THE ISLAMIC COUNCIL OF NEW ENGLAND
Education Committee
Dr. Naseema Khan, Chair
Dr. M Saleem Bajwa, Co-Chair
Purpose:
The Education Committee (EC) of the Islamic Council of New England (ICNE) is established for
advancing the Islamic education and understanding among American Muslims in the New
England region. The Committee considers two activities essential to addressing the current issues
and providing direction to the young Muslims as they enter the real world with all its challenges
and opportunities:
1. Organize and conduct educational programs that are important to American Muslims.
Awareness of likely future challenges and preparedness to adequately face them are
essential components of education for living as responsible citizens and contributing to
the wellbeing of the society. Commitment to seeking knowledge, learning Islam, self-
discipline, personal development, and interpersonal relations are effective means to
combat, for example, a culture of hate, racial tension, religious extremism, and gun
violence; and to create an environment of peaceful coexistence with dignity and honor.
2. In the pursuit of the above goal, the EC endeavors to help the local Islamic weekend
schools by holding teachers’ training and development sessions. Experts in the field are
invited to hold these sessions and share their vision, knowledge, and experience with
class instructors. Teachers’ training and enhancement is critical to their performance in
the classroom and their ability to engage students productively. They need to constantly
sharpen their skills to teach the Quran, Arabic language, and the Islamic study courses
effectively.
3. As part of implementation of the above programs, the EC is planning to organized in
2017 several workshops to educate our young and old citizens about the US constitution
and make them aware of their rights and duties under the constitution. In addition, effort
will be made to facilitate their understanding of the election process of the country.
Programs Organized so far :
Some selected programs, organized, provide the scope of the EC activities. A program on gun
violence and its impact on Muslims in America was organized at the Islamic Association of
Greater Hartford (IAGH), Berlin, Connecticut. The program was co- sponsored by ICNE/ EC
and IAGH. It was very well attended and successfully conducted.
A Teachers’ Development Workshop was organized in Connecticut. It was conducted by Dalia
Qassem, a certified teacher, and Maryam Khan, a teacher at Medina Academy. The program was
open to all teachers in the area.
A lecture program on the life of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and why Muslims love him so
much was presented, under the auspices of the ICNE/EC, by Iffat Maqbool, a learned scholar of
Islam of international stature. The program was presented at different locations, including the
Islamic Center of New England/Sharon, MA, and the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center,
Roxbury, MA.
In the general election year 2016, the focus of the Committee was on the voters’ registration. It
needs to be emphasized that participation in the political process is a civic duty. Every individual
in the country is affected by the outcome of the election, Muslims included (as most of us are
currently experiencing). As responsible citizens, it is a duty of every Muslim to learn the
democratic process and participate in the election. The Committee had encouraged Islamic
Centers to hold meetings and workshops for the education and benefit of their constituents and
motivate them to register and cast their votes on the Election Day.
For the current year 2017, EC is planning workshops about:
a) Constitution and b) Election process at various centers in New England.