I recently read what is probably the best 11 pages about families and parenting that I’ve ever read. The pages below are from a book called “flow”, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (yes, a mouthful) and they explain the main reasons behind why teenagers begin to distance themselves from their families and introduces new insights into how to deal with this.11 pages of extremely useful information… enjoy: P.S: When the author talks about ‘psychic energy’ he means (to the best of my knowledge) mental energy/focus/concentration… psychic here being anything that the psyche partakes in. 

         Good stuff! AbdelRahman Mussa   

The Wait Is Finally Over…

MAB Ramadan Iftar 2008

 

Weekly basic Arabic session for children between the ages of 2-3.

This is intended to give the children some exposure to Arabic as a language before they formally start to learn.

The sessions are fun as well as structured and parents (mothers) stay with the children to ensure a positive bonding experience in an Islamic learning environment. 

For details and venue, call 07974705489 / 07863562339.

Wednesdays, 4pm – 5.45pm, starting 8^th October 2008, Loughborough. 

What is MQP:

• MQP stand for MAB Qiyam Project.
• It is a youth initiative that was established by the Muslim Association of Britain Youth Department in Manchester, July 2006.
• It consists largely of a series of monthly Qiyam programs held in a local venue. (Muslim Youth Foundation).
• Each program, delivered by a different guest speakers each time, is themed and is composed of talks, a workshop and mild spiritual input such as Tahajjud prayer and Qur’an in Groups.
• Each theme deals with topics that are important and that directly affect the young Muslim community e.g. Tolerance, Extremism and Moderation in Islam.
• Thus, our main target audiences are Muslim youth.
• The project also includes periodic courses, we held two day intensive course studying the Twenty Principles of Imam Hasan Al-Banna and a two day intensive course on Palestine. We  also organised a four part course titled ‘Marriage SOS’ dealing with the cultural and religious issues surrounding marriage and most recently we organized a one day family event titled ‘How to fill your home with faith’ delivered by Imam Suhaib Webb from USA.

Aims & Objectives:

“…Surely Allah does not change the condition the condition of a people (Al-Nas) until they change their own condition…” (13:11)We believe that true revival of the Muslim community will begin to be seen first when people realise in their hearts, the way they think and their characters and when they utilise time and energy to change the community around them.

Thus, MQP aims to: 

To help attendees develop themselves spiritually, increasing their knowledge of Islam and aiding them in increasing their Imam and devotion.

To impart to attendees a moderate and balanced understanding of Islam with particular emphasis placed on pressing contemporary issues such as Tolerance in Islam and living in Britain. 

To train and develop attendees to become effective callers (dua’at) to Islam and active workers for the advancement of the Muslim community.

MQP aims to achieve this:

Providing a friendly, comfortable and welcoming environment –one that is un-judgmental and is in tune with the needs of Muslim Youth.

Providing a platform from which we draw brothers and sisters in to the field of Daw’ah and whom we can train and develop as future leaders of the Muslim community in Britain.

To be the stepping stone to commencing future projects such as the School’s project, Media and Politics and Muslim scouts

Why was MQP Initiated?

Disaffected Youth: 

The British Muslim community has witnessed considerable development over recent years particularly due to the increasing number of Islamic/Muslim institutions and organisations that are now being established.

Whilst this is an improvement we all feel proud of, there is growing disillusionment and dissatisfaction with these institutions in the community, particularly amongst the youth. 

We believe that much of this is due to the fact that, whist an enormous amount of effort is exerted to establish and maintain such institutions, they are proving to have little real impact on the community in terms of positive change or to do much to deal with the issues and difficulties that the youth genuinely face living in Britain. 

Gradualism: 

We believe that in order to bring about genuine change, a gradual approach must be employed. Thus, we believe that a bottom-up approach to the Dawa’ah must be taken either prior to or alongside a top-down approach. By bottom-up we mean that change must be first with the individual, then the family, then the local community, then nation and so on. A gradual approach ensures that change is not superficial, that the Islamic Movement is in touch with the needs of the people on the ground and that when changed individuals are then deployed to work in large organizations and institutions, they are better suited to take on their roles. The MQP reflects this gradual, bottom-up approach by focusing on developing the individual first.

The MQP is the first stage in a number of development stages to bring about change in the community.

Unique Balance:

MQP strikes a unique balance between the old and the new by employing traditional methods of delivery e.g. Qiyam and by focusing on contemporary topics of discussion in our talks and workshops. We feel that this balance has worked well to attract people.

Work Ethics.

We believe that I order to change society around us, we must reflect true Islamic principles in our own characters and in the way we work together as an organization. Our working ethic is inspired by the example of the Prophet (saw), and we employ the following values.

Intentions: we continue to remind ourselves and each other that the work we do a higher purpose, that it is for the sake of pleasing Allah, to attain Janna and the Qur’an states to bear witness unto mankind and to spread the message of Islam. 

Self-Development: We aim to encourage each other in their practices of Islam. Through regular reminders and internal self –development programmes.

Shurah & Consultation: We believe that the method of Shura and open consultation should be employed as much as possible when making decisions. Every member of the committee has an equal right to voice their opinion and to raise any concerns they may have. 

Dynamism: We believe that the In-Charge should be open to ideas of those working with him/her; else, the work could risk becoming stagnant and would lose its dynamism.

Transparency: the inner-workings of the committee are marked by honesty, openness and transparency, not only between us, but to the general public.

Brotherhood: we believe that brotherhood is an extremely important ingredient for success. Genuine respect and for each other ensures that our committee works exceptionally together.

Professionalism: we believe punctuality, productivity and efficiency are marked features of the way we work.

How the prophet built the ummah.Maccan stage.COMING SOON!