901 Ummah held their first workshop of the year on Friday at the Memphis Islamic Center with guest speaker Drost Kokoye, a Kurdish law student from Knoxville, Tennessee. Bringing out a large number of youth, adults, and families, Kokoye was able to create an interactive environment informing attendees about the origins of Islam in America and pointing out discrepancies found in history. Dividing Islamic history in America into 3 parts, race, region and sect, attendees were ab

901 Ummah's first "Feed the City" of 2017 took place Saturday at Morris Park in downtown Memphis and gave out food and water to people in need. The event aims to provide meals to people affected by homelessness. Over a dozen volunteers of all ages showed up to the park to help pack the meals and hand them out to anyone that needed them. Although the event was shortened due to rain, the event successfully provided food for around 20 people. The majority of the meals were deliv

University of Memphis Muslim Student Association students spent three days in the Great Smoky Mountains competing in various competitions against other universities’ MSA across Tennessee and beyond. “MSA Showdown” is a statewide competition that engages the MSA of different schools in spirituality and the arts, with competitions in art, photography, spoken word, short film, improv, nasheed, tajweed, team spirit and best team overall. The showdown is hosted by University of Te

Memphis Islamic Center Youth Director Safi Khan's "Hangouts" program returned on Saturday at MIC with attendees enjoying the afternoon at the mosque. The event focused on giving the youth as well as parents the opportunity to socialize as well as engage in their faith. During "Hangouts," attendees played soccer, basketball, video games, ate and enjoyed each other's company. The event concluded with everyone congregating together to pray Asr together. Attendees had positive fe

Masjid Ar-Rahman held its first Youth Night on Saturday night and brought out young guys and girls from around the area. The event started with a social barbeque at Memphis Islamic Center and progressed into the night. Individuals from different masjids gave short talks on the importance of being young Muslims. After Maghrib prayer, Ar-Rahman Program Director Omar Alani and MIC Youth Director Safi Khan joined forces and talked together on the topic of the night. At Isha praye

Memphis Islamic Center’s Youth Director Safi Khan and the Rhodes College Muslim Student Association hosted a college hangout titled “Balancing College and Faith,” on Wednesday. "With finals coming up, it was a timely reminder that I think all in attendance benefitted from immensely,” said Hamid Shirwany, a sophomore at Rhodes and president of the MSA. Khan opened the discussion by noting the reality that life is full of struggles- anything worth pursuing will require effort a

Memphis Islamic Center's flourishing youth program hosted another event lead by Safi Khan, the mosque's youth director, on Saturday. Youth talked with friends and ate barbecue at "Grill and Chill" the picnic Khan created to allow students to a break from school and everyday life. Over 100 people attend the picnic, enjoying hamburgers made by Adam Munshi, a member of 901 Ummah. “Grilling has always been a staple thing (my friends and I) like to do, so we translated that out to

Starting at a new time, Youth Director Safi Khan started his “A Beautiful Life” class at 8 p.m. on Friday rather than the usual 7:30 p.m. time with a bigger crowd attending. Khan highlighted the importance of the definition of sabr (صَبْرٌ). The word is often associated with fasting and patience, however patience is like "getting stuck in a downpour and waiting for it to pass," it is gathering the courage and keep going. Thus perseverance better defines the term “saber.” Khan

Artists and poets within the Muslim community came out to showcase their work at the "Bluff City Art and Poetry Slam on Sunday at the University of Memphis. Around 40 people came to see the numerous art pieces donated by the artists and hear spoken words and poetry by the poets. Fatema Habib and Lyba Naseer, members of 901 Ummah, organized the event to promote the arts within the community. Naseer organized the event "to allow young Muslims to showcase their artistic talents,

The "A Beautiful Life series continued this week with Youth Director Safi Khan about resistance, humility and exile. Khan began by discussing the viral video of Ibn Ali Miller who stopped between two high schoolers in Atlanta. Khan explained Miller's bravery as he faced off against the rowdy teens. Miller's story lead into the reason there was so much resistance against the Prophet (PBUH). Many opposed his message because they saw it as a threat to the norm and their we