Volume 09|September 2019
IANA Monthly Newsletter
September 2019 Issue
Reminder:
Abud-Darda (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nothing will be heavier on the Day of Resurrection in the Scale of the believer than good manners. Allah hates one who utters foul or coarse language."

[At- Tirmidhi].
This month of September was busy and we had some key events that you will find in this issue. The first was the Al-Huda Quran Graduation ceremony that was in early September. We also represented IANA at several key events such as the Security Concerns of Places of Worship meeting, a luncheon with President Erdogan, and the inauguration of the Somali Embassy in the United States of America.
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Meeting with Turkish President:
Sheikh Hassan Jama IANA E.D met with The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a small meeting facilitated by the Turkish American National Steering Committee. Over 2,500 guests came together on Sunday the 22nd of September to welcome President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Third Annual Presidential Keynote Address. 
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave an update about the Turkish economy, political situation, and technology and military advancements. President Erdoğan talked intensively about the refugee crisis and how Turkey has welcomed and helped many of the refugees integrate. The Turkish government also spends overs $40 billion in aid in diplomacy. The Turkish government also advocates for minority and refugee Muslim population all over the world such as the Palestinians, Syrians, Rohingya, and many more.  
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also got an update from the Muslim American leaders in a private luncheon. The Muslim leaders updated President Erdoğan on the political climate in the United States and how Muslims are gaining seats in the legislator.
Our Director Sh. Hassan Jama personally thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on behalf of the Somali population for standing with the Somali people and being the first head of state to visit Somalia since the early 1990’s. President Erdoğan asked about the international airport in the capital Mogadishu which turkey invested in and help build. President Erdoğan mentioned that Somalia is a priority for Turkey and that they have the largest embassy in the World in Mogadishu. 
In addition to the Keynote Address, the afternoon included a private reception with Turkish American leaders, a private luncheon between the Muslim American leaders and President Erdoğan, and a private luncheon between Women leaders and First Lady Emine Erdoğan. Sheikh Hassan has said:
“Alhamdulillah, after a successful couple days of meeting with different world leaders in New York I’m returning home. I had the privilege to attend H. E. President Erdogan special lunch meeting and key address to Turkish and Muslim Americans.”
Inauguration of Somali Embassy
Just this past weekend on the 27th of September The Somali Embassy in Washington D.C. was reopened after being closed for a little over 27 years. We at IANA are very happy and proud to finally have a Somali Embassy to take care of the needs of the Somali diaspora in the United States. This historic opening is a great milestone for the Somali government and the Somali peoples all over the globe and for that we say congratulations to the Somali nation.
Fortunately, our director Sheikh Hassan was one of the few key influential Somali figures who were invited to attend this momentous ground breaking ceremony. Sheikh Hassan attended the ceremony on the 27th of September, 2019 and met with the current president of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and the Ambassador of Somalia Ali Sharif Ahmed . Sheikh Hassan was also accompanied by key IANA and community leaders such as Dr. Cabdiqani Al Qardawi, Sh. Ahmed Anshur, Imam Mohamed Omar and others.
It was also announced at the ceremony that subsequent Somali embassies will also be inaugurated in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Canada soon promptly to be followed by other embassies all over the globe. We hope that this historic step in Somali foreign affairs will open Somalia’s doors and economy to the globe and international economy bringing peace and prosperity to the shores of Somalia. 
We would also like to congratulate the current administration on their efforts and hard work. Last and certainly not least we are also grateful to the Somali community in the United States who attended the ceremony and this would not be possible without you.
IANA Welcomes The Ambassador to the OIC
IANA welcomed the permanent representative of Somalia to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), H. E. Ambassador Abdirazak Siyad Abdi to Minnesota . IANA Board chair Sh. Mohamed Mursal, IANA General Assembly and fatwa committee member Dr. Waleed Al-Maneese, Sh. Ahmed Anshur member of IANA Advisory Committee, Sh. Mohamed Omar, a member of IANA General assembly received and welcome at the MSP international airport.
OIC or منظمة التعاون الإسلامي‎ which also formally known as Organisation of Islamic Conferences, was founded in 1969, with Somalia as a founding member, as an organization that is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony". The OIC headquarters are in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and three official languages of English, Arabic, and French.
OIC holds conferences every year in its member states and addresses global challenges facing the Muslims. OIC also has several Post Secondary Institutions situated all over the globe from Niger to Pakistan to Turkey. OIC similar to the UN addresses human rights, aid, and holds summits for heads of states every three years.
The next morning IANA and other local organizations had an intimate meeting with Ambassador Abdi and IANA imams from Minnesota and other states at Masjid Dar Farooq. This meeting was facilitated by our Executive Director Sheikh Hassan. Ambassador Abdi is a well learned man who received both his post secondary and post graduate degrees from universities in the United kingdom.Prior to his post with the foreign ministry Ambassador Abdi lived and worked in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as an instructor at King Saud University and the Saudi Arabian Naval Forces . The Ambassador explained that he frequently commuted in front of the OIC headquarters in Jeddah and saw the Somali flag. He researched OIC and their mission and role, and later took the initiative and took the right channels to become the Somali Ambassador to the OIC. Ambassador Abdi faced many adversities but explained that being a public servant like him is very rewarding however it also keeps him up at night because it is an amaneh or trust from Allah and he has to answer to both the Somali people and Allah.
The local Imams and Mashayekh gave an update of the current situation of Somali's and Muslims within the United States and engaged with the Ambassador.
As IANA we are proud of Ambassador Abdi and his hard work on behalf of the Somali people. We are thankful to all those who took part in our discussion.
Masjid Al-Huda Utah Quraan Graduation:
On Saturday, the Seventh of September 2019 there was a beautiful Quraan graduation ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah for the first batch of graduates 21 graduates from our IANA member Masjid Al Huda. Many of the students were born and raised in the United States and started from the arabic alphabet with their teachers at Masjid Al- Huda. The graduates were able to memorize the Quraan and showcase their efforts. They held a competition where the students were given an Ayah, as usual and the graduates were able to identify the ayah or the verse, the page of the verse, and even the surah.Ma sha allah!!!! However, what was more impressive was that they were able to recall and recite several of the pages proceeding the page they recited as well. Takbeer, Allahu Akbar. So let’s all congratulate Masjid Al Huda class of 2019/1441 and say Ma Sha Allah and Barak Allahu feekum. We here at IANA would like to congratulate the graduates of Majid Al Huda, their families, and last but not least their teachers. Job well done!!
Security Concerns of Places of Worship
It is a well known fact that there has been a spike in hate speech all over the nation and the globe. Religious communities have been attacked both here and abroad and therefore The US Council of Muslim Organizations, in partnership with a number of other organizations such as the National Council of Churches, Religions for Peace USA, and the World Council of Churches Ecumenical UN Office has led the first nationwide conference to address security concerns of places of worship among American religious leaders. Various leaders came in spoke about violence against their communities of worship and a ‘Plan of Action’ was proposed. The United Nations made it clear that they would support the Plan of Action and stand in solidarity with the places of worship.
Our executive director Sheikh Hassan Jama represented IANA at the meeting as a board member of US Council of Muslim Organizations conference in New York City earlier in September. This conference was in support of a global project the United Nations launched a week earlier in order to safeguard religious sites and places of worship in communities across the globe.
Allah says:
واعتصموا بحبل الله جميعا ولا تفرقوا
"And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves..." [3:103] 
Islamic Association of North America (IANA) was founded in the year of 2001 to meet the religious and social needs of Muslim societies in North America. As a response to the changing realities of Muslim communities, IANA re-positions itself to effectively reach diverse Muslim communities across the country. We are a nationwide umbrella organization with over thirty centers and organizations. In Minnesota alone, we have more than a dozen Islamic organizations.  www.ianaonline.org