly pur-

chased it, and initiated the process of build-

ing the new Mosque. By 2009, the two houses

purchased were demolished to prepare the

ground for the new Mosque.

The second phase was to come up with the

architectural design for the new Mosque,

and the committee members decided to visit

nearby Islamic Centers such as the one in

Columbia and St. Louis, MO, to observe what

type of architectural design would be appro-

priate for the new Rolla Mosque. After explor-

ing several designs, the committee settled on

a new design for the Mosque.

April 16th, 2010 was a memorable day for

the Muslim community of Rolla because it

was the ground breaking day for the new

mosque, and as a joyful occasion, many mem-

bers of the community wanted to become

the first ones to “shovel the first dirt” out of

the ground. The action has a symbolic mean-

ing in the Islamic Culture. Once the construc-

tion of the new mosque was started, and the

foundation part was completed, the need

for procuring needed construction materials

become a big challenge. The, MPCC commit-

tee had to continue to build the new mosque

while the FRC committee was raising fund to

cover the cost of construction. Even though

budget was tight, with the help of Almighty

God and the sound financial decisions of

the committees, the construction of the new

mosque proceeded smoothly and according

to plan.

The third phase was to put insulation, electri-

cal systems, plumbing, exterior masonry and

concrete work within the mosque parame-

ters. However, the funds available at the time

were not enough to cover all the expenses

and the FRC committee decided to double its

fundraising effort in order to come up with

the needed funds.

The fourth phase of the new mosque was

interior design such as painting, carpeting

and decoration, and installation of toilets

and a kitchen that was big enough to accom-

modate community-cooking events like the

Ramadan Iftar or Eid celebration. In order

to reduce cost, the community members

decided to do some of the work themselves

as volunteers. Volunteers did tasks such as

painting and some portion of interior design.

A

bY: mohammeD Debree

Warm welcoming with dates and Arabic coffee

Some guests at the ICRM opening

Continued in Page 11

8.

Some guests having a warm conversation at the ICRM

Guests having a tour in the ICRM building

One of the founding members of the Rolla Masjid is Salah Taqieddin,

so to learn more about him and the founding of this Masjid we

conducted an interview with him. A summary of that interview is

attached below.

Dr. Salah Taqieddin was born in Jordan in 1944. During his time in

Jordan he finished a mining engineering degree and worked with

a large mining company in Jordan. While working he was able to

gain a scholarship to go back to school and gain his Master’s degree.

As he was completing his Master’s program he saw an ad to come

to the Colorado School of Mines to get a PhD through Yaramouk

University in Jordan. He pursued his PhD there until he his advi-

sor unfortunately passed away, which lead him to search for a new

advisor and ultimately led him to Rolla, MO and the University of

Missouri Rolla.

He arrived here in 1979, just a few days before Eid al-Adha and at

that time there were only ten or so Muslim students. Since it was

so close to Eid he and the other students asked the foreign student

advisor for help finding a place to make Eid prayer. The advisor was

able to find them a church that allowed them to make Eid prayer.

As some more time passed they gained a Muslim student advisor,

Ibarahim Adawi, who pushed them to find a place that they could

make prayer. This was when one of the students suggested renting

a one bedroom house and using it as a mosque. They were able

to find such a house and began to hold Friday prayers there until

they were asked to leave by the landlord. At this point they began

to go to a friend’s home and hold prayer there, marking the end

of 1979. In 1980 Dr. Salah graduated and returned and went back

to Jordan until the summer when he returned as a visiting profes-

sor. As a visiting professor he was given a guest in a guest house

with a lot of vacant rooms at the time, so he would invite the other

Muslims during Ramadan to come and join him. After that Ramadan

he returned to Jordan again. When he was leaving for Jordan the

Muslim Student Association was forming with Dr. Omur Tag as their

advisor. He didn’t have much contact with Rolla again until two or

three years later. He had heard from his son that a couple of Muslim

brothers had bought a home with the intentions of turning it into a

mosque and had started praying there.

Dr. Salah returned to Rolla in 2006 as a visiting professor in Civil

Engineering. When he arrived he was astonished to see that the

Muslim population had grown from 10 to almost 60 with a small

home where they all prayed. The growing community was becom-

ing too big for the house so they decided to build a new mosque

in the same location as the old one. This lead to the creation of the

Mosque Planning & Construction Committee that consisted of Dr.

Salah, Dr. Assad Ullah and his wife, Dr. Abdul Jalel bil Arabi, Dr. Fethi

Fenish, Dr. Chaudry, and Dr. Walid Assadi with Abdul Aziz Alkasabi

as their elected manager. They would meet every Saturday on the

upper floor of the old mosque to discuss the building of the new

mosque.

he grand opening of the

Islamic Center took place on

January 20th, 2012. Working

with Muslim Student Association (MSA),

the ICRM committees and the members

invited all friends and families of Rolla and

the neighboring cities to attend the grand

opening. Guests were welcomed by offer-

ing them a cup of Middle Eastern and

Turkish coffee and dates. Gifts baskets were

also distributed to the guests. MSA mem-

bers offered tours to the building. Question

sand answer and social gathering were also

provided in addition to lunch and desert.

Over 400 people attended the event includ-

ing the Mayor of Rolla. Also, students from

the Missouri S&T campus including Greek

Houses and other clubs and organizations,

campus staff, Rolla business employees, and

the construction crew were also glad to get

a chance to join everyone in celebrating the

grand opening.

The purpose of the grand opening was to

invite the Rolla community to learn more

about the new center where five daily

prayers are offered in addition to Sunday

school and Arabic classes for kids and

non-Arabic speakers. In addition to learn-

ing about the building, the guests had a

chance to watch a documentary about the

construction process and the challenges

faced during the years of hard work. Movies

about Islam, Muslim countries, and Muslims

around the world in general were played

in the classrooms. Guests had a chance to

ask questions and get to know the Muslim

Community of Rolla and their Muslim

neighbors.

anan TakhroriGrand Opening of Recent ICRM Building

T

Interview with Dr. Salah TaqieddinBy: Tarique ahmaD

Some guests at the ICRM opening

Warm welcoming with dates and Arabic coffee The ICRM main entrance in 2012

Some guests at the ICRM opening Some guests in the ICRM building

Prophet Mohammed (Sahih Muslim)

9.

“Do not think little of any good deed, even if it is just greeting your brother with a

Some guests having a warm conversation at the ICRM

Guests having a tour in the ICRM building

COMMUNITYSERVICESICRM contribution to Rolla community & beyond

Surat Al-Mā’idah (5-2)

10.

hat is community service, in

general, and why we believe

that community service is

the essence and embodiment of what ICRM

(the Islamic Center of Rolla, Missouri) and

its members do every time a need for self-

less activity arises within our community

here in Rolla, or anywhere in the USA. While

there are broader definitions of what actu-

ally constitutes as “community service”, the

gist of it is volunteering, where someone

performs an activity for the benefit of his or

her community.

The pictures above high-light four selfless

activities that the ICRM and its members

undertook that made a difference in our

Rolla community and in our lovely state of

Missouri. For instance, ICRM and its mem-

bers took part in “Child Abuse Prevention”

where we setup a tent outside the center,

and encouraged parents to donate, and

kids to sell lemonade to raise money and

awareness for the cause. The second picture

shows ICRM members participating in an

“inter-faith dialogue” where the objective

was to bring people together and promote

a better understand of each other’s tradi-

tions and cultures. The two bottom pictures

show ICRM members giving a helping hand

to remove trees and debris, and distributing

food supply in Joplin after the May 2011

deadly tornado. ICRM hosted blood drives

three times as means of helping and provid-

ing others in need. As ICRM is located in an

educated environment, we offer through-

out the academic year diverse kinds of free

courses such as Arabic and calligraphy.

Ultimately, this quote from writer, Ralph

Waldo Emerson sums up where he says,

“Volunteering is one of the most beautiful

compensations of life, that no man can sin-

cerely try to help another without helping

himself”

“cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression “

rashiD kassim & el Jilani hamuDa

W

Tent outside ICRM center for “Child Abuse Prevention”, July 2013

ICRM participation in interfaith dialogue, February, 2014

Blood drive organized by ICRM and community blood center

Participation of MSA and ICRM in the international day

ICRM traveled to Joplin (MO) to give hand and to distribute food supply to relief May 2011 tornado

Interview with Dr. Salah Taqieddin (Continued from Page 8)

ICRM contribution to Rolla community & beyond

11.

Dr. Salah went back to Jordan and when he returned he brought

back plans for a new mosque but it was met with criticism that

the current mosque was big enough. The committee continued

with the plans because they wanted to provide a bigger mosque

that would be fitting for the community in the future and would

be big enough to serve the Muslims in cities around Rolla as well.

This lead the committee to buy a home near the old house.

Once all the land was purchased the plans for the new mosque

started with Dr. Fatehi Fenish in charge. In 2009, Salah returned

to Jordan and has been coming back as a visiting professor ever

since.

Dr. Salah stated that people think building a house for Allah

(SWT) is hard, but if you try Allah (SWT) will help.

After the end of the interview we asked Dr. Salah what he hopes

for this mosque and the community, his response was:

He hopes to see a school for Muslim children so they can be

raised according to Islam. He believes that the mosque has

helped many people here in Rolla and areas around here. He

would like to see this continue with the Muslim community

reaching out to the Non-Muslim community and showing them

real Islam and getting acquainted with them through school and

volunteer work. We need to work with people of other faiths and

teach them about Islam that way. We must respect the people in

Rolla and serve as ambassadors of Islam.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF ICRM

Dr. Yaqoob ali

he Islamic Center of Rolla Missouri, also called ICRM,

is a non-profit, Islamic, charitable and religious orga-

nization. This organization is strictly guided by Islamic

principles according to the Qur’an and the Sunna (the practice

of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH), consisting of what he said,

did, recommended, or approved of in others).

Any Muslim who resides in the area and complies with the

ICRM constitution and By-Laws, is considered a general mem-

ber. Muslims who comply with the ICRM Constitution and

By-Laws and have paid their membership fees are eligible for

registered membership. Only registered members have the

right to vote and hold offices at ICRM.

The General Assembly of ICRM consists of registered mem-

bers of ICRM and usually meet at least twice a year. The Shura

Council (Board of Directors) is the main governing body of the

ICRM, responsible for safeguarding its tangible and intangible

assets and furthering its mission as per the ICRM constitu-

tion. It is the final decision making authority within the ICRM,

and develops its overall policies and strategic directions that

is subsequently implemented in conjunction with the ICRM

Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is tasked with

conducting the day-to-day activities of the ICRM as detailed

in the by-laws. The Executive Committee consists of the reg-

istered members and have the following positions: president,

IT coordinator, secretary, property manager, treasurer, Da’wah

coordinator, women’s activities coordinator, social activities

coordinator, and, finally, education and community develop-

ment coordinator.

The Executive Committee members perform their entrusted

tasks autonomously, reporting to the President. Details of their

entrusted tasks are given in the ICRM constitution and they are

elected for a one year term. Both the board of directors and the

executive committee are open to the suggestions and input

from the community at large. ICRM is proud to be a part of

Rolla community and continues to strive to build bridges that

foster strong and peaceful relationships.

TBlood drive organized by ICRM and community blood center

Participation of MSA and ICRM in the international day

11.

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

“Speech remains as a slave to you, but the moment it leaves your mouth, you become its slave.”

12.

he foundations of the social system of Islam rest

on the belief that all human beings are equal and

constitute one single fraternity. Islam is a practical

way of life as it has responded to reality and necessity. It has also

put a check on human tendencies and ensured balance. In the holy

Quran, Allah says: (O mankind, WE have created you from a male and

a female; and WE have made you tribes and sub-tribes that you may

know one another. Verily, the most honorable among you, in the

sight of ALLAH, is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely,

ALLAH is All-Knowing, All-Aware) Chapter 49, Verse 13. Therefore,

part of being a Muslim is to be positively active in your society as

Prophet Mohammed PBUH simplified the relation of the believer

with the society by saying: {the believers, in their love, mercy, and

kindness to one another are like a body: if any part of it is ill, the

whole body shares its sleeplessness and fever.}.

SOCIAL EVENTS

T

GhaiTh al shaia

Eid ul-Fitr Celebration, 2010

Eid ul-Fitr Celebration, toys for kids

Celebration and food

Soldiers celebrating Eid ul-Fitr with their Muslim colleague in the ICRM

13.

Here in Rolla, ICRM provided our community with a unique venue

to practice our social life not only with Muslims from more than 30

countries with different languages, ethnicities and backgrounds but

even with non-Muslim brothers and sisters. It is a salad bowl of many

different ingredients from all over the world!

We live here as one family who consider Rolla as their hometown

and its local community as their big family. At ICRM, we share our

knowledge, experience, concerns, happiness and sadness social

activities conducted at ICRM are hard to be mentioned all in one

page as they range from daily, weekly, monthly to annual and occa-

sional activities. Daily social activities as an example represented

mainly by meeting five times a day to practice our daily prayers.

Furthermore, the whole community along with visitors and Muslim

travelers are gathered every week for Friday speech, prayer and

lunch. On weekly bases too, ICRM conducts educational, entertain-

ment and religious sessions for both adults and children. From

Month to month, several activities took place such as volunteering

in (distributing food), cleaning and maintaining ICRM facilities, fund

raising and many other activities for the whole family. Annually,

ICRM hosts great event of The Open House, Eid ul-Fitr celebration,

Eid ul-Adha celebration and several blood drives along with the

greatest social events of Ramadan.

In Ramadan, we as Muslims fast for 30 days from dawn to sunset and

we all gather in ICRM every day at sunset to enjoy the feeling seren-

ity, and tranquility when we break our fast together. During each

day of Ramadan, ICRM is shining with social stars where you will find

volunteers arranging, cleaning, teaching and always you will find

one family or more volunteering to cook for the whole community.

So you can guess how many cuisine we enjoyed tasting before the

end of Ramadan.

Moreover, we have many other occasional social activities such as

the wedding celebration for an American brother who converted to

Islam and married a Moroccan Muslim. Also, we at ICRM celebrate

the newly born babies by performing “Aqiqah”, an Islamic tradition

which including sacrificing an animal on the occasion of a child’s

birth and all the community gathers to dine together and congratu-

late the parents. At the end of each semester, we conduct a picnic

for the whole community providing a great chance to welcome the

newcomers and bid farewell for the leaving members.

On the other hand, we announce major health issues that might

happen to any member in order to provide a chance for the other

community members to pray for them and visit them either at the

hospital or at the home. Also, we gather to condolence any member

who lost a relative or a friend and pray and ask forgiveness for him.

In hard financial situation for anyone, we provide that person with

his needs in full confidentiality and privacy.

All these activities and many others are totally free of charge and

always attended and appreciated by our Muslim community mem-

bers are welcomed non-Muslims friends who always honored our

social activities by their attendance and contribution providing us

in every social event with a great opportunity to meet, eat, have fun

and gather in a very comfortable environment that full of love and

peace.

Eid ul-Fitr Celebration, 2010

Soldiers celebrating Eid ul-Fitr with their Muslim colleague in the ICRM Social activities at ICRM

14.

ince years ago the ICRM is providing an educational

services for the Islamic community in Rolla. Among

these educational services is the Qur’anic School

for children. The first class was held in 2010 when Mr. Abdussalam

Mohamed, a former petroleum engineering graduate student, set

in a corner of the old Masjid teaching Quran for a few number of

kids. The Qur’anic School’s goal is to teach the Muslim children

how to recite Quran as well as memorize some Surah’s (chapters)

through which children could learn some of the teachings of Islam

such as prayers. The timing for the Qur’anic School is Friday which

children come after school as well as their volunteer teachers

to start classes which is about two hours. During the study, the

students get to know each other and in the time of prayer, kids

start lining up in a straight lines for prayer then afterwards snacks.

These activities is to strengthen the ties between the people of

the Muslim community in Rolla. In Ramadan, Qur’anic school

supervisors hold a competition for all students to evaluate the

students’ level and the winners get awards.

ALFAROUK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (AES); The idea of the Arabic

school in Rolla (MO) started in 2009. Later, in one of the pre-

liminary meetings for the Libyan Student Association (LSA), Dr.

Mahmoud El Sharafi shared an idea of establishing an Arabic

school providing a complete Arabic education. The main idea

related to Arabic school is to keep the children in touch with their

mother language. Therefore, those children who is returning back

to their countries will not find a big gap between them and their

fellows, especially in Arabic Language. The school opened its

doors with only two grades (first grade, and second grade) under a

supervision of four full time female volunteers. In 2012 the school

was named AL-Farouk Elementary School and was completely

managed by student volunteers who continued to provide a

complete Arabic education in all subjects for all grades. The total

enrollment in this year 2014-2015 is about 45 students, and about

16 student volunteered to teach in these secessions on Sundays.

Women Quran class has been started on 2012 when the former

ICRM Da’wah Coordinator, Musa Albousifi, insisted to find a special

educational program and social activity organized by women at

the old building. He has done a nice job for arrangement with

Qur’anic teacher, and with encouraging several people to bring

their families to attend the classes. The class started with a few

participants at the beginning. However, the class currently taking

place at the new ICRM building every Friday at the same time

of kids Quran class with about 12 participants, approximately.

Women gathering at the ICRM building for social gathering also.

They prepare some dishes from their countries share their experi-

ence life in Rolla and US, cleaning the Masjid, arranging women

party, visiting sick people, and many other activities that make

them comfortable in this city.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMSS

abDulsalam amri, emaD abDulrasol, & aDel elkurrY

Children in their classrooms

ISLAMIC AND GREGORIAN CALENDAR

15.

Islamic Center of Rolla - Missouri or ICRM is an Islamic non-profit, charitable, religious

organization which is strictly guided by Islamic principles according to the Qur’an and

the Sunna (the practice of the prophet Muhammad PBUH)

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W e b s i t e : w w w . r o l l a m a s j i d . o r gE - m a i l : i c r m . m a s j i d @ g m a i l . c o m

ICRMI S L A M I C C E N T E R O F R O L L A , M I S S O U R I