21-22 MAY 2011 Organizing Training - IMAN

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

 السلام عليكم

(Unity in Diversity - Fady Habib)

subhanallah...the past few days have been very meaningful and productive. and yes, i'm on holiday right now :)
alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for EVERYTHING.

IMAN organization (Inner-City Muslim Action Network http://www.imancentral.org/) just held a leadership event (on the basis of da'wah) called Organizing Training. i didn't know what to expect...but i just wanted to go. so, for the two training days, i left home at 6.30 hoping to reach the place by 9am. i had to catch the metra train to go downtown, walk for half an hour to go to another station and catch another train there that would take me to south east of chicago, hyde park. i met rifka at the latter station and after reaching hyde park, we used my printed map to search for the venue. 20 mins searching, Allah sent a guy who was lost searching for the place too because apparently IMAN changed the venue. we didn't know that, you see. so, with His guidance, we arrive there 6 mins late. better late than never, kn..alhamdulillah :)

when we arrived,i was shocked to see the room that was predominantly full of black people. out of 30+, there were like 24 of them. mashallah. wait, do i sound racist? i didn't think anything bad of them..i was just wow..i felt honored to be part of that group. of course, genetically race doesn't exist. it's the amount of melanin that determines one's "tanned"ness (biology). anyway, i was also surprised to see a number of non-muslim peeps who joined the training. my perception of IMAN changed instantly. talk about the power of outreaching, aite. now i sort of what it's about..

throughout the training, there were a lot of discussion, sharing and games. no words can describe it all. it has to be experienced. we started off with some war acting play to demonstrate Power. the war was between the Melians agianst the Spartans and Athens.

let me bullet point them for my own reference.

1. War play - The Melians vs The Spartans & The Athenians
2. Racism experience (personal and family presented by partners), Timeline & Reflection
3. Name and Signature Acts Imitation
4. Malcolm X video and reflection - Power with, over and within
5. World as It is and World As is - Drawing, Presentation and Reflection
6. Have a one-to-one intro and if your life was written as a book, what would you name it
7. Two Groups Division - Get sorted alphabetically by the last name without writing and speaking
8. Leadership of Prophet Muhammad alayhisalam in the battle of Hunain - Accountability
9. The Tree Reflection  - Experience (Roots), Values (Trunk), Porblems (Branch)
10. My Idol Leaders (living legends and withtin close connection) - Who and Why
11. Criterias of a good Leader
12. Interview session - Organizer and interviewee
13. Two Groups Division - Get sorted alphabetically by the city of birth without writing, speaking and using hands
14. Musical chair with partners (blind folded and supported)

i didn't take any pics but certainly it was worthwhile. it cannot be purchased but can only be experienced. ckp pon tak guna eh...it's nice to be part of a larger dedicated group with the same self-interest. in my small group of ten, this guy use to be a gangster leader. he was prisoned for some time. he shared a personal story that he used to live in the south side but then moved to Chicago when his  grandma killed a man who used to harrass her sexually. they fled but never got caught. i'm not sure exactly how he reverted to Islam but he now goes by the name Bilaal...and subhanallah, as big and tall as he is, you'd never believe that he would even hurt a fly. he has kind eyes and the warmest smile. 

the people there were definitely older and way2 older than me. a gay guy was also in my group...when i say that, i don't mean to judge...but it's more of a good feeling that invoked knowing that these people were willing and made themselves comfortable around IMAN people and the Muslims. some of the non-muslims also thought of being IMAN campaign leaders when there's an issue that specifically affects them. 

i really felt a very strong connection with everyone. there was also a very outspoken lady in the veil called Ramona and subhanallah....i was just floored. she was just so cooooool that none of us noticed her veil. do you know what i mean? everyone felt belonged as though we all knew each other long before. funny....ade sorang ni nampak mcm celebrity entourage, dgn speck hitamnye, suit, very bald, tall and big....mmg la. Allahuakbar. 

i was just AH-MAZED. honestlyyyyyyy, i've never been in a group that's so diversed at the same time, very2 friendly, active, opiniated, intelligent, supportive, welcoming and STRONG characteristically. it tops off the vagina monologue production team, i could say, partly because it entwined with our spiritual and religious belief that are truly personal. 

the facilitators were beyond amazing. i met hazel and some IMAN staffs like Jemali, Alia, Shamar etc..the words brother, sister and smiles tak lekang drpd mulut mereka regardless of what religion affiliation one was from. that itself put in the calmest position. oh, btw, the event was held in Catholic Theological Union Center (CTUC). IMAN was blessed to be utilizing the venue FOR FREE including Halal FOOD and drinks (provided and packed by the CTUC people), 3 other spacious rooms (for break out sessions and prayers), a lounge and whatever equipments IMAN needed. 

the first day lasted from 9 - 5pm...after 5pm, i had a call from mama saying that she's at the millennium park with Datin Sri Rosni Omar (wife Menteri Pengajian Tinggi). kami lepak sampai 11.30pm...subhanallah. what a niiice lady. we went to have dinner kat Bakers Square..i was glad that i got the chance to dengar beliau cerita psl BAKTI (datin2 pnye organization), mcm mana depa jd delegates malaysia kat negara2 lain. beliau ckp psl trip to Saudi once....and datin rosnah sucessfully presented her paper, tak tido 3 hari to make sure she delivered her best. they work harrrrrd. mcm2 lagi lah inspirational stories. that changed my perceptions on these ladies completely lah. astaghfirullah3. saye tak realize utk cerminkan diri saya sendiri kn.

ya Allah, thank you for this important and valuable lesson. it's all about perception.
for once, i felt really engaged with the presence of genuine unity.
oh i've a long way to go... thank you Allah for the first steps.