ISNA comes back to Memphis

Photo by Saira Sikandar

Lyba Naseer, Sahil Malani, Safwan and Hassan Arshad sit at the 901 Ummah table. They sold 901 phone cases and stickers.

Islamic Society of North America hosted its annual conference in Memphis, Tennessee on Oct. 7 at the Hilton Memphis where adults and youth attended six sessions of various local and national speakers.

The conference began at 9:30 a.m. with Session 1. ISNA Conference Chair Sameer Mansour moderated the introductory session. ISNA Conference Youth Chair Safi Khan and Board Member Sehrish Siddiqui introduced the conference and the various sessions.

Session 2 began at 10 a.m. with Ihsan Bagby and Muzammil Siddiqi discussing the future of masjids in America. Bashar Shala moderated the session. Imam Anwar Arafat and Muzammil Siddiqi spoke about finding faith beyond the text in Session 3 at 11:30 a.m. while Omar Al-Ani moderated.

Session 3a was one of the MYNA (Muslim Youth of North America) sessions. Wajahat Ali spoke on his life and how it shaped who he has become. Session 4 and MYNA session 4a were combined due to time restraints. Irem Khan and Sara Halim moderated Ihsan Bagby, Yasir Qadhi and Yasmin Mogahed as they discusses loving Allah (SWT) and personal changes.

Session 5 and 5a were also combined with Pleasant View Principal Mohammad Malley, Yasmin Mogahed and Yasir Qadhi with Maryam Taysir and Halla Mustafa moderating. The panelists discussed family, education and ego from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The last session of the day was the discussion between Abdullah Al-Hajj, Rashad Sharif, Imam Anwar Arafat, Yasir Qadhi and Imam Hamzah Abdul-Malik on the engagement of the community with Danish Siddiqi moderating the panelists.

The conference ended with the ISNA Celebration Banquet at 7 p.m. Sherish Siddiqui and Yasir Qadhi gave the opening remarks. Wajahat Ali gave the keynote address. Mohamed Zaghloul received the Community Service Recognition Award. Preacher Moss ended the night with his stand-up.