Once again, it was that time of year. As the annual Pakistan Day Picnic hosted by the Pakistani Civic Association of Staten Island approached, we…
The message behind the words is the voice of the heart - Rumi
The message behind the words is the voice of the heart - Rumi
Once again, it was that time of year. As the annual Pakistan Day Picnic hosted by the Pakistani Civic Association of Staten Island approached, we…
Last night Shahid and I were guests of Javaid Syed at his table for a fundraiser for Karwan-e-Ilm (www.karawaneilm.org which translates to Caravan of Knowledge), a non-profit…
For me, leadership has been always been “self-leadership”, i.e. challenging myself to achieve more than the norm. Leadership has also been in the form of…
Yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny and crisp, as we drove to do our Eid prayers at Jerrahi Mosque. All the regulars were there, plus many one-time visitors, who we only see on Eid. As always, Jerrahi is a microcosm of the world’s cultures, beauty and differences which are to be celebrated. South Asians, Arabs, Americans, Turks, Brazilians, Argentinians (of German origin), etc. etc. This is what makes Jerrahi different than other mosques, and it is this transnational, spiritual quality that attracts all of us there again and again. And of course, our learned shaikh, Baba Tohsin – architect, artist, real estate investor, imam, scholar, Francophone perhaps, and a preserver of the best that Ottoman culture of Turkey had to offer.