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First Meeting (Sept 21, 2005) Update:

Salaam alaikum everyone! I just wanted to keep you posted on what happened at Wednesday’s meeting. First off, we had an awesome turnout. I know that a lot of you couldn’t make it because of time conflicts, so don’t worry about it.

We followed the meeting agenda, and discussed the calendar of events, which are available on the homepage.

We also discussed the AMA T-Shirt design, and came up with a very nice one. Please check it out: just click on T-Shirt above.

Please fill out an order form to indicate that you are committed to buying a shirt. The more people that buy, the cheaper they will be. BUT, that’s not the reason for the shirts. We want there to be an easy way of identifying ourselves as Muslims or interested in Islam. We want to easily identify each other on campus. We want to show a unified front at events and meetings. So please, please please sign up for a shirt.

We also decided that we would have Wednesday Night Sports at the Field House every week. We can meet at 7pm by the badminton courts. We can play whatever sports people feel like. There’s badminton for those who prefer non-contact sports, volleyball for those who want a little more action, and basketball for those of you who have great hand-eye coordination. Bring your friends!

Lastly, we are having Bi-Monthly meetings. We thought it would be great to have these meetings where a member of the group lead a discussion on a topic that they think is beneficial to the group. It may be on any subject from religion, to academics, to art…whatever you are comfortable with. The meetings will be structured as follows: 5-10 minutes for a quick recap of what is going on with the organization. 20 minutes for the Topic introduction, 30 minutes discussion facilitated by the Topic Leader. This means that these meetings will not be more than 60 minutes long. The first meeting will be Monday, October 3rd, at 7-8pm in the IMU Terrace Room (Room 166). Please see the events page for more information.

Salaams,
Asana Mohamad UI-AMA Vice President.

Ramadan Awareness Week:

Insha Allah Ramadan Awareness Week (RAW) will be Oct 17-21 this year. More info check our EVENTS page. For an account of last year's RAW please see below :-)

Summary of Ramadan Awareness Week(2004):

Salaams all,

Alhamdullilah the Ramadan Awareness Week went well. We had two main events, the Q&A on Nov 2nd and the Iftar on Nov 5th. We didn't have many people come for the Q&A (hey, it was election night) but we still had a few interested people attend and ask questions. They asked us about Ramadan, what it is like fasting in the States as compared to a Muslim country, what Ramadan traditions there are, what the biggest miscnception about Islam and Muslim people have etc. They were all great questions and insha Allah we were able to answer them as straightforwardly as possible.

The other event that we had was the Iftar, and this was a lot more exciting. Alhamdullilah we had a great turn out (we counted 47 people :-) so first I must say thank you and Jazak Allahu Khayran to our sponsors: The Pizza House, Tayeeb Foods, and The Jordan Valley Market. I know we would have run out of food without their contributions and support. These are all Muslim businesses, and the Pizza House uses Halal meat on their pizzas if you ask for it.

I'll also thank everyone who contributed their time and money to this event. Jazak Allah to everyone who cooked and cleaned up and set up and advertised and spread the word.

We had many Muslims and non-Muslims attend the Iftar and since there were so many people the conversation was not very centered. But we did have a couple of people who took the Fast With US Challenge share their experiences. The general consensus was that fasting is a lot more difficult when one is not busy and when others around you are eating. But most importantly we were able to reiterate the purpose of Ramadan and fasting: to empathize with those who do not have the choice to break their fast. Those people less fortunate than us who are unable to afford even one meal a day let alone three. Insha Allah this lesson will stay with us througout Ramadan and the rest of the year.

Contact Us:
muslims@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
UI Assoc of Muslims
46 SAC/IMU
Iowa City, IA 52242