Chairman s Report 12 June 2015 / 6 Ramadaan 1437

Transcription

1 Chairman s Report 12 June 2015 / 6 Ramadaan 1437 In the name of Almighty Allah (SWT), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate and the Ever Present. Peace and blessings be upon our illustrious and noble prophet, our leader extraordinaire, NabiMuhammad (SAW) and all those who follow him. Honourable members, Alhamduliellah, I am truly humbled and immensely grateful for delivering my 12 th AGM report. We are once again at that time of the year where we have to reflect on the year that has just passed and to thank and show immense gratitude and appreciation to Almighty Allah (SWT) for allowing us to serve Him and His house, Ameen. As the years are ticking by and we have more and more of our family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues and acquaintances leaving this world, we come to realize that we are all in the departure lounge waiting to board the plane. The question is; what have we packed in our luggage as provisions on this journey? We once again lift our hands up in sincere gratitude to Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving us the opportunity to work for His house and in so doing increase our provisions to fill our luggage for the Aaghierah, Ameen. Honourable members, I would firstly like to thank Almighty Allah (SWT) for giving us the necessary strength, wisdom, fortitude, and tenacity in running the affairs of His house with all its sub-structures, Alhamduliellah. Thereafter my sincere thanks to our current group of muttawallees, for just having completed the first year of our 3 year term of office. Then, not forgetting my heartfelt thanks and appreciation towards my fellow mussallees for their dedication and unrelenting support, admirable respect, unwavering assistance, visionary guidance and robust discussion in tackling the day to day operations of our dynamic society. Honourable members, in this noble arena that has so unfortunately become a quagmire of controversy, corruption and pettiness, we cannot thank Almighty Allah (SWT) enough for our humble and ever serving Imaamat (Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa, Sheikh Dawood Ebrahiem and Mualim Mansur Bassadien). The mutual respect and transparent working relationship that exists between the imaamat and the muttawallees have become so evident in the smooth running of this society that I received requests from 2 masjied committees in the Southern Suburbs for assistance and guidance. I once again want to pay a special word of sincere thanks and appreciation to our senior Imaam, Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa, who so painstakingly offers up his time to attend to all the social, family, marital, economic and community problems in the area. From time to time he is also called upon by the Islamic Council of the Northern Suburbs (ICONS) to mediate in sensitive issues between committees and their imaamat. There are many times when Sheikh Ebrahiem only leaves the precincts of the masjied very late at night. I think that we should seriously consider upskilling members of the community in the social welfare arena, in order to prevent our honourable Sheikh from burn-out and possible ill health. We are all getting old and this applies to our honourable Sheikh as well - evident with Sheikh s new snazzy spectacles. Honourable members, I would once again like to extend our sincere

2 P a g e 2 gratitude and appreciation to our previous imaamat and especially our late Senior Imaam, Al Marghoum Hafith Imaam Umar Abdullah for the vision that he had and the willingness to hand over to the younger imaamat while displaying absolute confidence in the muttawalles that served during his term at the masjied. I would also like to convey my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the administration staff, Hadjies Abdul Nasier Samaai, Fardiel Abrahams, Gayaat Bassadien and Boeta Gaziem Abrahams for their on-going support and selfless dedication in seeing that the society s affairs are run like a well oiled machine, Alhamduliellah. Shukran Kathier to all our muathiens, mu-aliems, mu-aliemas, tuka mandies, tuan mandies, the sub-structure co-ordinators, our young jumuah collectors and Beitul Maal helpers. Jazaakumullah Khairan, for all your on-going support and sterling work that you are doing in the community for the sake of Almighty Allah (SWT). On a sadder note I would like to acknowledge one of our previous muttawallees, Al Marghoum Hadjie Mansoer Davids, who passed away on 29 th May We make dua that Almighty Allah(SWT) grant him the highest place in Jannah Tul Fierdous Ameen. We also include in our duas all our previous Imaams, Muttawallees and Mussallees who have departed from this world for the Aaghierah Ameen. Honourable members, my report sketches the society s achievements, activities, successes, challenges and short comings over the past year with the intention of improving on it in the forthcoming year, Insha-Allah. Last year we were once again honoured to have one night of our taraweegh proceedings broadcasted on Radio 786. Our Ramadaan schedule was also stepped up a gear with our inaugural Qiraah Programme, wherein we showcased our local quraa to much acclaim from those present. During the taraweegh salaah, our ghufaath once again kept us in absolute awe with their melodious recitation of the Holy Quran. Our madrassah teachers delivered the inspirational talks on a Saturday while guest Ulama shared the benefits of Ramadaan on a Sunday after Thur Salaah. We were also honoured to host a SANZAF Zakaah Workshop that was well received, judging by the amount of questions, discussions and interaction that occurred. We hosted 5 orphanages for iftaar and because we were inundated with donations of food, savouries, fruit and drinks, we could invite 1 of the orphanages for another iftaar session. The evening inspirational talks were delivered by Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa and the Ramadaan evenings were rounded off with a short thikr by Hadji Isghak Gasant. We once again had many youth that joined many mussallees in itikaaf which strengthened the bond between the young and elderly mussallees. Our all night Lailatul Qadr Program culminated with the rejuvenation of our spiritual beings in which our levels of piety were elevated to new heights with a sense of serenity that permeated through the precincts of the masjied. This resulted in our mussallees experiencing but a minute taste of jannah. We would like to thank all our mussallees abundantly for their fitra contributions towards the Mubarak Fitra Fund run under the auspices of SANZAF, in the Northern Suburbs. We once again contributed the most even though we organized our own fitra distribution parcels which we dropped off twice during the month of Ramadaan. As the holy month of high intensity training came to an end wherein we experienced all its facets, we were immersed with immeasurable satisfaction and our contented souls were on the cusp of entering jannah. A special word of thanks and appreciation goes to Boeta Abdul Nasier Samaai for co-ordinating the dates, drinks and Boeka Treats sales which augments our Ramadaan Expenses Fund. We appeal to everyone to once again support this initiative generously so that we can experience a spiritually uplifting month, Insha-Allah. Honourable members, just as quick as Ramadaan arrived on our doorsteps, we bid farewell to it with the advent of the Hadj Season. We were once again blessed with representatives of Goodwood who were the guests of Almighty Allah (SWT) at Arafaat on the Day of Wuquf. Our Eidul Adgha Qurbaan program run by brother Ighsaan Peck has become synonymous with effective planning, efficient operations and clockwork timing. Last year, we successfully

3 P a g e 3 slaughtered 153 sheep and 20 rams which put a bit of a strain on our infra-structure. This year we will however have to cut-off at slaughtering 130 animals until we have better facilities Insha-Allah. This constraint did not deter us from still achieving flying colours under the watchful eyes of the SPCA. They supplied us with a report which contained some minor concerns and a few suggestions on how to make it a world class operation. We are yet to find a suitable apprentice for brother Ighsaan, who will be able to take over the reins in his absence or unavailability in the future, Insha-Allah. Honourable members, due to work and health pressures Hadjies Shamiel Thomas and Mogamat Francis handed over the running of the Project Initiation Committee (PIC) to Hadjie Thaabiet Abrahams. The PIC is responsible for the application for Consent Usage/Re-zoning of the masjied to that of a place of worship and learning. Alhamduliellah, it was the first time in history that there were no objections from all the departments in the City Council. We have however hit a slight stumbling block where the lifting of title deed restrictions must be approved by the provincial minister, which could take up to 11 months. Our parking application to the City Council for 2 plots adjacent to the park on Gregory Street also seem to have hit a brick wall after we were promised this facility more than a year ago. We are currently looking at ways and means as to how these processes can be escalated and fast tracked. We are calling on any mussallees who have some contact at the City Council or Province to make this happen sooner than later, to make contact with one of the committee members as soon as possible, Insha-Allah. Sheikh Zaahir Adams, a young graduate from Al Azhar University in Egypt delivered the keynote address at our Muharram 1437 Program. Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa once again used this opportunity, as is customary at our masjied to announce the theme for the year. This year Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa chose Dawah as the theme. Alhamduliellah, since this announcement we have seen a steady flow of reverts who have taken shahaada at our masjied. We make dua that through our willingness to make dawah that we will see many more reverts entering into Islam in their multitudes, Ameen Thuma Ameen. Our madaries, which are the heartbeat of our society, had its fair share of challenges. We must always remember that these challenges are put in our paths to make us stronger and to think out of the box. Over the years we have seen a worrying tendency where the weekly learner numbers are slowly dwindling, but Alhamduliellah it seems that what we have lost on the merry-go-round we have gained on the swings, with an increase in the Saturday Madrassa intake. We hope to see an increase in a couple of years when the newborns are of school going age, seeing that a few of our mussallees and muttawallees have planted the seed to make the ummah grow stronger, Insha- Allah. Alhamduliellah, in December we once again witnessed the graduation of 17 matriculants and 1 hiffs learner at a Gala Dinner Evening at JG Meiring High School Hall, where we also celebrated the selfless contribution of the educators and support staff. In December we saw the first group of muttammireen that accompanied Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa and Hadjie Ghalied Mabruk on an umrah trip under the auspices of the Goodwood Islamic Society. On returning the group was spiritually rejuvenated and they could not praise the organizers and the spiritual guides enough for a job well done, Alhamduliellah. Even though this was not a fund raising initiative, we make dua that this venture which was so spiritually fulfilling, be re-looked at to benefit the community, Insha-Allah, within the future. Honourable members, Alhamduliellah, due to the increase in the number of qualified and budding medical professionals in the area, 2016 saw the re-launch Our Medical Outreach Forum which took place at a lunch for the elderly of Goodwood in the Filia School Hall. Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa used this outreach dawah initiative to address the elderly of all religious persuasions wherein he announced that we will be opening a medical facility to attend to the basic needs of the elderly in

4 P a g e 4 the area on a no cost basis. This facility at Gouws house, next door to the masjied, is currently at an advanced stage of completion and will be opened shortly after Ramadaan Insha-Allah. Alhamduliellah, over the years we have seen an increase in the attendance at our adult and revert classes while we have also availed our premises from Monday to Thursday from 08h30 to 13h00 to Moulana Waseem Hendricks of Panorama Masjied for his Institute of Higher Islamic Learning Darul-Tafaw-wuk. Through this we have managed to incorporate our resident hiffs classes with his institute as our numbers were dropping. We have once again offered short janaaza ghasiel and ghasiela classes and our monthly Ghatamul Quran Programme will be reaching a milestone during Ramadaan this year when we will be participating in the 150 th programme. It normally takes place on the last Sunday of every Islamic month after Fajr, in the masjied. In Ramadaan it forms part of the Lailatul Qadr Programme. The attendance at our Thursday Night Thikr sessions has increased and we have seen an increase in requests to use the masjied for a small reception after a nikah ceremony. Our highly active Representative Council of Learners under the leadership of Zahrah Schroeder has also used the masjied for a sleep over which they thoroughly enjoyed. Honourable members, our fishing, surfing and hiking trips have become very popular over the years with keen interest shown by the young and the old. The fishing trips have on occasions lead to mussallees sneaking out of their homes in the middle of the night and early hours of the mornings to catch those big ones, which have unfortunately eluded them. The soccer, rugby and cricket clinic initiative have grown in leaps and bounds, under the watchful eyes of Hadjies Ridwaan Behardien, Ismail Booley and Brother Yazeed Schroeder. We are currently conducting the clinic at the Hamilton Road Sports Facility, as we unfortunately lost the Goodwood Park Primary premises due to safety and security concerns. This year the winter blanket distribution initiative in the sub-economic areas of the northern suburbs, run under the auspices of the Islamic Council of the Northern Suburbs was co-ordinated by our very own Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa. Alhamduliellah it was a major success with a record number of blankets being distributed with the help of some of the Ulama, madrassah learners and mussallees of the participating masajieds. This year also saw the flag of Goodwood Islamic Society flying high on the top of Table Mountain when Hadjie Shabier (Bapoe) Pandey and Brother Anwah September climbed the mountain in aid of funds for Syria via a fund raising initiative by Muslim Hands. We also had 2 of our youth, Muraad Sayed and Cassiem Samaai, partaking in this venture. Five-a-side Futball has taken off like a bomb amongst the youth and we even had the not so young mussallees and the old crocks trying their luck in this fast paced sport. This has unfortunately led to some dwindling mussallee numbers and more chairs being occupied as back and leg injuries have taken its toll. I would just like to quell the rumour that we are considering opening a massage parlour. Honourable members, Alhamduliellah, I am thrilled to report that from my 2015 report where I appealed to the youth to get more involved, we saw the launch of the Goodwood Islamic Society Youth League, under the leadership and guidance of Ismaeel Hamdulay. Ismaeel is currently finishing his hiffs under the tutorledge of Hafith Sheikh Hussein Dalwie and will be registering for a law degree in the near future Insha-Allah. The Youth League is working closely with the UCT MSA of which our very own son, Hafith Mogamad Shahied Karriem is the Amier. They have also been instrumental in helping to set-up the MSA at Fairbairn College and will be assisting other schools as well. We are looking forward to their Youth Day Programme which will take place on the 16 th June 2016 at the masjied Insha-Allah. We have also tasked them to come up with design proposals for a new poster of our Food Fun Fair to be held on Sunday, 2 nd April 2017, Insha-Allah. Another major task that they will be tackling in the very near future is the compiling of the Community Census in order to get updated information on the number of Muslims in the area together with their contact details, needs and skill sets.

5 P a g e 5 The Quloobul Moe mieneen Burial Society is still providing a much needed service in the community and it is only when death affects our family and friends, do we really appreciate this sub-structure. With the government looking at regulating and implementing new health rules and procedures in the washing of our deceased, we have to seriously think of building a Ghusl Khaana in the near future Insha- Allah. We are currently busy with the upgrading of the kaatels with better locking clips while the hearse had new flood lights installed to assist with burials at night. Alhamduliellah, Hadjie Amien Bassadien is once again available to assist with any janaazas and I would like to convey my sincere thanks and appreciation to him, Mualim Mansur and Hadjie Ganief Ismail for the excellent way in which they have administered this sub structure. The Beitul Maal, so diligently run by Mualim Mansur Bassadien and 6 youngsters, still sees to the needs of the less fortunate families in the area. During these tough economic conditions we find ourselves in, we have seen a slight increase in the number of needy households. On-going maintenance and trying to improve the infrastructure and facilities at the masjied has always been the priority of this committee. Alhamduliellah, during the past year through generous donations from our wonderful mussallees, we have seen the upgrade of our security cameras, installed a new alarm system, purchased an additional proxima, purchased a new industrial washing machine, flat screen LED TV s, upgraded Sheikh Ebrahiem Tofa s air-conditioner, installed paving in front of the Cockrell house, installed water restrainers on all our wudu taps and built a storage room for the masjied s assets. We are also doing some upgrades at the Gouws house to improve madrassa classroom accommodation and prepare for the Medical Outreach Forum Clinic. A major challenge which seems never-ending, is that we still find mussallees that are under the impression that they are doing us a favour by dumping their outdated, old, unused or even broken appliances and furniture at the masjied. This unfortunately leads to these items being hoarded at the masjied premises and results in us having to undertake a clean-up operation every few months. On the flip side of this we are also finding mussallees coming to borrow masjied items without returning them. We have therefore implemented a system to cater for both these issues and will in future not accept or lend out anything unless it has been approved by the masjied committee and updated on our Masjied Asset Register. With our beloved country s depressed economic growth expectations, high unemployment rate, looming downgrade and volatile currency, fund raising is becoming more and more of a challenge. With this backdrop, we were expecting a smaller profit from our annual Food Fun Fair, but Alhamduliellah Thuma Alhamduliellah, through the incomprehensible Kudrat, uncountable bounties, infinite mercies and on-going favours of Almighty Allah (SWT) we have obtained our biggest profit to date. A special thanks goes to Brother Rifaat Royepen and his family for organizing a very successful inter-house sport, obstacle race and activities competition which had the houses Umar and Ali competing against each other with great fun and excitement. Our annual Food Fun Fair was a major success and after thanking Almighty Allah (SWT), I will fail in my duty for not thanking our awe inspiring and fantastic imaamat, muttawallees, mussallees and the community at large, for their incredible assistance and support. Our last Sunday of the month food sales was well received and we are looking at some additional offerings with the assistance of the Youth League in the future, Insha-Allah. The madrassa learners together with their educators really exceeded our expectations with the income that they generated at the last two Entrepreneurs Days. In addition, the car wash went off well and could become a more regular fund raising initiative, especially to fund youth activities in the future, Insha-Allah. Honourable members, sadly I have to report that security, ill-discipline, disrespectfulness, promiscuity, social, welfare and marital issues are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. This has an unstoppable knock-on effect and our community and area has not been left untouched. We will have to address this with a matter of urgency and it will necessitate a concerted and all encompassing effort to nip it in the bud before it becomes a major calamity.

6 P a g e 6 We are all human and it is with some disappointment that I once again, after a year has elapsed, must report that we are standing on the threshold of the approval of our re-zoning (Consent Usage Application), where we will have to garner all our resources and connections to tackle the Masjied Redevelopment Project. As I said in last year s report, this project will go down in history as the most important and challenging project that this society has ever tackled since its inception in The only solace that we have and that we believe in, is that this waiting period has been ordained by Almighty Allah (SWT). We must therefore not rest on our laurels but we must use this waiting period to get all our ducks in a row to tackle this major project. We must set-up the necessary support structures, committees and teams in order to tackle this huge task, head on, Insha-Allah. We are calling on everyone with the necessary skills and professions to put up their hands and become involved in this once in a lifetime opportunity to fill up their coffers and luggage bags for the Aagierah flight, Insha-Allah. Surely by being involved in building one of Almighty Allah (SWT s) houses, He will build for us a house in jannah, as He has promised, Ameen. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my beloved wife, sons, daughters and greater family for their unrelenting support in allowing me to serve on this committee. Alfu Shukran to the amazing families of my fellow muttawallees, for their support, understanding and sacrifices they have to make so that we can fulfill this noble duty for Almighty Allah (SWT s) sake. Not forgetting our incredible mussallees, the generous business people and the compassionate greater Muslim and Non-Muslim communities of Goodwood and its surrounding areas, for their on-going support in allowing us to practice our beloved religion so freely, Insha-Allah. Jazaakumullah Khairan Mogamad Safedien