Islamic Cultural Revival & Advancement (ICRA)

Citizenship in Islam: Muslims as minorities, and non-Muslims in Muslim countries

2011-05-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Islamic Cultural Revival and Advancement

ICRA Lecture Series invites you for special event as we discuss the issue of

Citizenship in Islam

Special focus on Minority right and responsibilities in Majority Muslim countries such as Egypt, and on Muslim citizen responsibilities and rights in Muslim minority communities, such as the USA.

Speaker: Sheikh Muhammad Nur

Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 2:00 PM

in the East Room

St. Louis County Library - Headquarters

1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 63131

(across from Plaza Frontenac)

link to map below

Marriage & Divorce in Muslim Minority Societies. Speaker: Sheikh Muhammad Nur

2010-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Islamic Cultural Revival and Advancement

ICRA Lecture Series invites you for special event as we discuss the issue of

Marriage & Divorce in Muslim Minority Societies

Speaker: Sheikh Muhammad Nur

As the number of Muslims grows in American society, issues related to marriage and divorce grows with it. Everyday Muslims are encountering problems and finding it difficult to get answers. This Saturday we will discuss some of these issues which include the abundance of eligible Muslim women unable to find spouses, Muslim men marrying outside Islam or 'back home', and which law to apply in regards to divorce. Please join us, as Sheikh Muhammad Nur will address these issues and more, followed by an open question and answer session.

Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 2:30 PM

in the East Room

St. Louis County Library - Headquarters

1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 63131

(across from Plaza Frontenac)

link to map below

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Saint+Louis&state=MO&address=1640+S+Lindbergh+Blvd&zipcode=63131-3501&country=US&latitude=38.631149&longitude=-90.405718&geocode=ADDRESS

Women across the Cross-cultural Spectra

2009-09-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

CRA (Islamic cultural Revival & Advancement) Invites you to a lecture on

Presentation and open discussion on

Women across the Cross-cultural Spectra

A discussion about women in different religious and cultural traditions

Compare and contrast women's issues in systems of faith or patriarchal ideologies,
in this case Islam with Judaism and Christianity

Speaker and discussion moderator:
Metin Bosnak, PhD
Professor of American Studies
Istanbul, Turkey

Date and Time:

Saturday October 24 2:30 - 4:30 pm

Location:
East Meeting Hall of St. Louis County Library Headquarters at Lindbergh and Clayton ( MAP )
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 63131 • (314) 994-3300

Synopsis on the topic by the speaker, Dr. Metin Bosnak

The status of women in Islam has been the topic of heated discussion especially in the last three decades. Partly the feminist movement and its influence on Muslim countries, and partly the political agendas of the ruling elite in the world account for the stereotypical representation of women in the some Muslim countries. Bias and prejudice have often succeeded to relegate Islam to a monolythical interpretation of a whole faith and civilization, and Muslim women to images of walking submissive veils who willingly suffer because they believe in Islam, and after all “Islam” means “submission.”

However, it goes without saying that, in order for us to perceive properly the one faith, religious, philosophical and political system, we must compare and contrast it with others, its equivalent in other systems of faith or patriarchal ideologies: that is, in this case Islam with Judaism and Christianity. Another problem with understanding of Islam and Muslim women is that people often look at certain issues in terms of the here and the now, often forgetting or consciously avoiding the scriptural and diachronic with what appears to be overlooked and one‐sided opiniation of the synchronic misrepresentations.

Constitution Making in Islam: Is Islamic law compatible with constitutional principles?

2009-07-09T00:40:00.000-07:00

ICRA (Islamic cultural Revival & Advancement) Invites you to a lecture on

Presentation and open discussion on

Constitution Making in Islam
How does Islamic law comport with modern constitutional principles?

Using Egypt as the primary example - we will discuss some of the challenges of
incorporating Islam into a modern Arab constitution

Speaker and discussion moderator:
Amany Ragab Hacking
Assistant Clinical Professor,
Saint Louis University School of Law

Date and Time:

Saturday July 25 2:30 - 4:30 pm

Location:
East Meeting Hall of St. Louis County Library Headquarters at Lindbergh and Clayton ( MAP )
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 63131 • (314) 994-3300

American Muslims and the American Media

2009-06-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

ICRA (Islamic cultural Revival & Advancement) Invites you to a lecture on

Presentation and open discussion on
American Muslims and the American Media

On the tense relationship between Islam, American Muslims and American media

Speaker and discussion moderator:

Tim Townsend
Religion editor of the Post-Dispatch

Tim Townsend is a well known St. Louis journalist. He is well known and respected within the local Muslim community. He has extensively covered the St. Louis Muslim community activities as well as many other religious communities in Missouri.
His familiarity with the local Muslims and their institutions in difficult time over the last 8 years gives him a unique insight into the often strained and tense interactions between Muslims and different media outlets.

Date and Time:

Saturday June 27 2:30 - 4:30 pm

Location:
Meeting Hall of St. Louis Public Library at HW-141 and Big Bend (Grand Glaize branch MAP )
(1010 Meramec Station Rd. • Manchester, MO 63021 • (636) 225-6454)

Upcoming events:

July 2009: Constitution making in Islam - Is Islamic law compatible with constitutional principles?

Prophetic Traditions (Sunna): between the People of Reason, and the People of Narration

2009-05-02T16:53:00.001-07:00

ICRA (Islamic cultural Revival & Advancement) Invites you to a lecture on

Book Review in English of the Arabic book
السنة النبوية بين أهل الفقه و أهل الحديث

(An excellent book by Mohammad Al-Ghazali, the Egyptian Muslim Scholar
on the Conflicts in approaching Sunna using Fiqh (reason) and Hadeeth (narration).
His analysis leads to interesting and very refreshing take on important issues
such as women's issues, governance, etc.

Speaker and discussion moderator:
Khaled Hamid
(The presentation will be conducted in English using PowerPoint presentation
of the key ideas of the book with examples, followed by an open and uncensored discussion)

Date and Time:

Saturday May 30 2:30 - 4:30 pm

Location:
Meeting Hall of St. Louis Public Library at HW-141 and Big Bend (Grand Glaize branch MAP )
(1010 Meramec Station Rd. • Manchester, MO 63021 • (636) 225-6454)

Upcoming events:

June 2009: On the tense relation between American Media, Islam and Muslims - Critical evaluation.
July 2009: Constitution making in Islam - Is Islamic law compatible with constitutional principles?

ICRA lectures and suggested topics

2009-05-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Scheduled lectures:

April 30, 2009: Prophetic Tradition between People of Reason & People of Narration: A Book Review (By Khaled Hamid) -For details click here.
June 2009: On the tense relation between American Media, Islam and Muslims: Critical evaluation. (By Tim Townsend, Religion Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
July 2009: Constitution making in Islam - Is Islamic law compatible with constitutional principles?" (By Amany Hacking, Assistant Professor, St Louis University School of Law)

Past lectures:

April 25, 2009 : Early Muslims and the Origins of Knowledge and Science (By Dr. Hayrettin Yucesoy, Assistant professor of History at Saint Louis University) -For details click here.

Early Muslims and the Origins of Knowledge and Science - April 2009

2009-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

(A Discussion of how religious sensibilities and imperial ambitions paved the way for early Muslims to embrace ancient intellectual heritages).

[The lecture will be followed by an open and uncensored question and answer session]

Speaker: Dr. Hayrettin Yucesoy
Assistant professor of History at Saint Louis University

Author of two books
1) The Development of Sunni Political Thought
2) Messianic Beliefs and Imperial Politics in Medieval Islam

Date and Time: Saturday April 25 2:30 - 4:30 pm

Location:
Meeting Hall of St. Louis Public Library at HW-141 and Big Bend ( Grand Glaize branch MAP )
(1010 Meramec Station Rd. • Manchester, MO 63021 • (636) 225-6454)

Sponsored:
This is the debut event of a series of lectures and activities co-sponsored by:

ANSAR: Muslim community for culture, service and activism (Contact Person: Ali Javed)
ICRA: Islamic Culture Revival and Advancement (Contact person: Khaled Hamid e-mail: ICRA.ol @ gmail.com)

What this group (ICRA) and this blog is all about.

2009-03-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Many discussions amongst St. Louis area Muslims tend to gravitate towards expressing dissatisfaction with the limited intellectual activity that our community is exposed to in local traditional Islamic institutions. It could be a result of the fairly small size (and limited diversity) amongst area Muslims, but that is no consolation for many of us who are eager to live in a more interesting, and intellectually challenging life community.

This posting introduces to you a little project that I (Khaled Hamid) have been working on. It has the 'pompous' name of Islamic Cultural Revival & Advancement, or ICRA. ICRA sounds like the Arabic word for Read/Recite, which is the first word revealed in the Quran and a part of first 5 verses that enjoins believers to learn, and reminds them that they need to use the gift God endowed humans with, the ability to write.

READ in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created;
created man out of a germ-cell!
Read - for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One;
who has taught [man] the use of the pen;
taught man what he did not know!
(Quran, Chapter 96:1-5)

I intend to try putting together a series of lectures on topics relevant to the Muslim community, but are not 'religious teaching' lectures.

Topics range from 'Can Islam coexist with Democracy?' to 'Religious foundations of Early Islamic Scientists', and including topics such as by Women's Rights in Muslim Communities, Media and Islam, Minority treatment in Muslim Countries over the Centuries, etc.

My hope it to be able to arrange for local and visiting academics (Muslims and non-Muslims) to conduct lectures once every one or two months in a public hall that is not a part of any of the local religious institutions.

I also hope that the topics with be interesting and intellectually stimulating (and even provocative). And I hope the discussions -- that will be a important part of those lectures -- will be respectful; but free from censorship, self-imposed or external.

The lectures will be open to the public, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The format will be flexible and includes traditional lectures followed by Q&A session, debate formats, 'Pro and Anti' panel presentations followed by moderated open discussion session, and small group discussions, depending on the topic. I believe the topics and depth will generally be of high quality, yet should be amenable to a 14-16 year old to follow. So, all family members will be welcome. Lecture will assume no significant previous knowledge of Islam, and as such will be also equally useful to non-Muslims audience.

ICRA 'group' is currently has a membership of one - myself only - with consultancy advice for Dr. Hayrettin Yucesoy, Assistant Professor of History at SLU, and the kind support from ANSAR, a new St. Louis grass root activism and community service group.

No fund-raising is requested. All I hope for is that you please consider attending events, morally supporting the effort, and spreading the word around.

This may the beginning of something really good. But if it does not get as huge as I hope for it, I think getting together with others that respect reason, freedom of expression, critical thinking and free discussions could simply be fun.

Khaled