By Nancy Elbassiouny, IOL Correspondent
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tens of thousands of Muslims from across the US and Canada will come together in Columbus, Ohio, at the weekend to discuss key issues as spirituality, community service, economic development, family, Islamic banking and outreach.
But change will be the buzz word in many sessions and panel discussions of the 45th annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention, scheduled for August 29 – September 1.
The gathering, expected to attract nearly 40,000 Muslims, is even themed “Ramadan…a Time for Change.”
Muslim men, women and children will spend four days attending interactive sessions on such important topics as the need for an American identity and how Muslim organizations can help bring about change in America.
They will hear from renowned scholars like Jamal Badawi and Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shaker, politicians like Congressman Keith Ellison, academics like Dr. John Esposito and businessmen like Dr. Yaqub Mirza.
The convention will also feature a bazaar with more than 500 booths, a matrimonial banquet, an Islamic art exhibit, a film festival as well as a Qur’an recitation competition.
Sunday night, August 31, ISNA will organize what is tipped to be the largest Taraweeh prayer in American history, led by Sheikh Abdul Kareem Edghouch.
America is home to between six to seven million Muslims making up less than three percent of the 300-million population.
Agent of Change
Dr. Robert Dickson Crane, a prominent Muslim scholar and America’s first Muslim ambassador under President Ronald Reagan, agrees the convention theme reflects a need for change in Muslim thinking to address contemporary issues of conscience.
“The task of ISNA and Muslims in America is to help their fellow Americans change the world by promoting peace, prosperity and freedom through compassionate justice,” he told IslamOnline.net.
ISNA is the largest umbrella organization for Muslims in America and represents several other groups, such as the Muslim Student Association (MSA), and hundreds of mosques in the US and Canada.
It has been a valuable agent for change for almost three decades.
ISNA President, Ingrid Mattson, reflects the change in contemporary Muslim thinking.
She is the first women, first convert and first North American-born person to head such a major Islamic organization.
Dr. Crane, who has been attending the convention since the early 1980s, praised the role played by its organizer.
“ISNA has played an invaluable role in helping Muslims of all different ethnicities and schools of thought integrate into American society so that they can better join the best of Islam with the best of America in order to secure a better future for the world.”
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