by Talal Sarwani
Note: The following conversation happened a long time ago across an Internet Messaging system. It refers specifically to the opportunity at Rutgers University, but it easily applies to just about any association of Muslim students, which is why I share it with you here. ISRU stands for the Islamic Society of Rutgers University.
(00:15:50) thinker: back
(00:21:57) thinker: u there?
(00:22:05) wanderer: yah
(00:22:18) thinker: just saw some illin' Amr Khaled stuff
(00:22:33) thinker: it was a rerun .. but a good reminder
(00:22:35) thinker: for me anyway
(00:23:10) wanderer: nice
(00:23:20) thinker: the pioneer Muslims
(00:23:57) thinker: were 45 people
(00:24:10) thinker: that the Prophet peace be upon him had started with
(00:24:13) thinker: of the 45
(00:24:17) thinker: interesting breakdown
(00:24:21) thinker: 28 men, 17 women
(00:24:27) thinker: 34 rich, 11 poor
(00:24:52) thinker: reps from 16 tribes
(00:25:39) thinker: within 3 years, those 45 grew to 200
(00:25:48) thinker: all that was done under the radar
(00:25:57) wanderer: mashaAllah
(00:26:20) thinker: looking for the leaders, rijaal .. meaning dependable, movers and shakers (not simply men)
(00:26:46) thinker: after 3 years and now 200 ppl in size
(00:26:53) thinker: at this point the move is made to go public
(00:27:25) thinker: and some lessons from how he did, and how he (peace and blessings be upon him) dealt with the curveballs along the way .. Abu Lahab, etc.
(00:27:43) thinker: ppl trying to cause trouble
(00:27:49) thinker: Abu Lahab was his uncle of course
(00:27:55) thinker: so close ppl rejecting him
(00:28:03) thinker: for personal interests over the Truth of Islam
(00:28:21) thinker: no ego .. refusing to respond in kind or to argue with him
(00:28:29) thinker: and those 200
(00:28:42) thinker: were facing 25-30,000 Quraish
(00:28:46) thinker: and those 200
(00:28:51) thinker: made moves
(00:28:53) thinker: made waves
(00:29:03) thinker: that shook up a community that large
(00:29:10) thinker: bring it back to now
(00:29:24) thinker: on different levels
(00:29:25) thinker: ISRU
(00:29:46) thinker: we have about 100 who you could (w/ little effort) get to come regularly to ISRU
(00:29:57) thinker: even if you say 50
(00:30:26) thinker: 50 rijaal (from the men & women) should easily be able to have a profound effect on 3000 Muslims
(00:30:49) wanderer: :)
(00:30:56) wanderer: that put a smile on my face
(00:31:08) thinker: 200 out of 30,000 is 0.67%
(00:31:31) thinker: 200 out of 25,000 is 0.8%
(00:31:41) thinker: either way, under 1% made that much of a difference
(00:32:00) thinker: 50 out of 3000 is 1.67%
(00:32:22) thinker: and that's such a conservative estimate on how many we can easily get to be dedicated
(00:32:41) thinker: and our odds are better than those of our pioneers
(00:32:51) thinker: in fact
(00:33:17) thinker: our odds of dedicated Muslim workers at RU that we can get, if the goal is 200 let's say
(00:33:30) thinker: there are about 30,000 undergrads on the New Brunswick/Picataway campus
(00:33:48) thinker: freakish similarity
(00:33:52) thinker: and
(00:34:00) thinker: we have the body of tawheed and shariah already there
(00:34:05) thinker: we're not starting from scratch
(00:34:05) wanderer: no doubt
(00:34:25) thinker: time to get to work, son
(00:34:40) thinker: :-D
(00:34:41) wanderer: our excuses are our own
(00:34:51) wanderer: bada'al ihyaa'
(00:34:56) thinker: :-D
(00:35:13) wanderer: i'm saving this convo
Pshhhhh...you coulda just said "Amr you suck!" and I woulda gotten the picture :). But really, it is very true we need to start thinking prioritize and perfect rather than just increase...
And Allaah is the source of all strength!
on November 17, 2006 1:13 AMStudent shot with Taser by UCPD officers
http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38958
UCPD officers shot a student several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library CLICC computer lab late Tuesday night before taking him into custody.
No university police officers were available to comment further about the incident as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, and no Community Service Officers who were on duty at the time could be reached.
At around 11:30 p.m., CSOs asked a male student using a computer in the back of the room to leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard during a random check. The student did not exit the building immediately.
The CSOs left, returning minutes later, and police officers arrived to escort the student out. By this time the student had begun to walk toward the door with his backpack when an officer approached him and grabbed his arm, at which point the student told the officer to let him go. A second officer then approached the student as well.
The student began to yell "get off me," repeating himself several times.
It was at this point that the officers shot the student with a Taser for the first time, causing him to fall to the floor and cry out in pain. The student also told the officers he had a medical condition.
UCPD officers confirmed that the man involved in the incident was a student, but did not give a name or any additional information about his identity.
Video shot from a student's camera phone captured the student yelling, "Here's your Patriot Act, here's your fucking abuse of power," while he struggled with the officers.
As the student was screaming, UCPD officers repeatedly told him to stand up and said "stop fighting us." The student did not stand up as the officers requested and they shot him with the Taser at least once more.
"It was the most disgusting and vile act I had ever seen in my life," said David Remesnitsky, a 2006 UCLA alumnus who witnessed the incident.
As the student and the officers were struggling, bystanders repeatedly asked the police officers to stop, and at one point officers told the gathered crowd to stand back and threatened to use a Taser on anyone who got too close.
Laila Gordy, a fourth-year economics student who was present in the library during the incident, said police officers threatened to shoot her with a Taser when she asked an officer for his name and his badge number.
Gordy was visibly upset by the incident and said other students were also disturbed.
"It's a shock that something like this can happen at UCLA," she said. "It was unnecessary what they did."
Immediately after the incident, several students began to contact local news outlets, informing them of the incident, and Remesnitsky wrote an e-mail to Interim Chancellor Norman Abrams.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With reports from Lisa Connolly, Derek Lipkin and Saba Riazati, Bruin senior staff.
A few thoughts come to mind:
1) Two hadith from Sahih Bukhari:
A. Narrated Zahdam bin Mudrab: I heard Imran bin Husain saying, "The Prophet said, 'The best people are those living in my generation, then those coming after them, and then those coming after (the second generation)." Imran said "I do not know whether the Prophet mentioned two or three generations after your present generation. The Prophet added, 'There will be some people after you, who will be dishonest and will not be trustworthy and will give witness (evidences) without being asked to give witness, and will vow but will not fulfill their vows, and fatness will appear among them."
B. Narrated Abdullah: The Prophet said, "The people of my generation are the best, then those who follow them, and then whose who follow the latter. After that there will come some people whose witness will go ahead of their oaths, and their oaths will go ahead of their witness." Ibrahim (a sub-narrator) said, "We used to be beaten for taking oaths by saying, 'I bear witness by the Name of Allah or by the Covenant of Allah."
If ONLY our 50 were the same as those 50...
2)That UCLA news is disturbing. Am wondering, has anyone noticed any changes on the RU campuses?
3) Sorry for the short notice but Amr Khaled's going to be doing this speech in London tomorrow for those of you jetsetters who can attend (http://www.radicalmiddleway.com). If anyone CAN come (using private jet, teleporter, whatever), please bring me some pancake syrup. I dont understand how I wound up in a country that doesnt have pancake syrup. All they have is this thing called 'Golden Syrup'. Its not as good.
Assalaamu Alaikum All:
Masha'Allah Walhamdulillah!
*** J U M M A H --- M U B A R A K ***
Glad to see the community is back...I was sad, but now I am happy!...Alhamdulillah!
What is the disturbing news out of UCLA?
Sister Justoju: tell your hubby to send me his address and i will send a carton of maple/pancake syrup for you two, insha'Allah....consider that as an Eid gift.
email address is abupepper@yahoo.com
Ma'Assalaama
Salaam:
Ok...I read the disturbing news from UCLA.
No comments on that!
Ma'Assalaama
Leave it to Br. gillette to take the attention away from the article posted.
As for the original article ... it certainly should make each and every one of us think of how much more we could be doing if we worked smarter, wAllahu a`lam.
on December 3, 2006 1:09 AM