MYathlon 2008
2
MAS Youth for Girl Scouts for
current events
upcoming events
3
5
mas tampa
Messenger
THE LATEST NEW S, REPORT S, AND EVENTS AVAILABLE
TO THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY OF TAMPA BAY
“The American Muslim” Highlights
This year’s 2nd Annual MAS Tampa Conference—The American Muslim: Your Faith, Your Family—Our Future—had it ALL!
This year's conference had the honor of receiving many
prestigious individuals as Guest Speakers at this year's
conference. Sessions were presented on an array of topics revolving around our lives as American Muslims. Topics ranged from marriage and keeping good company
among the young adults to Islamic education in publics
schools and civic engagement among the adults.
While the adults were engaged in proactive sessions,
kids enjoyed a fun filled day of activities designed to educate and entertain. Their creativity was unleashed during
a Home Depot workshop; their minds and senses were
stimulated in a Mad Science show; their energy was released for a mini-carnival held outdoors with bounce
houses; and finally, they kids were treated to a special
performance by Dawud Wharnsby!
Speakers, guests, attendees, volunteers: all came together for a delicious banquet dinner with a captivating
program. With a special sneak-peek performance by Abu
Ratib, a MAS Tampa organizational presentation and
video, and
perhaps the most entertaining and inspiring fundraising
speech ever delivered by the one and only Imam Johari
Abdul-Malik, the banquet was a wonderful gathering of
the Muslim community that produced results.
The most energetic event of the evening, attendees
communed for the long awaited musical acts by Abu
Ratib and Dawud Wharnsby. The artists' dulcet performances were a perfect end to a fulfilling conference. Attendees were also treated to special performances by
Tampa's local talent, the rap group 3ILM.
We thank our speakers for their interactive and inspiring lectures and hope to see them again soon. Sincere
gratitude also goes out to all our Conference Committee
volunteers for their hard-work and dedication that made
this 2nd Annual Conference a successful event!
To the Community:
We thank the community for joining us for the MAS Tampa Community Eid Picnic
on Saturday, January 5th at the Hillsborough River State Park. In addition to great
food and company, the picnic included a special treat for kids: a rock-climbing
course! We hope you join us for our next community event. Be sure to stay up to
date on all our events by visiting www.MASTampa.org.
Players & Prayers:
The MYathlon
Affect
MYathlon 2008 delivered the usual serving of
brotherhood and ball in its 6th strong year.
We had a whopping 65
teams and over 750 athletes participate in the
6th Annual MYathlon
2008 this past weekend.
Teams came as far as
North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia
and not to mention all
around Florida! Athletes
from ages 9 and older
(even parents played!)
played in a weekend-long
tournament of football,
soccer, and basketball
games.
Beyond the Muslim com- celebrate the success of
munities,
all the players
the MYath- We enjoyed it and we are topped off the
lon
weekend with
looking forward to next
(formerly
trophies gayear
the MAS
lore.
OMAR AREF, M.D.
Olympics)
MAS Tampa
MYATHLON DIRECTOR
attracted
thanks all the
the attenathletes, partion of local media outents, and supporters for
lets. The St. Pete Times
participating and looks
covered the MYathlon in
forward to seeing new
an inspirational piece
and familiar faces next
called “Teammates in
year!
Faith.”
The MYathlon committee
An Awards Ceremony to
welcomes any comments
I SLAM & THE
E NVIRONMENT
Root Movement: an
Informing Event
.
MAS Tampa would like to
thank First United Church
(esp Dr. Warren Clark),
Women of Faith Building
Community, and others for
their hospitality and continuous outreach efforts
that this interfaith event a
success. Our Christian
neighbors hosted local
Muslims to a delectable
Thanksgiving meal at the
church. Dr. Saleh
also gave a PowerPoint
presentation on Islam and
the Environment that
sparked interesting conversation. We learned that
both Muslims and Christians share a responsibility
to preserve our natural
resources and will only be
able to do so if working
together.
Fifty plus students and individuals
joined us in celebrating February
Black History Month by attending
the MAS @ UAS sponsored event
“Root Movement: African Influence
on Islam.” Three special guest
speakers including Mahdi Bray of
MAS Freedom Foundation, Dr.
Mozella Mitchell of the USF Department of Religious Studies, and
Imam and activist Askia Muhammad
spoke of the early appearance of
African Muslims in America and their
overall influence on Islam in our
ever-growing and ever-changing
American Society. This event was
held in conjunction with the Muslim
Students Association and the Black
Student Union.
View more photos of the Root
Movement in the Multimedia section
of our website www.MASTampa.org.
and suggestions in their effort to deliver the most professional tournament experience. Email your thoughts to
sports@mastampa.org.
Also, check out more MYathlon photos in the Multimedia
section of our website:
www.MASTampa.org.
A division of MAS
just for YOUTH!
Who We Are
As the division of MAS
that deals with young
people, we identify ourselves as a movement of
American Muslim youth
and young adults who
responded to Allah’s call
to invite what is good
and right and forbid what
is wrong. To fulfill this
responsibility, we urge
the youth and young
Weekly/Monthly
Activities
Weekly
Thursdays
Halaqa (Study Circle) of
various topics given by
local speakers; 8pm at
MAS Youth Center
Fridays
Seerah Lectures given
by Dr. Saleh Mubarak;
after ishaa at Masjid AlQassam
Alternating Months
MY Give: Various community service projects
MY Revive: Spiritual activity ranging from qiyams to outdoor excursions.
Adults to strive to learn,
religion, and who are in
understand, apply,
the age group equivalent
spread, and advocate
to the high-school, colIslam and
lege, and young
Alhamdulilah, the MY
its values,
professional
Revive helps me reconsolutions,
stage. A young
and systems nect to Allah in my busy
professional is
life.
in the sersomeone who is
MY REVIVE PARTICIPANT
vice of the
starting his
common
post-graduate
good.
life.
Our Audience
Check out MAS Youth
Our audience is young
Tampa on the web at
people who reside in the
www.MASTampa.org/
USA (citizens, immiyouth to learn more and
grants, workers, stuto stay updated on our
dents) regardless of ethcurrent and upcoming
nicity, place of origin and events!
Alhamdulilah we had 25+
youth participate in our MY
Revive held on February 29th
to March 1st. The qiyam
hosted guys and gals (in separate parallel programs) at the
masjid with night-filled activities including spiritual talks,
qiyam prayers, sports, games,
and other reflective activities.
Look for future MY Revive
events every month. If you
have an idea for an activity,
please use the contact form
on our website
(www.MASTampa.org/youth)
and let your voice be heard.
MY Revive is a signature MAS
Youth program in which youth
gather monthly to reconnect
and revive their faith. A night
of prayers and reflection, MY
Revive brings youth together
to worship their Creator. Reviving our spirit is the first
step in reviving our community.
MY Revive: a
Night of
Spiritual
Fun
VOICES FOR
CHANGE
Talent Search
We need to stake OUR
claim on entertainment, as
people striving for MORALITY. Outlandish will be
headlining MAS Youth’s
Voices for Change in
their first US Tour! We are
seeking out young and
talented artists with a
message to share for our
National Talent Search, a
search for any person who
has any type of art (rap,
spoken word, poetry) that
is promoting a message,
and who might just
change the face of entertainment! The winners of
the MY Talent Search will
open for Outlandish on the
Voices for Change tour
and will be on the CD sold
nationwide! More info is
available on our website
and at
www.masyouth.net/
voicesforchange
Presentations, Workshops,
& Meetings:
MAS Tampa is committed to bringing the community insightful and resourceful information to
help us learn and grow as individuals and as
community members
Parent-Volunteer Workshop:
Local Hillsborough County public school teachers Clare Farmer, Khadijah Al-Sharif, and
Kareemah Shabazz gave a parent training workshop on volunteering at local public schools
in March. The need for parent-involvement and volunteers within the public school is very
high; even volunteering 15 minutes of your time in a classroom goes a long way in helping
the teacher and students. Our presenters also highlighted the benefits of volunteering at
our local public schools for the Muslim community: we create more Islamic visibility and outreach opportunities, we get
involved in community activism, and we show a care and concern for our children’s education. Helpful handouts given at
the workshop can be accessed on our website: www.MASTampa.org
MAS Tampa and representatives from
ICT-Qassam masjid spoke with Mayor Joe
Affronti at ICT-Qassam Masjid. The discussion addressed MAS Tampa and the
Muslim community’s relationship with the city of Temple Terrace. Local residents addressed several issues with Mayor Affronti like participating in the city council, improving relations with the Muslim community, and raising concerns for justice
to Dr. Sami Al-Arian. MAS Outreach Director Dr. Saleh Mubarak spoke on the importance of citizen involvements in the
community. Mayor Affronti welcomed such meetings and encouraged the Muslim community to play a more active role in
the city. He listened and gathered all the concerns raised by attendees. As many of the concerns are to be addressed with
City Council and City Chief of Police, the Mayor promised to get back to the community on all our issues. Many community
members attended on behalf of the community. We thank Mayor Joe Affronti for taking time to meet us and hope to continue talks in the future.
Meeting with Temple Terrace Mayor
MAS
V OLUNTEERS
@ Local Public Schools
5th Year Anniversary of Iraq War
Remembered
Many came out to protest
America’s continued presence in Iraq on the 5th
Year Anniversary of the
Iraq War (March 19th).
Protestors stood outside
the Federal Court House
holding signs that read “No
Blood for Oil” and “Bring
Troops Home” and waving
the
MAS Volunteers get involved with our local public
schools by giving introductory presentations on Islam to
middle and high school students. MAS Tampa Volunteer
Ameena Zia recently gave such a presentation to a 7th
grade class at Williams Magnet Middle School. Check out
more photos on our website.
Get involved today! Join MAS’ involved youth and work
to education and inspire the youth of our nation. Contact us at office@mastampa.org to volunteer.
American flag. The peaceful rally also included actors dressed as injured and
dead Iraqi civilians. Rally
participants could also be
seen forming peace signs
at passing cars.
Thanks to all who
came out and showed
their support for our
troops and the innocent people of Iraq by
demanding that the
government ends this war
and brings out soldiers
home. See more photos of
the rally in our MAS photo
girl scouts corner
Upcoming
Events
Fields Trips!
As part of the learning
experience, Girl Scouts
go on many field trips to
educational places. One
such field trip was to
Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Designed to encourage
creativity, each scout got
a chance to create a
unique bear of her own.
Other field trips included
Lowry Park Zoo.
JUNIORS
APRIL
Adventure Sports Bicycling
& Ice Skating Field Trip
4/19
MAY
Science Discovery MOSI
Guest Speaker
5/3
BROWNIES
APRIL
Playing Around the World
Activity Abrakadoodle
Workshop
Girl Scouts Camp:
Coming in May 2008
Troop leaders
needed
Each Girl Scouts troop is
lead by a dedicated troop
leader who gives her time
to coordinate activities for
their troop as she creates
some of the most memorable times of her girls’ life.
In order to accommodate
the growing number of girl
scouts, we are in need of
more troop leaders and
scout volunteers to help us
out. Help empower the girls
with strength, character,
and a sense of responsibility. Volunteer today!
Remember! Girl Scouts last
meeting is May 31st. The
girls break from June until
August.
REGISTRATION INFO:
Registration for all three
troops: Juniors, Brownies,
and Daisies will begin the
end of May 2008.
Top Sales
Scouts
The Scouts just completed
their Spring Cookie Fundraiser. Congratulations to all
the scouts who participated
in earning their troop money!
Notable mention must be
given to Brownie and Junior
top sales scouts:
JUNIORS:
Nadira Canty (225) boxes
Samina Ismail (188 boxes)
Salma Chahbandar
(125 boxes)
BROWNIES:
Sarah Elfallah (140 boxes)
Upcoming Events
MAY
JUNE
JULY
Sports League
Season 4
Voices For
Change
Outlandish Tour
June 6th
Sports League
Season 5
MAS
Y OUTH
C ENTER
“On Fire”
Workshop
Isra Salehmohd
June 14th
Office Hours:
Monday—Friday
9am-1pm
WEEKLY MAS CENTER
EVENTS
12226 N. 56th St
Tampa, FL 33617
THURSDAYs
FRIDAYs
SATURDAYs
Halaqa (Study Circles)
8pm
Seerah Lectures
at Qassam Masjid
8pm
Girl Scouts Meetings
(twice a month)
2pm
Support
MAS Tampa
MAS Tampa is a not-forprofit organization committed to bringing programs and activities that
benefit the Muslim community of Tampa Bay.
Our success depends on
your support. Help keep
our programs and activities alive. Donating is
easy:
Donate Online at
www.MASTampa.org
Donate by Mail:
MAS Tampa
P.O. Box 290142
Tampa, FL 33687
Donate in Person at the
MAS Youth Center.
Jazak Allah Khairan.
Volunteers
Needed!
While donations
ensure MAS
Tampa’s supplies,
the volunteers
keep us alive. All
our programs and
activities are created, organized,
and executed by
our dedicated volunteers. We can
only go so far with
a small group of
active volunteers.
As such, we are
always in need of
more committed
individuals and
invite youth, parents, all individuals
who want to help
make a difference
to join us!
The Youth Sports
813-899-CAMP
office@mastampa.org
MAS Tampa
If you haven’t
already heard,
the MAS Tampa
League is about to
launch its next
season. Male and
female volunteers
are needed as
coaches and referees. Be part of a
vibrant initiative to
get youth active in
sports and involved in teamwork. Join the effort to keep our
kids healthy and
have some fun
while you’re at it!
Contact us today
to volunteer.
website is
newly designed to bring you more accessible
information. With calendars, departmental pages, and tons of resourceful links, the MAS Tampa website is
your one-stop shop for the latest on
our activities and events.
Check out our multimedia section for
all our event photos and videos. The
MAS Youth Tampa page has all the
latest activities for teens. You can
also make a donation online and join
our mailing list to stay in the loop.
The MAS Tampa website has it all so
be sure to check it out today!
Www.MASTampa.org