2006 CONFERENCE REPORT | ||
Unity of All Submitters [2:62] Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in GOD, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. Praise be to God, this was the 21st annual United Submitters International Conference. This year, the conference was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Tucson, Arizona from August 4th through the 6th. A large crowd of submitters, over 230, from around the world gathered to share ideas and to commemorate God. The theme this year was the unity of all submitters. The Friday prayer was led by Joseph from southern California. His wonderful khutba (sermon) reminded us to arrange our priorities, always putting God first. If we do that, all worldly things will fall into place. After Abdullah’s usual warm welcome, we were treated to a quiz from the Quran. We formed large groups, which gave submitters a chance to meet one another, working together to find the most words in each category. It was fun to see how much we knew from the Quran. Working together is how we | should face all our problems, pooling our wisdom and knowledge. Thanks to Carishma and Yasser for putting the games together. Several first time attendees then told how they came to submission, bringing their enthusiasm to energize everyone. The zikr (meditation) Friday and Saturday evenings was beautiful as always. Meauvell, Parivash and several others led the group in musical commemoration of God. Everyone’s voices blending together to praise and worship God was awe-inspiring. The talks were informative, fun, heartwarming and inspirational. There was personal sharing, which is always touching, and there were well-prepared power point talks that informed and stimulated us all. So many things that we can learn from each other. The sharing of thoughts and ideas helps us all to grow in submission. Too soon it was Sunday noon and we had to share last hugs and say goodbye to old and new friends alike. Perhaps because it was so hard to part, at least half of the attendees came to Masjid Tucson for a pizza party. We’ve never seen so many people in the Mosque at one time. It was wonderful!! It was hot and perhaps we didn’t have enough food in time for some people, but no one minded. It was just a time to be together before we had to say goodbye for another year. May God bless the organizers of the conference for all their hard work putting the event together. Thanks to Faiz, Kenan and Mahdi for their duties as emcees. They did a great job. Peace and blessings upon everyone who made the effort to attend—to share their ideas and absorb ideas from others. May God | keep us united and at peace, and allow us to spread His message to the world. God willing, the conference for next year was tentatively planned for the second weekend of August in Ontario, California. Normally we hold the conference in the first week of August, but the organizers could not find suitable hotel with enough meeting space available for that week. But God willing they will try to move the dates to one week earlier if the hotel meeting space becomes available. Let us know right away if it’s hard for you to attend that second weekend before the dates are finalized. Peace [18:28] You shall force yourself to be with those who worship their Lord day and night, seeking Him alone. Do not turn your eyes away from them, seeking the vanities of this world. Nor shall you obey one whose heart we rendered oblivious to our message; one who pursues his own desires, and whose priorities are confused. [29:46] Do not argue with the people of the scripture (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) except in the nicest possible manner—unless they transgress—and say, “We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and the same; to Him we are submitters.” Give ear to my words, O Lord, |
