THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER

Transcription

1 THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER 4380 N. Elston Avenue, Chicago, IL Phone: ; Fax: N Menard St, Morton Grove, IL Phone: ; Fax: Gross Point Rd, Skokie, IL Phone: MCC Elston Ave MEC Morton Grove Sharp Corner School, Skokie th 48 Annual Report Annual General Body Meeting January

2 Description Table of Contents President s Address, Executive Council 4 Board of Directors 4 Bylaws 5 Nomination 5 Election 5 IT/Website 5 Membership 5 Outreach and Interfaith 6 Publication 7 Education 7 Counseling 7 Health Awareness 7 Seniors Activities 8 Women Activities, MCC & MEC 8 Youth Camp 8 MCC Multipurpose Room 8 MCC Representatives to CIOGC 8 Religious Affairs 9 Cemetery 9 Dawa 10 Rehab and Welfare 10 Friday Prayer at MCC 10 Friday Prayer at O Hare 10 Friday Prayer at MEC 11 Special Events at MEC & at MCC 11 Part Time School Councils (Academic & Administrative) 12 MCC and MEC Sunday Schools 12 MCC Saturday School 12 Evening Schools 12 MCC Academy & Council 13 of Directors of Education 13 Education Development Council 13 Youth Council 13 Building, MEC 14 Building, MCC 14 Annual Dinner 15 Budget 15 Food & Fun Fair 15 Investment 15 Page 2

3 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful MCC President s Address Dear Brothers and Sisters, Assalamu Alaikum: Welcome to the 48 th Annual General Body Meeting. We begin with the name of Allah (SWT), we thank Him to offer us the right path to success through His beloved messenger, (SAW) and made him a blessing for the entire universe. MCC remains one of the premier centers of excellence in community service, outreach and education for Muslims in the greater Chicago area. MCC is also proud of its diverse community where Muslims from all walks of life, origin and gender attend its services. This diversity brings some challenges along its way, but Alhamdolillah MCC is always successful to face and resolve those challenges. And for that we all should be thankful to Allah (SWT). After a lot of struggle and meetings with Alderman and city people, we were able to get the safety crossing outside MCC in the shape of an Island. This has increased the safety of our children and pedestrians. Inauguration was done in the month of September. I am also happy to announce that City of Chicago has issued us the permit to build the mezzanine at MCC. We are now looking for bids to choose the best bidder. The goal is to Inshaallah build the mezzanine before the month of Ramadan. Then again we will start having one Juma prayer at MCC. Just like any other modern Masjid, MCC will also have the mezzanine. This will alleviate the congestion for sisters space and will provide them more space and privacy. Once again, Alderman had endorsed the construction of mezzanine. To meet the demands of our youth, we have hired a Youth and seniors coordinator (Mohsin Ishaq) who joined towards the end of Inshaallah he will be helping coordinate the youth and seniors programs in collaboration with MCC Academy. The following pages summarize the activities at MCC during the year 2016 and list the names of Department Heads, committee chairs, co-chairs, Board members, Schools, Councils, and Executive Council. Volunteer work is best implemented when supplemented with a paid office staff, such as cleaning staff, office associates, accountants and Imams. This allows us to strengthen and improve the services to the community. I need your help in many areas including membership committee. Please volunteer in any of the committees you feel like. MCC has its full time Imam for more than a year now and is making an impact in not only MCC but to outreach communities also. Together, our three Imams are responsible for most of the tasks of Religious Affairs. Our Office Associate Saif Mazhar got another job and therefore he has left us for his new position. We are again lucky to have Yusuf Umar as our Office/Building coordinator. He is very dedicated, and hard working. Having his background in finances, he will also be helping improve our Treasurer department. MCC finances are audited every year. For the last two years, a different independent company is auditing MCC finances. Report will be presented by the Treasurer. I thank Allah (SWT) and you all for the trust you have placed in me and providing me the opportunity to serve you. Allah s will and your support has helped and inspired us to do all we have been able to do. I extend my sincere gratitude to all the community members, Board members, chairpersons and all of its members. I further request your support, encouragement and cooperation. May Allah (SWT) continue to purify our intentions and hearts, forgive our sins and shortcomings, grant us strength in our faith and allow us to flourish as a humble community. Sarwar Nasir President 3

4 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: Sarwar Nasir, President Vice-President Ateeq Ansari Secretary Ali Quadri Treasurer Basheeruddin Ex-Officio Aleemuddin Dept. of Administration Masood Bijapuri Dept. of Community Services Dept. of Operations Mazhar Khan Dept. of Finance Tariq Malhance Dept. of Religious Affairs Nazim Mangera Assistant Secretary Khadija Ahmed Assistant Treasurer Kashif Puthawala The Executive Council per MCC Bylaws is the shoora council (consultative body) of president and includes Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, immediate past president and department heads. Executive Council meets almost every weekend and more if needed for urgent matters. With the help of different committees and Councils, President as Chief Executive of the organization, runs day to day business of MCC in consultation with Executive Council. Council also discusses and overseas the progress of different committees under the departments. In addition, separate meetings were also held with various councils and committees for better coordination and assistance. Executive Council keeps abreast of different day to day activities, MCC/MEC office, Treasurer s office and tries to solve any day to day issues with mutual consultation. BOARD OF DIRECTORS M. Sarwar Nasir Aleemuddin Ateeq Ansari Basheeruddin Masood Bijapuri Tariq Malhance Ayesha Sultana Atiya Usman Yusuf Mirza Ali Quadri Musarrat Khan Tahera Ahmed Ayesha Ali Saba Khan Asrar Ahmed Mazhar Khan Anas Gandhi Hashim Weiso Aalia Ammar Shaizan Malik Khadija Ahmed Shahjehan Honorary member Imam Nazim Mangera The Board of Directors meet normally on second Sunday of every month to deliberate and vote on various policy matters. Occasionally meetings change to 3rd Sundays because of conflict of schedules. The meetings always start with recitation of Quran and a brief explanation. Board members take turns in hosting lunch before the meeting. Most of the meetings start on time, and finish within 2 to 2 ½ hours. Every board meeting has 10 minutes specified for public comments in the beginning. Board meetings are open to the members as observers. Several joint sessions of the Board and chairs were also held to deliberate on matters to be presented to the General Body, like the approval of yearly budget. The Board started the year with the election of Directors-at-Large and appointments of some of the executives and the standing committees for Bylaws, Nominations, and Directors for Education. All Board meetings include a report by the President covering day-to-day activities, and a report by the Treasurer covering key financial transactions and overall financial health of the organization. Various committee and council chairs are invited from time to time to keep the Board informed on the progress of the respective committees work. In the special May meeting, the board deliberated on and approved MCC budget for the whole fiscal year. 4

5 ADMINISTRATION: Masood Bijapuri Department Head Bylaws Saba Khan Asrar Ahmed Habib Abbasi Usman Baki Carol Rahim Nomination Khalid Mujtaba Rasheed Khan Masood Sharief Election Samina Hussain Irtafa Usman Usman Baki Masood Bijapuri Rasheed Khan Masood Sharief The Bylaws provided guidance with interpretation of the Bylaws and implementation of the new amendments. The established and proposed policy and procedure for lending to other Not for Profit organizations. The Board voted and adopted the policy on October 9, The Bylaws also assisted the MCC election committee in decision making for the 2016 election schedule. Year 2016 nomination required the filling of one woman director, one young Muslim and five general directors positions. Nomination process started early July. After getting nomination from general membership, NOMINATORS were requested to give their preference. After this step, nomination by petition was invited. In November, Nomination provided the final list of the candidates to Election to conduct the elections. Election conducts elections every year according to the approved election procedure. In year 2016, the election was conducted on December 25, 2016 due to the postponement of elections from the original date of December 11, 2016 because of severe weather conditions on December 11th. The elections were conducted at MCC and MEC from 10 am to 3 PM. The elections were held for five General Directors, one Woman Director and one Young Muslim Director. After getting the final list from Nomination, Election started the process of absentee ballots. The completed the absentee ballot requests. There were total of 27 absentee ballot requests. Election committee then arranged a Candidates Forum on December 4th. The members had the opportunity to hear the views of the candidates and ask questions. Because of the difficulties in election process the committee will be proposing much needed changes in MCC election process. Some of the proposals will be an earlier timeline to allow more time for election season by changing the election cycle to earlier portion of the year. The proposal will also include early voting opportunities, procedures for emergency postponement of election, multiple candidate forums and eliminating provisional ballots. Information Technology / Website Abid Munshi Ateeq Ansari Shahjehan Membership Abrar Barkat Iqtidar Ahmed During 2016, IT committee was very busy. 1. New website layout: 2. Enabled secured payment for online donations. Online donation was about $40,000 during last year (about $25,000 during Ramadan). 3. Direct credit card payments from online with secured connection without having to go through paypal process. 4. Created online Membership Form. User can directly submit forms online (with membership fee payment). 5. Supported various committees for their IT needs (PC/ Printer maintenance). Future IT Activities Work with respective committees to develop online forms for Facilities Reservation, Zakat Request and matrimonial Submission. Buy new printer (with advanced scanning capability) to digitized OLD legacy paper documents. Replace OLD computers with new.train new volunteers for IT committee tasks (Website posting etc.). Membership committee bought a printing machine for ID cards to provide to all members. Membership committee is working to develop some software to track all members addresses and membership fees. Most of the membership issues are currently being held by the MCC Staff and accountants. 5

6 COMMUNITY SERVICES Tariq Malhance Department Head Outreach & Interfaith Akhter Sadiq Dilnaz Waraich Azhar Quader Anjum Ali Naushina Rahman Anisa Laliwala Rashida Najiullah Donelle Bergeson Ayesha Sultana Nazim Mangera Ateeq Ansari Mohammed Basheeruddin Umar Ali Mumtaz Darbar Zia Usman Atiya Usman Dr Abdul Gafoor Year 2016 was very productive and challenging for the Interfaith and outreach committee. Some of the activities throughout the year were as follows; 1. A seminar was held on Feb 21 at MCC- Elston titled, "How African Americans helped paved the way for all of us. Alia Bilal emceed and Dr. Alia Ammar, Imam Mathew Ramadan, Dr Kamran Riaz were the speakers. 2. A civic engagement event named "Voters rights" was organized on March 6 in collaboration with South Asian Americans policy & research Institute (SAAPRI) at MEC- Morton grove. 3. In collaboration with Open communities and Jewish voice for peace, helped organize and participated in "Pro Muslim rally" in down town Evanston on March At the request of Glenview community church, a meeting was held on March 29 in support of Muslims and to enhance mutual relationship between two communities. 5. April 17. Attended a program at Temple Jeremiah titled, "What do scriptures teach" on April 17. MCC board member, Tahera Ahmed was the Muslim speaker. At the same place, The Goldner lecture series was attended on April 30. Youth core interfaith representative Eboo Patel was the speaker. 6. Glenview community church in Glenview hosted a breakfast with Islamic Centers on May 7. This was their gesture to be with Muslims despite hate rhetoric. 7. Participated in Civic engagement- Leadership forum of south Asian communities hosted by SAAPRI on May Hosted an Interfaith Iftar at MEC on June 14 in the month of Ramadan. About 250 people including Morton Grove, Skokie and Lincolnwood Village officials and clergies attended. 9. In the same month of Ramadan, hosted a Community outreach Iftar at MCC- Elston facility on June 25. About 125 guests including some social organizations, clergies and police Commander of our district attended. 10. Hosted "Abrahamic story telling" event at MEC on September 7. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Baha'i and Sikh speakers shared their perspectives. 11. Arranged a Morton Grove interfaith peace walk on September 25. Solidarity of faith and village community with Muslims, walked the streets of MG and assembled at MEC to enjoy our hospitality. 12. In collaboration with Chicago Architectural Society, hosted "Chicago Open House" at MCC- Elston on October 15. This was a unique event in which 200 sites were chosen by Chicago Architectural society to explore and MCC was one of them. Over 200 visitors got firsthand look into the MCC Mosque and our programs. 13. Arranged an "open Mosque day" at MEC- Morton Grove facility on October 16. About 75 guests were entertained by tour of the Mosque, our programs, observance of prayer and with gift bags. 14. Participated in an event of Catholics support of Muslims at St. Jogues Church in Niles on October 18. About 20 MCC community members attended the event. Prof. Inamul Haq spoke about similarities between Islam and Christianity. On each table, discussions were held about different topics. 15. Phone banking was setup in collaboration with SAAPRI at MEC on November 1. The MCC khateeb at both locations encouraged the community to be active in civic engagement, voter registration and go out to vote. The voters were encouraged for early voting. 16. Two event were organized at MEC on November 13 and November 20 o address post -election community concerns and to understand how the minorities like Afro-Americans, Jews, Muslims, Latinos and some Christians are concerned. The event was titled as "Empowering Diverse Voice" where Mufti Nazim, Sadia Sindhu, Dr. Alia Ammar and Latinos, Jews, Christian and African American leaders addressed the big gathering. 18. Interfaith Thanksgiving gatherings were attended at St. Luke's church in Morton Grove and other churches and synagogues in Skokie, Northfield, Winnetka and Evanston on November 23. The programs were written up by Naushina Rahman in last few editions of "Message". The events were photographed and disseminated by Br Syedullah of Pakistan Times.. Pioneer press reporter and photographer published many positive stories. 6

7 COMMUNITY SERVICES (Continued): Tariq Malhance Department Head DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES: Kamran Hussain, Department Head Publication Shabnum Mahmood Naja Bhatty Javed Bhatty Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari Sabihuddin The Publication is responsible for the compilation, publication, and dispatching - to its members - of the MCC monthly newsletter The Message, and the Prayer Timetable in a timely fashion. Because of her new baby, committee Chair could not dedicate her time towards the programs. However, Co-Chair was quite active in collecting articles, editing and submitting for publication. The committee within its resources - is also striving to enhance the scope and readership of its publications for which it is thankful to its staff working on voluntary basis. In order to meet its budgetary obligations, the committee is also successfully pursuing local businesses to advertise in both the publications. The efforts are visibly bearing fruit but more is needed to be successful on a consistent basis, inshaallah! will be starting a special column for MCC Imam as From Imam s desk. In year 2016, publication committee also conducted a unique program of inviting MCC alumni media panel to talk about US election results and after effects. Educational Amjad Quadri Mansoor Panawala Counseling Hina Zia Qureshi S. Ali Quadri Fouzia Rahman Nazim Mangera Educational Programs offerings at MEC have included weekly dars-e-qur an conducted by Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari, continuing education classes in Tajweed and Arabic studies, a weekly program in October on Qur anic literacy. Several individual lecture programs were also offered. Surah Kahaf Tafseer is conducted by Hafiz Ikhlas every Thursday evening. The Counseling has been helping the community with varying degrees of personal and interpersonal problems. The committee gives professional advice, help, and support for Muslims individuals and families who need it based on Islamic teachings. Majority of the cases are related to familial problems, either marital or parent-teen conflict. Cases are handled confidentially by the committee either by phone or in person. Currently the committee handles about 6-12 cases a month and does its utmost to help those who reach out. Many families are in need of such services, but many seem to shy away from the help fearing the stigma or taboo attached with it. We hope that people will seek out the counseling services and obtain the support they need to overcome challenges in their lives. The committee is guided by a Licensed Professional Counselor and includes women and men to allow for multiple avenues. Health Awareness Fauzia Lodhi Ayesha Sultana Azher Quader M. Gafoor Ejaz Rahim Health awareness committee like previous years has been providing awareness of Health and Health Insurance needs. worked hard with the UOC team on a very prestigious Breast Cancer Trial in which we were able to provide free breast cancer screening with free mammograms and education to our community. The committee was also able to have the UOC pay community women for their time. Every Sunday the committee provided health screening at MEC along with nutritional support by the dietitian and physical therapy was available. The committee is looking forward and working on mental health and adolescent awareness programs. We may use our resources in the future for expert services for mental health screening and lectures. 7

8 8 DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY SERVICES OF COMMUNITY (Continued): SERVICES: Tariq Malhance Kamran Hussain, Department Head Senior Activities M. Zia Usman Gulam Panawala Women s, MEC Fouzia Rahman Mahmooda Ahmed Faiza Alam, Fatima Minhaj, Zohra Patel, Aliya Rana Zeba Hussain Women s, MCC Jazmine Cervantes Anjam Ali Sawda Mangera Youth Camp Aamina Ali Tanveer Mallick MCC Multipurpose Room Desai Hashim Waiso Sabihuddin Saif Mazhar MCC Representatives of CIOGC Kaiseruddin Tariq Malhance Musarrat Khan Senior s committee organized two pot luck luncheon getting together with seniors and their family members to celebrate Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha. There were three other cost to cost once a month luncheon get together in which guest speakers were invited to speak on health related issues such as cardiac problems in South Asian community and Alzheimer diseases in old generation and how to management. In one program benefits of exercise were also discussed and some exercise moves were demonstrated by physical therapist in our senior group. Also in some of the programs our talented seniors entertained the crowd with suitable jokes and poetries. is looking forward to improve the senior programs in working with newly hired youth and senior program director. MEC women's committee has been involved with a lot of activities. Some of the Programs for year 2016 were as follows; 1. Monthly Urdu Tarbia program; 2. Matrimonial Services; 3.Hajj seminar; 4. Eid Party; 5. Clothes Drive- in collaboration with Helping Hands; 6. Zakat program help; 7. Senior women exercise MEC; 8.Ramadan volunteer support; 9. MCC Food and Fun Fair volunteer support. Every program has been well attended and successful. The is always looking for ideas to improve and implement. Some of the programs for year 2017 include; Moms and kids play group; New Muslim sisters education and Food drive. The MCC Womens was established on February Jazmin Cervantes, was appointed chair of the committee and sister Sawdah Mangera was appointed cochair. During the year we had several successful events for women in the community, such as the "Mother Daughter Potluck" and "Ladies Night". These events were created to empower women and reach out to sisters living in the community. We also collaborated with sister Rebecca from Muslimahs of Chicago and the MCC Dawah for the Welcoming Ramadan event and the "Eid Potluck Fiesta", and hosted an event for children during Ramadan. Aside from our larger events, we host halaqas for sisters on a monthly basis hoping to bring sisters together in the community. We also commenced a WhatsApp group where we host weekly Q&As with a monthly Halaqa and award the Q&A winner at the end of each month. A Facebook page was created for the committee to promote our events. Alhamdullilah we stayed within our budget range, which is $2000 for the year. We look forward to building additional new programs for the sisters this upcoming year and collaborate with the sisters at MEC. Jazak Allah Khair for this opportunity. The Youth camp held the 35th Annual MCC Muslim Youth Camp for girls and boys separately. Both camps were very successful with about100 girls (including counselors and 4 adult staff), and approximately 50 in boys camp. Multipurpose room at MCC: MCC multipurpose room is being continuously used for religious books and computer classes. Every Sunday, basic computer classes are being taught by Professor Hashim Abdella. Some of the topics being covered include Micro soft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, creating , creating folders, Zip or unzip files. Upon completing this course, students are able to use Microsoft office for daily business operation or personnel use.. MCC Representative, Mohammed Kaiseruddin, completed his term as the CIOGC Chairman at the end of an eventful CIOGC continued its mission of enhancing the bonds between diverse segments of the Chicagoland Muslim community. With help and cooperation from MCC, CIOGC developed programs to protect young Muslims from falling prey to the misguidance of foreign terrorist organizations. A multidisciplinary team of experts is developing training programs for this purpose. CIOGC continued its regular programs of engaging with leaders of other faiths, elected officials and members of the media. In the aftermath of the election of Mr. Trump, who has expressed opposition to Islam and Muslims, CIOGC is exploring the potential threats to the well-being of our community and planning ways to combat any hateful actions.

9 RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: Mufti Nazim Mangera Department Head Religious Affairs Nazim Mangera Hafiz Ikhlas Maulana Muniruzzaman Cemetery Ejaz Rahim (Chair) Saif Mazhar Rashed Ali Khan Yusuf Mirza Farzana Razwi Members of the Religious Affairs were very active in arranging various activities of facilitation of the five daily congregational prayers, khatira after Fajr Salaah, performing nikah (marriage) ceremony, hajj seminar, salat-ul janaaza, maintenance of MCC s widely circulated monthly prayer time table, and monitoring of the moon sighting and the associated confirmation of the date of the beginning of new Islamic months. MCC Cemetery committee provides funeral services to Muslims, members and nonmembers alike. Mufti Haroon Firdausi works as an independent funeral director and as primary contact, when someone passes away. Mufti Haroon picks up the body, washes the body at MCC facility, provides the coffin and completes the death certificate. MCC office people fill all pertinent paperwork prior to burial for records and allocation of grave to the deceased. Rosehill cemetery is not taking new burials. The only burials to take place at Rosehill Cemetery are the pre-reserved graves and allotments. There are no more graves left in Rosehill for MCC or its members to buy. Total numbers of graves purchased from Rosehill Current number of burials at Rosehill are Cost for pre-reserved graves is $500 for concrete liner. The cost for opening and closing at Rosehill is $1,225 Mon-Fri, $1,275 for Saturday burial and$1,625 for the Sunday burial. Sunday burials at Rosehill cemetery should be notified 10:30 am Saturday. The costs and charges related to Bohemian Cemetery are as follows. MCC charges $500 for grave and $500 for concrete liner. The cost for opening and closing is $1,120 Mon-Fri. Sat, $1,275 for Saturdays and $2,100 for Sundays. The Bohemian National Cemetery Total purchased graves 2575 Total number of burial for adults from Jan-Dec is 75 Total number of burial for Babies 0.5 graves from Jan-Dec is 25 Total number of graves occupied from Jan-Dec is 12 1/2 All burials are on the Central Park side of Cemetery the Pulaski side has not been used.. At Bohemian National Cemetery, so far 172 graves have been used. During 2015, a total of 107 deceased were buried at Bohemian cemetery. This also includes some 1/2 graves for babies. All burials are on the Central Park side of Cemetery. The Pulaski side has not been used. A total of 79 liners were used during MCC has a total of 2575 graves at this cemetery. At Rosehill Cemetery, so far MCC has a total of 1758 burials. A total of 18 deceased were buried at this Cemetery during the year All the MCC graves at this Cemetery are now reserved and therefore there is no further sale at Rosehill. Around 300 liners are in the stock. Funeral services are also sometimes arranged for the unclaimed deceased Muslims where all the expenses are covered from MCC funeral fund. Poor families can also be helped from Zakat funds if the families fill in the Zakat application. Although the funeral services are provided round the clock as needed, officially the Cemetery met at least 3 times. Various cleanliness issues of the body washing room. Were identified and brought to the attention of Funeral director who agreed to take care of those issues. Since there is no formal written contract between the Funeral Director and MCC, a contract needs to be developed. Various issues were also discussed with building committee to improve upon the facility. There were some complaints regarding Bohemian Cemetery administration that we continuously keep on addressing. A formal meeting with the Bohemian Cemetery is needed. 9

10 RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS (Continued): Mufti Nazim Mangera Department Head Dawah This year MCC Dawah was involved in numerous outreach events Christopher Abdul for new and Non- Muslims in our community. Karim Pavlicek Islam 101 class for new and Non- Muslims continued for the 3rd year and Diana Cruz resulted in numerous new Muslims learning not only the basics of Islam but Sabeel ahmed about all the ways MCC is there for them to get through the difficulties they may sabihuddin face from counseling, finding a job and if needed the Sadaqah which is afforded Saif Mazhar, to them when in distress. Rebecca Abuqaoud This summer we took part in numerous dawah booths at our Masjid along with Mahmood CTA locations near MCC. Abdirahman Several classes on empowering and growing as New Muslims were also given such as this last month with Shaykh Yusuf Rios. Numerous Bus Stops introducing Islam and collaborating with Gain Peace were continued along with plans for more effective and less costly plans for the future. Annual Muslimahs of Chicago under the Dawah again held 2 annual gatherings which were greatly attended. Dawah promoted and supported two Eid Potluck celebrations which were a huge success to the MCC Elston community and something we hope to continue for years to come. Rehab & Welfare Hafiz Anas Gandhi Asrar Ahmed ShahJehan Rehab and welfare committee has expanded its rehabilitation project into distribution of Zakat/Sadqa and distribution of food also called Project Rizk. Under project Rizk, with our regular food drives happening every other week, volunteers have prepared and distributed more than 1000 food boxes this year. The food packages include non -perishable food items such as Basmati Rice, sugar, salt, lentils, peanut butter, evaporated milk, canned beans, canned fruits, pasta, spaghetti, cereal, and tea. About Members from the MEC community help with the drive. Also, a Qurbani meat drive for families, toy drive for kids, and a clothing drive for Syrian Refugees was successful. Another favorite service event held was with the MCC Academy middle school students called Bagged Lunch. This event focused on serving our homeless non-muslim brothers and sisters in Chicago. With two Bagged Lunch events combined, the kids made about lunches/individual sandwiches. Rehab team gets together at MCC every 1 st and 3 rd Saturday of the month to interview about 40 to 50 families each session. The team tries to assist the applicants financially as much as possible and attempts to create a plan for families to get back on track. Lately, we have started soup kitchen and are providing cooked food to whoever comes for help. Friday Prayer at MCC Yusuf Mirza Yusuf Umar Friday Prayer at O Hare Syed Farhatullah Quadri 10 Friday at MCC started two Juma prayers every Friday in It seems to have worked out very well in terms of parking situation, since we have limited parking in MCC parking lot. Not only did it provide ease for the community but also provided great flexibility for musallees. The jummah committee invites different learned khateeb every week along with our own Imam, Mufti Mangera. We are also focusing on making people aware of future activities and programs being conducted in both MCC and MEC to attract people of all ages. In order to meet day to day expenses in MCC, we urge people to donate every Friday. We continue to strive to keep MCC s reputation as an organization that is willing and able to help those in need O Hare Friday Prayer continued to cater to airline/airport employees, travelers, and others in the area by consistently arranging Friday prayers in the chapel on mezzanine level of Terminal 2 at O Hare International Airport. Typical attendance for these prayer services has been around musallees. With few exceptions, regularly assigned rotational khateebs led the prayers. With the help of CIOGC, special arrangements were made for the parking and prayers of Muslim Cab drivers.

11 RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS (Continued): Mufti Nazim Mangera Department Head Friday Prayer at MEC Kamran Hussain Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari Amanat Ansari Amjad Quadri Azam Hashmi Habeeb Quadri zia usman Masood Sharief Special Events at MEC Shaizan Malik Alber Ahmad Ali Quadri Ashar Qadri Special Events at MCC Raja Razzak Yusuf Mirza The MEC Jummah consists of a group of over 12 MCC members who help out with the logistics of arranging khutbahs at MEC every week for 2 different prayers. Duties include scheduling khateebs, collecting funds, making announcements and dealing with other issues that occur every Friday. We have tried to bring in younger khateebs as well as khateebs that have had traditional Islamic training as well as ones that have grown up in the United States. We have been trying to get a consistent schedule with our khateebs and have secured 8 regular khateebs. Although our goal was to bring in younger trained khateebs, we make sure we respected the past khateebs and the desires of the past generations. As of right now, we have a schedule of Br. Ahmed Murad, Hafiz Azam Hashmi, Maulana Abdul Hakeem Dickenson, Mufti Nazim Mangera, Imam Musa Azam, Sh. Abdus Salam Roussi, Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari and Hafiz Kamran Riaz as our regular khateebs. has introduced a gift cards idea for guest khateebs. In Ramadan, committee gave all the khateebs a gift card of $50 and free lunch. Recently a video camera was purchased to start taping our khutbahs in order to keep track as well as potentially publish them online with the khateebs approval. The committee resolves any complaints with the khutbah, by discussing in the committee and talking to the khateebs, and those that have complained. Over the past 10 months, we have had approximately 4 official complaints that have been directed to our committee and or the presidents and the khateebs. Insha Allah, we will have an ability to create a more efficient process to assess the community's response. We tried to set up a survey but did not get enough responses to be able to assess properly. We have been posting the Jummah schedule on Facebook every week and we plan on putting up the schedule on the monitor in the lobby at MEC. We also have a text message system that goes out to about 40 people. Names of our past khateebs are available upon request. All comments and advice are welcome." During Ramadan, those offering prayers at MEC again enjoyed the all too familiar recitation of Hafiz Yousuf Abdullah during taraweeh. Special thanks to Hafiz Yousuf for all his efforts, including his after-four-rakaah tafseer. Alhamdulillah, the MEC arrangements for Ramadan went smoothly. About 50 brothers joined the Itte kaf during the last 10 days of Ramadan. During Ramadan, MCC Special Events committee arranged for Hafiz Asim Aleem to lead Isha and Taraweeh prayers. Every evening iftaar & dinner was served to about 300 people on weekdays and about 450 on weekends. In the last ten nights of the month, MCC was filled with people who were in Itikaf as well as those who joined in for Qiyamul Layl led by two young Huffaz. Babysitting service was also available during taraweeh prayers. 11

12 PART-TIME SCHOOLS, EDUCATIONAL COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES Part-Time Schools Part Time Schools (PTS) under MCC umbrella cater to approximately 600 Councils community children at our campuses on Elston Avenue and in Morton Grove. ACADEMIC: MCC PTS Academic and Administrative councils meet on a quarterly basis to Afsar Ali coordinate activities of the schools and to address matters related to annual budget, calendar and curriculum. Special projects related to curriculum or books ADMINISTRATIVE: included development & introduction of long needed curriculum-aligned Silvet Sheikh workbooks for 1st & 2nd grade Seerah /History & Theology, change of 8th grade Seerah/History book, and addition of specific study of contributions of women throughout the Islamic history in the curriculum for each grade. MCC Sunday School Kazim, Principal Umar Khan, Vice Principal MEC Sunday School Principal - Javed Bhatty Vice Principal - Kulsum Sadiq Assistant Principal - Hafsa Wahid Administrator - Mamoona Omer MCC Saturday School Samiha Barbarawi, Principal Suzan Ismael, Administrator Evening Schools Suzan Ismael & Zainab Khan, Respective Principals MCC Sunday School currently has 50 teachers and 25 assistant teachers, all of whom are volunteers. The student enrollment in 1 st through ten grades is 150, with about 40% of them receiving financial assistance. The school continues to use Renweb school management system for teachers to maintain attendance and subject scores, with provision for parents login as well; library access functionality is expected to be added soon. Besides children s education, the Nazirah/Tajweed department chair continues to teach classes to around 20 adults about the rules of Tajweed, preparing & certifying them for Tajweed rules. Building upon previous year s training of teachers, an educator with advanced degrees conducted a seminar on classroom management skills. Enriching extracurricular activities included Speech Contest, Qirat Competition and Seerat-un-Nabi Celebration. We also have some teachers who are helping some adults with learning how to read Arabic. We are working very closely with the building committee this year to improve the security and exits around the MCC facility. The MEC Sunday School is presently serving 270 students. The students hail from immediate neighborhood as well as from as far as Chicago downtown. The school has more than 70 volunteers as teachers and supporting staff. It teaches Seerah, Theology, Quran, and Tajweed and also conducts adult classes in Tajweed, Theology, Quranic Arabic, and Hadees/Fiqh. The school holds several landmark events such as the Annual Inter-school Qirat Competition that attracts nearly 200 participants from about 15 Islamic schools across Chicagoland; the Annual Seerah Program; and the Annual Surah Memorization Competition. The senior students also take up the year-book project. Additionally, the school routinely organizes open house, parent-teachers meetings, and teachers training seminars. This year the school is also planning extracurricular activities for senior students regarding site-specific civic duties. The school also has its own website by which it communicates with students and parents on important events. MCC Saturday school has an enrollment of108 students (from KG through 6 th grade and one class each of beginners and preschool. These classes are taught by 9 dedicated teachers that are paid on hourly basis. School timings are 9:45 to 2:30 PM every Saturday. Lunch is served by volunteers. We plan to start 7 th grade next year. Each month teachers meeting is conducted to follow up on educational goals. There is a weekly follow up with the teachers by checking their preparation books and discuss the weekly and monthly plan with them in the monthly meetings. Other activities include, Eid Al Adha party, Movie time, Arabic Heritage Day, Qur'an competition, Seerah competition, spelling bee. Every Saturday morning there are different classes for mothers in Tajwid, Islamic education, memorizing the Qur'an and ahadeth given by the principal. Evening Schools at MCC and MEC operate classes four days a week, typically from 6 PM to 8 PM. MCC policy is to provide every avenue to the students and parents to learn Islamic values. Currently there are 35 students in MCC evening school and three teachers along with 3 volunteers. Typically Quran reading with rules and regulations, memorization and Islamic studies are taught that include, Aqueeda, fiqh and Akhlaq. 12

13 Academy Council: Musarrat Khan Chair Sazzad Nasir Umar Masihuddin Kashif Puthawala Tariq Laliwala Habeeb Quadri - Principal Silvat Sheikh- Teachers Representative Thazneem Faiz - Parent Representative Urooj Lakhani Parent Representative Comm. of Directors for Education (CDE) Ayesha Ali (Chair) Tariq malhance Tahera Ahmed Shaizan Malik Educational Development Council (EDC) Tariq Malhance (Chair) Saba Khan Feroze Khan Maryam Qureshi Sazzad Nasir Naushina Rahman Youth Council Saadat Ali Hajar Berrada FULL-TIME SCHOOL (FTS): MCC ACADEMY During 2016; The school enrollment at MCC Academy exceeded 660 students. IOWA Standardize Test score was 88.4 percentile during this year. School added new Coding and STEM Robotics courses for students. Three (3) students were selected for the State Science Fair. Many of our students were placed in the top three positions in our Niles Township feeder school competition Math competition. Two (2) of our Senior Alumni Students scored a 35 and 36 on the ACT this year. Several of our Alumni students at Niles West and Niles North were recognized as Illinois State Scholars. Our Athletics teams were placed either 1 st or 2 nd in the Southwest Conference, whereas Girls Basketball team advanced to the State Regional Finals. School students participated in several community outreach and dawah programs. In order to fulfil the needs of the school, We have added a Full Time School Counselor and Nurse, a full time Math Support and Reading Specialist and two (2) full time substitute teachers. Year 2016 had the largest graduating class of 48 students. Two (2) boys and two (2) girls finished their hifz during We finished a new school curriculum map for all subjects. School received $20,000 State Title Money. School has more than 30 afterschool programs and activities. School has started a new Teen Academy for Teenagers in the Community on Saturdays. We are beginning a Saturday School for students with Special Needs in January Academy annual dinner is very popular and is attended by more than 1000 people. School administration keeps a strong relationship with parent support group. School website ( and the electronic version of our school newsletter provide additional means of communication. EDUCATION (Continued) There was no activity by CDE in year Along with its normal activities, the Education Development Council (EDC) was assigned the responsibility of "Studying the High School Feasibility" which needed to be concluded within 4 months. The EDC conducted several meetings during the designated time and also involved MCCA Council Chair and Principal since they had already done some work on this project. The school Council had already conducted a survey with the school parents in March 2016 regarding starting a High School. Parents had a very positive response. The further discussion took place in the areas of space, curriculum, quality of education, teachers, finances etc. In light of the above findings, EDC recommended to the Board to proceed with the High School and the Board approved the project and further assigned the EDC to do in depth analysis for the areas as mentioned above and give a report in 3 months. The EDC has already started the preliminary discussion in this regard. For year 2016, Youth gatherings were held every Saturday for both brothers and sisters separately, bringing in many youth regularly for activities, a halaqah, and food. In addition to these regular gatherings, the Youth Council held a charity drive in which they prepared and distributed almost 50 care packages to the homeless of Chicago filled with sleeping bags, socks, hats, toiletries, and other essential items. We also organized a successful Ramadan Preparation Seminar with Mufti Kamani and other scholars. Over 100 brothers and sisters were in attendance and benefitted from this program. Additionally, the brothers and sisters volunteered at various MEC programs, including the Annual Dinner, Food and Fun Fair, and Open Mosque Day. We have also held many overnight Qiyam programs at MEC during Ramadan and Winter Break Youth programs by YM (for brothers) and SSU (for sisters) are now overseen by, and are under, the Youth Council. One youth program at MCC is on 3rd Friday of every month. The council also plans to have monthly programs to help connect parents with their children. 13

14 OPERATIONS: Mazhar Khan, Department Head Building (MEC) Amanatulla Ansari Shahjehan Baig Ebrahim Ismael Sabihuddin Saif Mazhar 1. Before the start of the Ramadan, the Parking lot was again seal coated and parking lines were pained to be more visible to facilitate the proper parking. 2. A new Chandelier, donated by a member, was installed in place of Imam s prayer area. New security cameras were installed to enhance security for the building and parking lot. 3.The new Khutba recording system and better microphones have been installed. 4. Window tinting was done on the school side. 5. The Gymnasium lights were replaced with LED bulbs to conserve electricity. New Gymnasium floor was installed. 6. Landscaping and Snow cleaning is maintained in an excellent condition to make it beautiful and safe for our patrons and students. 7. The facility has been alive with constant activity in the areas of Islamic education, daily congregational prayers and sports activities for our youths. 8. The Banquet hall with a capacity of 300 people is busy with community festivities and programs for rental fee. As many as 150 people attend the daily Isha Salaah and about 100 people attend the Fajr Salaah, with generally higher numbers during summer months. A second Jumu ah prayer is a constant feature. Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha prayers were also arranged. Every Saturday morning after Fajr prayer, the Dars-e-Qur an continues by some interested community members. Study of Surah-Kahf continues by Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari every Thursday between Maghrib and Isha. Building (MCC) Aarif lakada Yusuf Umar Sabiuddin Saif Mazhar Yusuf Baig During 2016, some of the improvements made in MCC building are as follows. 1.The lighting in the entire building was upgraded to LED with new fixtures. This will be saving us over 55% of the electric bill but with better lights. 2. Fixed all prior Building violation related issues; installed a brand new Exit door in the Community Hall. 3. The house owned by MCC at 4209 N. Lawndale was remodeled with fresh paint and new carpet. 4. MCC Second floor washrooms for Boy's and Girls were renovated with quick access to hot water previously unavailable. 5. New Fire Extinguishers and smoke/carbon monoxide detectors were installed. 6. Light in the Parking lot was added for the safety and convenience of the MCC patrons. 7. Repaired washroom and Basement leaked pipe by installing a new pipe. 8. Teacher's Lounge air vents and ceiling tiles were replaced. 9. Zebra Cross walk project on Elston Ave was completed which added to the safety of MCC patrons coming from the parking lot. 10. New Air-conditioning unit was installed for III&E. 11. New water fountain was installed on the first floor. 12. Air vents and Stove in the kitchen were repaired and cleaned before Ramadan. 13. New Baby changing station was installed in the first floor Women washroom. 14. New Storage room was built in the side lobby for the Zakat committee.15. All chandeliers in the Prayer Hall as well as in the lobby were deep cleaned, which lightened up the entire area. 16. Floor tiles on the second floor were waxed and buffed. 17. New cabinets were installed in the Funeral body preparation room. 18. Landscaping was redone in the front of III&E with new soil, flowers and mulch. 19. Gutters in the Alley were repaired for public safety. 20. New heavy duty tables were purchased for Community functions and programs. 21.Women lounge near 1st floor side lobby was completely renovated. 22. New fast wireless internet network installed thru out entire building. Building also plans to upgrade the following; 1. Construction of mezzanine for women prayer in the Masjid hall. 2. Tuck pointing for whole building. 3. Redesign of parking lot lines to facilitate easy access/exit and safety. 4. Upgrade current Sound system through out the building. 5. Exterior painting and repairing of the building. 6. Replace old doors and windows with new.. 7. Add extra Security cameras in and around the building. 8. Add extra lights in the parking lot. 9. Remodel the first floor main office. 10. Initiate Youth and Adults Gym/recreational facility project. 11. Second floor tile remodeling. 12. Organize Fire drill/emergency drill for daily/saturday/sunday school. 14

15 Annual Dinner Khadija Ahmed (Chair) Masood Bijapuri Habib Abbasi Shakira bijapuri Fikreta Ademi Khaula Chaudhry Mona Mahmood Atiya Usman Ayesha Amjad Thazneem Faiz FINANCE: Naseeruddin Mahmood, Department Head MCC Annual dinner was held on Nov 5th This annual event brings our community together and celebrates our achievements for the year. Theme for this year's dinner was 'Promoting Positive Community Building', just in line with the negative rhetoric that was everywhere during the election season. The keynote speaker Mr Azhar Azeez, President of ISNA, gave an inspiring and uplifting speech that was well received by the audience. Alumni award was given to Mr Habeeb Quadri for his great work in the community and globally. MCC also gave a community award to Ms. Lesley Williams, an activist from Jewish Voice for Peace who has been raising awareness against islamophobia. It was wonderful to include community members like Lesley to reinforce stronger community building. The dinner was attended by about 500 guests, and it included silent auction (thanks to all the donors), raffles and surprise gifts at the tables. Budget Naseeruddin Mahmood Basheeruddin Food & Fun Fair Khadija Ahmed Habib Abbasi Sara Kadir Investment Masood Bijapuri Abid patwa Kashif Puthawala Preparation of MCC s annual budget of over $5.0 Million went smoothly with the cooperation of the Treasurer s Office, Executive, Board of Directors and all the Chairpersons. MCC Food and Fun Fair was hosted on Sunday, August 21st for the community. The goal was to redesign this event and include more carnival rides and carnival type of foods. There were 3 different inflatables and a rock wall and 5 games. Wrist bands were sold at a flat rate for unlimited access to rides and games which was well received by parents. Pony rides were also a big hit. There were several food options from a variety of vendors from Tikka, Bihari kabob to funnel cakes, popcorn and Gola ganda and Pani poori. There was a clothes Bazaar as well, with 15 vendors in the Masjid basement. There was a core team of 10 members led by Khadija Ahmed as chair-person, Habib Abbasi as co-chair and Sarah Kadir as the team lead for volunteers. Over 25 youth volunteers were involved in this project, from setup to clean up. This event was MUHSEN friendly for families of special needs and provided them access to rides without standing in lines, access to Quiet Rooms to take breaks and some fun snack treats. Financial - There was approx. $17,000 income and $13,700 in expenses, with a net profit of around $3300. Please note that this event isn't a fundraiser - we had 4 paid sponsors, that helped offset the cost. MCC Investment liquidated almost all the money related to school to pay for the new Skokie school building. There is about $89K and $16K money that is mostly invested in Iman fund. Further information may be found in the accompanying financial report. 15