HIS is thrilled to announce the start of our annual Islam Awareness Fortnight, which runs from today through April 21st. We have an amazing slate of events planned, starting with a Know Your Rights panel on Tuesday, April 10, and concluding with Spring Dinner on Saturday, April 21st.

For a full schedule of events, look here or check out our google calendar – harvardislamicsociety@gmail.com. You can also add that calendar to your own gcal for easy access to our schedule.

Congratulations to all students admitted to the class of 2016. We’re really excited to meet you, whether you come for Visitas in a few weeks, or whether we meet you the first time in August.

In addition to our regular religious and social programming, Harvard Islamic Society (HIS) does a lot of great programming to help you adjust to life at Harvard, including class advising, tours, and a big sib program. To learn more about our programming, take a look at our calendar of events and the other sections of the website.

For more information about HIS or life at Harvard, feel free to contact any of our board members, or email harvardislamicsociety@gmail.com. Please get in touch with us soon, especially if you are coming to Visitas.

Check back here for our Visitas programming, and look for us at the activities fair and in the events packet for the weekend.

Last week, HIS joined a project started at the Yale Muslim Students Association to raise awareness about the racial and religious profiling carried out by the NYPD. To protest this violation of privacy and illustrate the absurdity of devoting law-enforcement resources based on stereotypes rather than evidence, Muslim students at Yale started a photo campaign. For the campaign, students hold signs with some aspect of who they are:

I’m a ____,
Call the NYPD

For the Harvard version of this campaign, HIS members stood outside the Science Center, talking to people who walked by. Many people stopped to learn more and take a picture. Some of the characteristics people chose to display were comical, and many others were serious – and all helped raise awareness of this important topic. You can view the final pictures on facebook here.

On Monday, February 18th, a story was released by the Associated Press describing the 2007 surveillance of Muslim Students Associations at fifteen schools in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. This surveillance, carried out by the New York Police Department, was conducted without any indication of wrongdoing on the part of any MSA, and included such intrusions as sending undercover agents on MSA trips to take note of leadership, prayer habits and discussion topics of MSA members. Although the Harvard Islamic Society has no knowledge of any similar surveillance program occurring here, we strongly condemn the actions of the NYPD as an unjustified instance of religious and racial profiling. We stand in strong support of the MSAs included in the report, and joins in the demand that our rights to privacy and protection from warrant-less surveillance be upheld.

We are disappointed by the continued insistence of the NYPD leadership that the surveillance programs are appropriate and necessary, and call on Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD to stop the broad-sweeping demonization of the Muslim community, as these actions only burn bridges between law enforcement officials and the communities they are bound to protect. We hope that future interactions between the police and the Muslim community will be conducted in a more open, civil and productive manner, rather than the continuation of damaging and baseless suspicions directed against innocent members of our community.

HIS will resume its spring semester classes this Thursday, February 23 with other courses from last semester starting soon as well inshaa Allah. The two classes are:

Climbing the Tree of Faith/Iman

Time: Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm
Location: Sever 107
Taught by: Hafidh Na’eel Cajee ’10, HSDM ’14

About the Lecture Series

Imam Al-Bayhaqi’s 77 Branches of Faith provides a thorough understanding of Islam by articulating the necessary virtues that reflect true faith. Join us as we delve into the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to discover the beliefs, convictions, and actions of a believing Muslim. This class is suitable for those new to Islam as well as seasoned seekers of knowledge.

The concept of Iman/Faith in its entirety consists of three components: acceptance in the heart, on the tongue, and through the bodily actions of a person. To this ends, Imam al-Bayhaqi has divided the subject of Iman into 77 branches which fall within the following categories:

1. Concerns the intention, belief, and action of the heart
2. Concerns the uses of the tongue
3. Concerns the limbs of the body.

Widely accepted amongst Muslims globally, the Branches of Faith will offer beginning and advanced students an engaging systematic understanding of Iman/Faith itself.
Each week, one to two branches will be covered. Texts are available online in both English and Arabic.

Reciting the Word: the science and art of tajwid

Time: Thursdays 8:30 pm.
Location: HIS Musalla (3 minutes from Harvard’s T-stop) in the Canaday E Basement.
Taught by: Hafidh Na’eel Cajee

About the Class

Looking to improve your recitation and have Thursday evening open? Trying to memorize Juz Amma, but need direction?
Learning Tajweed provides you with the opportunity to draw near to the Divine through the articulation of His Word. The class will be divided between theory (25%) and practice (75%). Each class will begin with the theory of tajwid and will then consist of the teacher sitting with each student to help them work at their own pace.

Salaam alaikum,

We have 3 very important announcements for the HIS community.

1 – Due to safety concerns in Lowell Lecture Hall, Friday Prayers have been moved to Leverett Old Library located at 8 Mill Street until the end of January while the space is renovated.

2 – There will be no prayers on the 23rd and 30th of December due to the Winter Holiday at Harvard. Prayers will resume on the 6th.

3 – HIS has elected a new board! They will take control over the society on January 1. We had a very exciting election, and are very excited about the many amazing feats they will accomplish during their term, insha’Allah.

President: Anastasia Nast ’12
Vice President: Asmaa Rimawi ’14
Secretary: Armaghan Behlum ’15
Treasurer: Talhah Zubair ’14
Director of Internal Relations: Nikhat Dharani ’14
Director of External Relations: Muneeb Ahmed ’14
Director of Islamic Learning: Yacine Fares ’15
Director of Development: Fatima Mirza ’15
Graduate Student Advisors: Muhammad Rehman (HBS ’12), Nura Sedique (HKS ’12) and Khalid Abdalla (HLS ’13)

We wish the new board the best, and hope their endeavors are blessed by God, the most Glorious.

Imam al-Bayhaqi’s The Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith Shu’ab al-Iman

Time: Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm (Starting this Thursday October 13th).
Location: HIS Musalla (3 minutes from Harvard’s T-stop) in the Canaday E Basement (Please be aware that the location might change depending on the attendance).
Taught by: Hafidh Na’eel Cajee

About the Lecture Series

In the spirit of Imam Nawawi’s forty hadith, Imam al-Bayhaqi’s 77 branches of faith offers a comprehensive and systematic study of religious knowledge.

The concept of Iman/Faith in its entirety consists of three components: acceptance in the heart, on the tongue, and through the bodily actions of a person. To this ends, Imam al-Bayhaqi has divided the subject of Iman into 77 branches which fall within the following categories:

1. Concerns the intention, belief, and action of the heart
2. Concerns the uses of the tongue
3. Concerns the limbs of the body.

Widely accepted amongst Muslims globally, the Branches of Faith will offer beginning and advanced students an engaging systematic understanding of Iman/Faith itself.
Each week, one to two branches will be covered. Texts are available online in both English and Arabic.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact: Omer Awan omerawan@college.harvard.edu or Na’eel Cajee ncajee@gmail.com

Reciting the Word: the science and art of tajwid

Time: Fridays 7-8 pm. (Starting this Friday October 14th).
Location: HIS Musalla (3 minutes from Harvard’s T-stop) in the Canaday E Basement (Please be aware that the location might change depending on the attendance).
Taught by: Hafidh Na’eel Cajee

About the Class

Looking to improve your recitation and have Friday afternoon open? Trying to memorize Juz Amma, but need direction?
Learning Tajwid provides you with the opportunity to draw near to the Divine through the articulation of His Word. The two hours will be divided between theory (25%) and practice (75%). Each class will begin with a 30-minute plenary session covering the theory of tajwid (A soft copy of Tuḥfa al-Aṭfāl will be provided in English and Arabic). For the remaining hour and a half, the teacher will sit with each student and help them work at their pace toward their goals(to memorize Yaseen, Juz Amma, or to simply read fluently).

Regular attendance is a given. You just can’t climb stairs without all the steps.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact: Omer Awan omerawan@college.harvard.edu or Na’eel Cajee ncajee@gmail.com
This event is free and open to all interested brothers. Sisters’ tajwid classes TBA shortly.

Salaam Alaikum,

On the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on the 11th of September, 2001, the Harvard Islamic Society is taking part in a number of events on campus to commemorate this monumental tragedy.

8:46 AM: “Moment of Interfaith Prayer and Reflection” on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard.

8:46 AM, 9:03 AM, 9:37 AM, 10:06 AM: Memorial Church and Lowell House bells toll at the times when the planes crashed

1-3:45 PM: “Where were you? Where are we going? Interfaith Conversations on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11″ in Boylston Hall, Harvard Yard

5:00 PM: 9/11 service, packing meals for food-insecure children in the Boston area. Organized by the Humanist Chaplaincy, in Ticknor Lounge, Boylston Hall

8:00 PM: College-Wide Vigil, including undergraduate reflections and a Qur’anic recitation, on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard.

The University is also running a number of other programs on and leading up to the date.

We pray that this day may be filled with reflection for our whole community and the chance for deeper healing across the greater Harvard community, the United States and the world.

Hello 2015! It is our distinct pleasure to welcome you all to Harvard and to the Harvard Islamic Society. We hope that you can all come and be part of the beautiful community that is HIS. Whether you are a freshman, a Harvard student or a community member, HIS has something for you. We are a non-exclusive, non-sectarian organization and we welcome individuals from all walks of life. We boast a membership of more than one hundred and are one of the most diverse organizations on campus.

We suggest you poke around our website to find out more about HIS, but here are some highlights of what we do and what you can expect from the society:

-Ramadan iftars
-Weekly Dinner Tables
-Eid Banquet
-Spring and Fall Dinner
-Islam Awareness Month
-Annual Fall Outing (past activities included apple-picking and bike riding)
-Annual Winter Outing (past activities included ice skating and skiing)
-Volunteer opportunities through Harvard Habitat for Humanity and the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter
-Classes on tajwid, hadith, khutba-giving and more

That’s not all! Our programs are designed to cater to your needs, so feel free to let us know what activities you would like HIS to plan.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of our officers or email harvardislamicsociety@gmail.com We’d be happy to talk to you!

Insha’Allah, members of HIS will be travelling to the Yusuf Mosque in Brighton tomorrow morning for Eid prayers. We will meet outside the Kennedy School (map) to take the 86 Bus which stops in front of the mosque.

If you would like to go with us, please meet at 8:15AM outside the Kennedy School at the bus stop for the 86 Bus.

There will also be earlier prayers at the Yusuf Mosque at 7:30 if you would like to go to those. The ISBCC is also hosting prayers if you would like to go to Roxbury for prayers instead.

We hope to see you there, insha’Allah!