THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY CENTER 4380 N. Elston Avenue, Chicago, IL 60641 Phone: 773 725 9047; Fax: 773 725 1616 8601 N Menard St, Morton Grove, IL 60053 Phone: 847 470 8801; Fax: 847 470 8873 9301 Gross Point Rd, Skokie, IL 60076 Phone: 224 534 7638

MCC Elston Ave

MEC Morton Grove

Sharp Corner School, Skokie 48th Annual Report Annual General Body Meeting January 15 2017 www.mccchicago.org

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Table of Contents

Description Page President’s Address, 2017 3 Executive Council 4 Board of Directors 4 Bylaws Committee 5 Nomination Committee 5 Election Committee 5 IT/Website Committee 5 Membership Committee 5 Outreach and Interfaith Committee 6 Publication Committee 7 Education Committee 7 Counseling Committee 7 Health Awareness Committee 7 Seniors Activities Committee 8 Women Activities Committee, MCC & MEC 8 Youth Camp 8 MCC Multipurpose Room Committee 8 MCC Representatives to CIOGC 8 Religious Affairs Committee 9 Cemetery Committee 9 Dawa Committee 10 Rehab and Welfare Committee 10 Friday Prayer Committee at MCC 10 Friday Prayer at O’Hare 10 Friday Prayer Committee at MEC 11 Special Events Committee at MEC & at MCC 11 Part Time School Councils (Academic & Administrative) 12 MCC and MEC Sunday Schools 12 MCC Saturday School 12 Evening Schools 12 MCC Academy & Council 13 Committee of Directors of Education 13 Education Development Council 13 Youth Council 13 Building Committee, MEC 14 Building Committee, MCC 14 Annual Dinner Committee 15 Budget Committee 15 Food & Fun Fair Committee 15 Investment Committee 15

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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful MCC 2017 - President’s Address Dear Brothers and Sisters, Assalamu Alaikum: Welcome to the 48th Annual General Body Meeting.

We begin with the name of Allah (SWT), we thank Him to offer us the right path to success through His beloved messenger, Mohammad (SAW) and made him a blessing for the entire universe. MCC remains one of the premier centers of excellence in community service, outreach and education for Muslims in the greater Chicago area. MCC is also proud of its diverse community where Muslims from all walks of life, origin and gender attend its services. This diversity brings some challenges along its way, but Alhamdolillah MCC is always successful to face and resolve those challenges. And for that we all should be thankful to Allah (SWT).

After a lot of struggle and meetings with Alderman and city people, we were able to get the safety crossing outside MCC in the shape of an Island. This has increased the safety of our children and pedestrians. Inauguration was done in the month of September.

I am also happy to announce that City of Chicago has issued us the permit to build the mezzanine at MCC. We are now looking for bids to choose the best bidder. The goal is to Inshaallah build the mezzanine before the month of Ramadan. Then again we will start having one Juma prayer at MCC. Just like any other modern Masjid, MCC will also have the mezzanine. This will alleviate the congestion for sisters space and will provide them more space and privacy. Once again, Alderman had endorsed the construction of mezzanine.

To meet the demands of our youth, we have hired a Youth and seniors coordinator (Mohsin Ishaq) who joined towards the end of 2016. Inshaallah he will be helping coordinate the youth and seniors programs in collaboration with MCC Academy.

The following pages summarize the activities at MCC during the year 2016 and list the names of Department Heads, committee chairs, co-chairs, Board members, Schools, Councils, and Executive Council. Volunteer work is best implemented when supplemented with a paid office staff, such as cleaning staff, office associates, accountants and Imams. This allows us to strengthen and improve the services to the community. I need your help in many areas including membership committee. Please volunteer in any of the committees you feel like.

MCC has its full time Imam for more than a year now and is making an impact in not only MCC but to outreach communities also. Together, our three Imams are responsible for most of the tasks of Religious Affairs.

Our Office Associate Saif Mazhar got another job and therefore he has left us for his new position. We are again lucky to have Yusuf Umar as our Office/Building coordinator. He is very dedicated, and hard working. Having his background in finances, he will also be helping improve our Treasurer department.

MCC finances are audited every year. For the last two years, a different independent company is auditing MCC finances. Report will be presented by the Treasurer.

I thank Allah (SWT) and you all for the trust you have placed in me and providing me the opportunity to serve you. Allah’s will and your support has helped and inspired us to do all we have been able to do. I extend my sincere gratitude to all the community members, Board members, Committee chairpersons and all of its members. I further request your support, encouragement and cooperation. May Allah (SWT) continue to purify our intentions and hearts, forgive our sins and shortcomings, grant us strength in our faith and allow us to flourish as a humble community. Mohammad Sarwar Nasir President

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EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: Mohammad Sarwar Nasir, President Vice-President The Executive Council per MCC Bylaws is the shoora council (consultative Ateeq Ansari body) of president and includes Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Secretary immediate past president and department heads. Executive Council meets Ali Quadri almost every weekend and more if needed for urgent matters. With the help of Treasurer Mohammad different committees and Councils, President as Chief Executive of the Basheeruddin organization, runs day to day business of MCC in consultation with Executive Ex-Officio Council. Council also discusses and overseas the progress of different Mohammad committees under the departments. In addition, separate meetings were also Aleemuddin held with various councils and committees for better coordination and Dept. of assistance. Executive Council keeps abreast of different day to day activities, Administration MCC/MEC office, Treasurer’s office and tries to solve any day to day issues Masood Bijapuri with mutual consultation. Dept. of Community Services Dept. of Operations Mazhar Khan Dept. of Finance Tariq Malhance Dept. of Religious Affairs Nazim Mangera Assistant Secretary Khadija Ahmed Assistant Treasurer Kashif Puthawala

BOARD OF DIRECTORS M. Sarwar Nasir Mohammad Aleemuddin The Board of Directors meet normally on second Sunday of every month to Ateeq Ansari deliberate and vote on various policy matters. Occasionally meetings change to 3rd Mohammad Sundays because of conflict of schedules. The meetings always start with recitation Basheeruddin of Quran and a brief explanation. Board members take turns in hosting lunch before Masood Bijapuri the meeting. Most of the meetings start on time, and finish within 2 to 2 ½ hours. Tariq Malhance Every board meeting has 10 minutes specified for public comments in the beginning. Ayesha Sultana Board meetings are open to the members as observers. Atiya Usman Yusuf Mirza Several joint sessions of the Board and Committee chairs were also held to Ali Quadri Musarrat Khan deliberate on matters to be presented to the General Body, like the approval of yearly Tahera Ahmed budget. The Board started the year with the election of Directors-at-Large and Ayesha Ali appointments of some of the executives and the standing committees for Bylaws, Saba Khan Nominations, and Directors for Education. All Board meetings include a report by the Asrar Ahmed President covering day-to-day activities, and a report by the Treasurer covering key Mazhar Khan financial transactions and overall financial health of the organization. Various Anas Gandhi committee and council chairs are invited from time to time to keep the Board Hashim Weiso informed on the progress of the respective committees’ work. In the special May Aalia Ammar meeting, the board deliberated on and approved MCC budget for the whole fiscal Shaizan Malik year. Khadija Ahmed Shahjehan

Honorary member Imam Nazim Mangera

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ADMINISTRATION: Masood Bijapuri Department Head

The Bylaws Committee provided guidance with interpretation of the Bylaws Bylaws Committee and implementation of the new amendments. The Committee established and proposed Saba Khan policy and procedure for lending to other Not for Profit organizations. The Board voted Asrar Ahmed and adopted the policy on October 9, 2016. The Bylaws Committee also assisted the Habib Abbasi MCC election committee in decision making for the 2016 election schedule. Usman Baki Carol Rahim

Year 2016 nomination required the filling of one woman director, one young Muslim and Nomination five general directors positions. Nomination process started early July. After getting Committee nomination from general membership, NOMINATORS were requested to give their Khalid Mujtaba preference. After this step, nomination by petition was invited. In November, Nomination Rasheed Khan Committee provided the final list of the candidates to Election Committee to conduct the Masood Sharief elections.

Election Committee conducts elections every year according to the approved election Election Committee procedure. In year 2016, the election was conducted on December 25, 2016 due to the Samina Hussain postponement of elections from the original date of December 11, 2016 because of Irtafa Usman severe weather conditions on December 11th. The elections were conducted at MCC and Usman Baki MEC from 10 am to 3 PM. The elections were held for five General Directors, one Masood Bijapuri Woman Director and one Young Muslim Director. After getting the final list from Rasheed Khan Nomination Committee, Election Committee started the process of absentee ballots. The Masood Sharief Committee completed the absentee ballot requests. There were total of 27 absentee ballot requests. Election committee then arranged a Candidates’ Forum on December 4th. The members had the opportunity to hear the views of the candidates and ask questions. Because of the difficulties in election process the committee will be proposing much needed changes in MCC election process. Some of the proposals will be an earlier timeline to allow more time for election season by changing the election cycle to earlier portion of the year. The proposal will also include early voting opportunities, procedures for emergency postponement of election, multiple candidate forums and eliminating provisional ballots.

During 2016, IT committee was very busy. 1. New website layout: 2. Enabled secured payment for Information online donations. Online donation was about $40,000 during last year (about $25,000 during Technology / Ramadan). 3. Direct credit card payments from online with secured connection without having to Website go through paypal process. 4. Created online Membership Form. User can directly submit forms Abid Munshi online (with membership fee payment). 5. Supported various committees for their IT needs (PC/ Ateeq Ansari Printer maintenance). Future IT Activities Shahjehan Work with respective committees to develop online forms for Facilities Reservation, Zakat Request and matrimonial Submission. Buy new printer (with advanced scanning capability) to digitized OLD legacy paper documents. Replace OLD computers with new.Train new volunteers for IT committee tasks (Website posting etc.). Membership Abrar Barkat Membership committee bought a printing machine for ID cards to provide to all members. Iqtidar Ahmed Membership committee is working to develop some software to track all members addresses and membership fees. Most of the membership issues are currently being held by the MCC Staff and accountants.

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COMMUNITY SERVICES Tariq Malhance Department Head Year 2016 was very productive and challenging for the Interfaith and outreach committee. Outreach & Some of the activities throughout the year were as follows; Interfaith Akhter Sadiq 1. A seminar was held on Feb 21 at MCC- Elston titled, "How African Americans helped Dilnaz Waraich paved the way for all of us”. Alia Bilal emceed and Dr. Alia Ammar, Imam Mathew Azhar Quader Ramadan, Dr Kamran Riaz were the speakers. Anjum Ali 2. A civic engagement event named "Voters rights" was organized on March 6 in Naushina collaboration with South Asian Americans policy & research Institute (SAAPRI) at MEC- Rahman Morton grove. Anisa Laliwala 3. In collaboration with Open communities and Jewish voice for peace, helped organize Rashida and participated in "Pro Muslim rally" in down town Evanston on March 20. Najiullah 4. At the request of Glenview community church, a meeting was held on March 29 in Donelle support of Muslims and to enhance mutual relationship between two communities. Bergeson 5. April 17. Attended a program at Temple Jeremiah titled, "What do scriptures teach" on Ayesha Sultana April 17. MCC board member, Tahera Ahmed was the Muslim speaker. At the same place, Nazim Mangera The Goldner lecture series was attended on April 30. Youth core interfaith representative Ateeq Ansari Eboo Patel was the speaker. Mohammed 6. Glenview community church in Glenview hosted a breakfast with Islamic Centers on Basheeruddin May 7. This was their gesture to be with Muslims despite hate rhetoric. Umar Ali 7. Participated in Civic engagement- Leadership forum of south Asian communities hosted Mumtaz Darbar by SAAPRI on May 19. Zia Usman 8. Hosted an Interfaith Iftar at MEC on June 14 in the month of Ramadan. About 250 Atiya Usman people including Morton Grove, Skokie and Lincolnwood Village officials and clergies Dr Abdul Gafoor attended. 9. In the same month of Ramadan, hosted a Community outreach Iftar at MCC- Elston facility on June 25. About 125 guests including some social organizations, clergies and police Commander of our district attended. 10. Hosted "Abrahamic story telling" event at MEC on September 7. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Baha'i and Sikh speakers shared their perspectives. 11. Arranged a Morton Grove interfaith peace walk on September 25. Solidarity of faith and village community with Muslims, walked the streets of MG and assembled at MEC to enjoy our hospitality. 12. In collaboration with Chicago Architectural Society, hosted "Chicago Open House" at MCC- Elston on October 15. This was a unique event in which 200 sites were chosen by Chicago Architectural society to explore and MCC was one of them. Over 200 visitors got firsthand look into the MCC Mosque and our programs. 13. Arranged an "open Mosque day" at MEC- Morton Grove facility on October 16. About 75 guests were entertained by tour of the Mosque, our programs, observance of prayer and with gift bags. 14. Participated in an event of Catholics support of Muslims at St. Jogues Church in Niles on October 18. About 20 MCC community members attended the event. Prof. Inamul Haq spoke about similarities between Islam and Christianity. On each table, discussions were held about different topics. 15. Phone banking was setup in collaboration with SAAPRI at MEC on November 1. The MCC khateeb at both locations encouraged the community to be active in civic engagement, voter registration and go out to vote. The voters were encouraged for early voting. 16. Two event were organized at MEC on November 13 and November 20 o address post -election community concerns and to understand how the minorities like Afro-Americans, Jews, Muslims, Latinos and some Christians are concerned. The event was titled as "Empowering Diverse Voice" where Mufti Nazim, Sadia Sindhu, Dr. Alia Ammar and Latinos, Jews, Christian and African American leaders addressed the big gathering. 18. Interfaith Thanksgiving gatherings were attended at St. Luke's church in Morton Grove and other churches and synagogues in Skokie, Northfield, Winnetka and Evanston on November 23. The programs were written up by Naushina Rahman in last few editions of "Message". The events were photographed and disseminated by Br Syedullah of Pakistan Times.. Pioneer press reporter and photographer published many positive stories.

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COMMUNITY SERVICES (Continued): Tariq Malhance Department Head PublicationDEPARTMENT The OFPublication COMMUNITY Committee SERVICES:is responsible for Kamran the compilation, Hussain, Department publication, Head and dispatching - Shabnum to its members - of the MCC monthly newsletter The Message, and the Prayer Timetable in Mahmood a timely fashion. Because of her new baby, committee Chair could not dedicate her time Naja Bhatty towards the programs. However, Co-Chair was quite active in collecting articles, editing Javed Bhatty and submitting for publication. The committee – within its resources - is also striving to enhance the scope and readership of its publications for which it is thankful to its staff Hafiz Ikhlas working on voluntary basis. In order to meet its budgetary obligations, the committee is also Ansari successfully pursuing local businesses to advertise in both the publications. The efforts are Mohammad visibly bearing fruit but more is needed to be successful on a consistent basis, inshaAllah! Sabihuddin Committee will be starting a special column for MCC Imam as “From Imam’s desk”. In year 2016, publication committee also conducted a unique program of inviting MCC alumni media panel to talk about US election results and after effects.

Educational Programs Committee offerings at MEC have included weekly dars-e-Qur’an Educational conducted by Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari, continuing education classes in Tajweed and Arabic Committee studies, a weekly program in October on Qur’anic literacy. Several individual lecture Amjad Quadri programs were also offered. Surah Kahaf Tafseer is conducted by Hafiz Ikhlas every Mansoor Thursday evening. Panawala The Counseling Committee has been helping the community with varying degrees of Counseling personal and interpersonal problems. The committee gives professional advice, help, and Hina Zia support for Muslims individuals and families who need it based on Islamic teachings. Qureshi Majority of the cases are related to familial problems, either marital or parent-teen conflict. S. Ali Quadri Cases are handled confidentially by the committee either by phone or in person. Currently Fouzia the committee handles about 6-12 cases a month and does its utmost to help those who Rahman reach out. Many families are in need of such services, but many seem to shy away from Nazim the help fearing the stigma or taboo attached with it. We hope that people will seek out the Mangera counseling services and obtain the support they need to overcome challenges in their lives. The committee is guided by a Licensed Professional Counselor and includes women and men to allow for multiple avenues.

Health awareness committee like previous years has been providing awareness of Health Health and Health Insurance needs. Committee worked hard with the UOC team on a very Awareness prestigious Breast Cancer Trial in which we were able to provide free breast cancer Fauzia Lodhi screening with free mammograms and education to our community. Ayesha The committee was also able to have the UOC pay community women for their time. Sultana Every Sunday the committee provided health screening at MEC along with nutritional Azher Quader support by the dietitian and physical therapy was available. M. Gafoor The committee is looking forward and working on mental health and adolescent awareness Ejaz Rahim programs. We may use our resources in the future for expert services for mental health

screening and lectures.

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DEPARTMENTCOMMUNITY SERVICES OF COMMUNITY (Continued): SERVICES: Tariq Malhance Kamran Hussain, Department Department Head Head Senior Activities Senior’s committee organized two pot luck luncheon getting together with seniors and M. Zia Usman their family members to celebrate Eidul Fitr and Eidul Adha. There were three other Gulam Panawala cost to cost once a month luncheon get together in which guest speakers were invited to speak on health related issues such as cardiac problems in South Asian community and Alzheimer diseases in old generation and how to management. In one program benefits of exercise were also discussed and some exercise moves were

demonstrated by physical therapist in our senior group. Also in some of the programs our talented seniors entertained the crowd with suitable jokes and poetries. Committee is looking forward to improve the senior programs in working with newly hired youth Women’s and senior program director. Committee, MEC MEC women's committee has been involved with a lot of activities. Some of the Fouzia Rahman Programs for year 2016 were as follows; Mahmooda 1. Monthly Urdu Tarbia program; 2. Matrimonial Services; 3.Hajj seminar; 4. Eid Party; Ahmed 5. Clothes Drive- in collaboration with Helping Hands; 6. Zakat program help; 7. Senior Faiza Alam, women exercise program @ MEC; 8.Ramadan volunteer support; 9. MCC Food and Fatima Minhaj , Fun Fair volunteer support. Every program has been well attended and Zohra Patel, successful. The Committee is always looking for ideas to improve and implement. Aliya Rana Some of the programs for year 2017 include; Moms and kids play group; New Muslim Zeba Hussain sisters education and Food drive.

Women’s Committee, MCC The MCC Womens Committee was established on February 2016. Jazmin Cervantes, Jazmine Cervantes was appointed chair of the committee and sister Sawdah Mangera was appointed co- Anjam Ali chair. During the year we had several successful events for women in the community, Sawda Mangera such as the "Mother Daughter Potluck" and "Ladies Night". These events were created to empower women and reach out to sisters living in the community. We also collaborated with sister Rebecca from Muslimahs of Chicago and the MCC Dawah Committee for the “Welcoming Ramadan” event and the "Eid Potluck Fiesta", and hosted an event for children during Ramadan. Aside from our larger events, we host halaqas for sisters on a monthly basis hoping to bring sisters together in the community. We also commenced a WhatsApp group where we host weekly Q&As with a monthly Halaqa and award the Q&A winner at the end of each month. A Facebook page was created for the committee to promote our events. Alhamdullilah we stayed within our budget range, which is $2000 for the year. We look forward to building additional new programs for the sisters this upcoming year and collaborate with the sisters at MEC. Jazak Allah Khair for this opportunity. Youth Camp The Youth camp held the 35th Annual MCC Muslim Youth Camp for girls and boys Aamina Ali separately. Both camps were very successful with about100 girls (including Tanveer Mallick counselors and 4 adult staff), and approximately 50 in boys camp.

MCC Multipurpose room at MCC: MCC multipurpose room is being continuously used for Multipurpose religious books and computer classes. Every Sunday, basic computer classes are Room being taught by Professor Hashim Abdella. Some of the topics being covered include Mohammad Desai Micro soft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, creating email, creating folders, Zip or Hashim Waiso unzip files. Upon completing this course, students are able to use Microsoft office for Mohammad daily business operation or personnel use. Sabihuddin . Saif Mazhar MCC Representative, Mohammed Kaiseruddin, completed his term as the CIOGC Chairman at the end of an eventful 2016. CIOGC continued its mission of enhancing MCC the bonds between diverse segments of the Chicagoland Muslim community. With Representatives of CIOGC help and cooperation from MCC, CIOGC developed programs to protect young Mohammad Muslims from falling prey to the misguidance of foreign terrorist organizations. A multi- Kaiseruddin disciplinary team of experts is developing training programs for this purpose. CIOGC Tariq Malhance continued its regular programs of engaging with leaders of other faiths, elected officials Musarrat Khan and members of the media. In the aftermath of the election of Mr. Trump, who has

expressed opposition to Islam and Muslims, CIOGC is exploring the potential threats to the well-being of our community and planning ways to combat any hateful actions. 8

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: Mufti Nazim Mangera Department Head Religious Members of the Religious Affairs Committee were very active in arranging various Affairs activities of facilitation of the five daily congregational prayers, khatira after Fajr Salaah, Committee performing nikah (marriage) ceremony, hajj seminar, salat-ul janaaza, maintenance of Nazim Mangera MCC’s widely circulated monthly prayer time table, and monitoring of the moon sighting Hafiz Ikhlas and the associated confirmation of the date of the beginning of new Islamic months. Maulana

Muniruzzaman

MCC Cemetery committee provides funeral services to Muslims, members and non- Cemetery members alike. Mufti Haroon Firdausi works as an independent funeral director and as Committee primary contact, when someone passes away. Mufti Haroon picks up the body, washes Ejaz Rahim the body at MCC facility, provides the coffin and completes the death certificate. MCC (Chair) office people fill all pertinent paperwork prior to burial for records and allocation of grave Saif Mazhar to the deceased. Rashed Ali Rosehill cemetery is not taking new burials. The only burials to take place at Rosehill Khan Cemetery are the pre-reserved graves and allotments. There are no more graves left in Yusuf Mirza Rosehill for MCC or its members to buy. Farzana Razwi Total numbers of graves purchased from Rosehill -3271. Current number of burials at Rosehill are -1769. Cost for pre-reserved graves is $500 for concrete liner. The cost for opening and closing at Rosehill is $1,225 Mon-Fri, $1,275 for Saturday burial and$1,625 for the Sunday burial. Sunday burials at Rosehill cemetery should be notified 10:30 am Saturday. The costs and charges related to Bohemian Cemetery are as follows. MCC charges $500 for grave and $500 for concrete liner. The cost for opening and closing is $1,120 Mon-Fri. Sat, $1,275 for Saturdays and $2,100 for Sundays. The Bohemian National Cemetery Total purchased graves 2575 Total number of burial for adults from Jan-Dec is 75 Total number of burial for Babies 0.5 graves from Jan-Dec is 25 Total number of graves occupied from Jan-Dec is 12 1/2 All burials are on the Central Park side of Cemetery the Pulaski side has not been used. . At Bohemian National Cemetery, so far 172 graves have been used. During 2015, a total of 107 deceased were buried at Bohemian cemetery. This also includes some 1/2 graves for babies. All burials are on the Central Park side of Cemetery. The Pulaski side has not been used. A total of 79 liners were used during 2015. MCC has a total of 2575 graves at this cemetery. At Rosehill Cemetery, so far MCC has a total of 1758 burials. A total of 18 deceased were buried at this Cemetery during the year 2015. All the MCC graves at this Cemetery are now reserved and therefore there is no further sale at Rosehill. Around 300 liners are in the stock. Funeral services are also sometimes arranged for the unclaimed deceased Muslims where all the expenses are covered from MCC funeral fund. Poor families can also be helped from Zakat funds if the families fill in the Zakat application. Although the funeral services are provided round the clock as needed, officially the Cemetery Committee met at least 3 times. Various cleanliness issues of the body washing room. Were identified and brought to the attention of Funeral director who agreed to take care of those issues. Since there is no formal written contract between the Funeral Director and MCC, a contract needs to be developed. Various issues were also discussed with building committee to improve upon the facility. There were some complaints regarding Bohemian Cemetery administration that we continuously keep on addressing. A formal meeting with the Bohemian Cemetery is needed.

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RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS (Continued): Mufti Nazim Mangera Department Head Dawah Committee This year MCC Dawah Committee was involved in numerous outreach events Christopher Abdul for new and Non- Muslims in our community. Karim Pavlicek Islam 101 class for new and Non- Muslims continued for the 3rd year and Diana Cruz resulted in numerous new Muslims learning not only the basics of Islam but Sabeel ahmed about all the ways MCC is there for them to get through the difficulties they may sabihuddin face from counseling, finding a job and if needed the Sadaqah which is afforded Saif Mazhar, to them when in distress. Rebecca Abuqaoud This summer we took part in numerous dawah booths at our Masjid along with Mahmood CTA locations near MCC. Abdirahman Several classes on empowering and growing as New Muslims were also given such as this last month with Shaykh Yusuf Rios. Numerous Bus Stops introducing Islam and collaborating with Gain Peace were

continued along with plans for more effective and less costly plans for the

future.

Annual Muslimahs of Chicago under the Dawah Committee again held 2 annual

gatherings which were greatly attended.

Dawah Committee promoted and supported two Eid Potluck celebrations which were

a huge success to the MCC Elston community and something we hope to continue

for years to come .

Rehab & Welfare Rehab and welfare committee has expanded its rehabilitation project into distribution Hafiz Anas Gandhi of Zakat/Sadqa and distribution of food also called Project Rizk. Under project Rizk, Asrar Ahmed with our regular food drives happening every other week, volunteers have prepared ShahJehan and distributed more than 1000 food boxes this year. The food packages include non -perishable food items such as Basmati Rice, sugar, salt, lentils, peanut butter, evaporated milk, canned beans, canned fruits, pasta, spaghetti, cereal, and tea. About 20-25 Members from the MEC community help with the drive. Also, a Qurbani meat drive for families, toy drive for kids, and a clothing drive for Syrian Refugees was successful. Another favorite service event held was with the MCC Academy

middle school students called Bagged Lunch. This event focused on serving our

homeless non-Muslim brothers and sisters in Chicago. With two Bagged Lunch

events combined, the kids made about 1000+ lunches/individual sandwiches.

Rehab team gets together at MCC every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month to interview about 40 to 50 families each session. The team tries to assist the applicants financially as much as possible and attempts to create a plan for families to get back on track. Lately, we have started soup kitchen and are providing cooked food to whoever comes for help.

Friday Committee at MCC started two Juma prayers every Friday in 2016. It seems to have worked out very well in terms of parking situation, since we have limited Friday Prayer at parking in MCC parking lot. Not only did it provide ease for the community but also MCC Yusuf Mirza provided great flexibility for musallees. The jummah committee invites different Yusuf Umar learned khateeb every week along with our own Imam, Mufti Mangera. We are also focusing on making people aware of future activities and programs being conducted in both MCC and MEC to attract people of all ages. In order to meet day to day expenses in MCC, we urge people to donate every Friday. We continue to strive to

keep MCC’s reputation as an organization that is willing and able to help those in

need O’Hare Friday Prayer continued to cater to airline/airport employees, travelers, and others in the area by consistently arranging Friday prayers in the chapel on mezzanine level of Terminal 2 at O’Hare International Airport. Typical attendance for Friday Prayer at these prayer services has been around 40-50 musallees. With few exceptions, O’Hare regularly assigned rotational khateebs led the prayers. With the help of CIOGC, Syed Farhatullah special arrangements were made for the parking and prayers of Muslim Cab drivers. Quadri 10

RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS (Continued): Mufti Nazim Mangera Department Head

Friday Prayer at The MEC Jummah Committee consists of a group of over 12 MCC members who MEC help out with the logistics of arranging khutbahs at MEC every week for 2 different Kamran Hussain prayers. Duties include scheduling khateebs, collecting funds, making Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari announcements and dealing with other issues that occur every Friday. We have Amanat Ansari tried to bring in younger khateebs as well as khateebs that have had traditional Amjad Quadri Islamic training as well as ones that have grown up in the United States. We have Azam Hashmi been trying to get a consistent schedule with our khateebs and have secured 8 Habeeb Quadri regular khateebs. Although our goal was to bring in younger trained khateebs, we zia usman make sure we respected the past khateebs and the desires of the past generations. Masood Sharief As of right now, we have a schedule of Br. Ahmed Murad, Hafiz Azam Hashmi, Maulana Abdul Hakeem Dickenson, Mufti Nazim Mangera, Imam Musa Azam, Sh. Abdus Salam Roussi, Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari and Hafiz Kamran Riaz as our regular khateebs.

Committee has introduced a gift cards idea for guest khateebs. In Ramadan, committee gave all the khateebs a gift card of $50 and free lunch. Recently a video camera was purchased to start taping our khutbahs in order to keep track as well as potentially publish them online with the khateebs approval. The committee resolves

any complaints with the khutbah, by discussing in the committee and talking to the khateebs, and those that have complained. Over the past 10 months, we have had approximately 4 official complaints that have been directed to our committee and or the presidents and the khateebs. Insha Allah, we will have an ability to create a more efficient process to assess the community's response. We tried to set up a

survey but did not get enough responses to be able to assess properly. We have been posting the Jummah schedule on Facebook every week and we plan on putting up the schedule on the monitor in the lobby at MEC. We also have a text message system that goes out to about 40 people. Names of our past khateebs are available upon request. All comments and advice are welcome." Special Events at MEC During Ramadan, those offering prayers at MEC again enjoyed the all too familiar recitation of Hafiz Yousuf Abdullah during taraweeh. Special thanks to Hafiz Yousuf Shaizan Malik for all his efforts, including his after-four-rakaah tafseer. Alhamdulillah, the MEC Alber Ahmad arrangements for Ramadan went smoothly. About 50 brothers joined the Itte’kaf Ali Quadri during the last 10 days of Ramadan. Ashar Qadri

Special Events at MCC During Ramadan, MCC Special Events committee arranged for Hafiz Asim Aleem to Raja Razzak lead Isha and Taraweeh prayers. Every evening iftaar & dinner was served to about Yusuf Mirza 300 people on weekdays and about 450 on weekends. In the last ten nights of the month, MCC was filled with people who were in Itikaf as well as those who joined in for Qiyamul Layl led by two young Huffaz. Babysitting service was also available during taraweeh prayers.

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PART-TIME SCHOOLS, EDUCATIONAL COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES Part-Time Schools Part Time Schools (PTS) under MCC umbrella cater to approximately 600 Councils community children at our campuses on Elston Avenue and in Morton Grove. ACADEMIC: MCC PTS Academic and Administrative councils meet on a quarterly basis to Afsar Ali coordinate activities of the schools and to address matters related to annual budget, calendar and curriculum. Special projects related to curriculum or books ADMINISTRATIVE: included development & introduction of long needed curriculum-aligned Silvet Sheikh workbooks for 1st & 2nd grade Seerah /History & Theology, change of 8th grade Seerah/History book, and addition of specific study of contributions of women throughout the Islamic history in the curriculum for each grade.

MCC Sunday School MCC Sunday School currently has 50 teachers and 25 assistant teachers, all of Mohammad Kazim, whom are volunteers. The student enrollment in 1st through ten grades is 150, Principal with about 40% of them receiving financial assistance. The school continues to Umar Khan, Vice use Renweb school management system for teachers to maintain attendance Principal and subject scores, with provision for parents’ login as well; library access functionality is expected to be added soon. Besides children’s education, the Nazirah/Tajweed department chair continues to teach classes to around 20 adults about the rules of Tajweed, preparing & certifying them for Tajweed rules. Building upon previous year’s training of teachers, an educator with advanced degrees conducted a seminar on classroom management skills.

Enriching extracurricular activities included Speech Contest, Qirat Competition and Seerat-un-Nabi Celebration. We also have some teachers who are helping some adults with learning how to read Arabic. We are working very closely with the building committee this year to improve the security and exits around the MEC Sunday School MCC facility. Principal - Javed Bhatty The MEC Sunday School is presently serving 270 students. The students hail Vice Principal - from immediate neighborhood as well as from as far as Chicago downtown. The Kulsum Sadiq school has more than 70 volunteers as teachers and supporting staff. It teaches Assistant Principal - Seerah, Theology, Quran, and Tajweed and also conducts adult classes in Hafsa Wahid Tajweed, Theology, Quranic Arabic, and Hadees/Fiqh. The school holds several Administrator - landmark events such as the Annual Inter-school Qirat Competition that attracts Mamoona Omer nearly 200 participants from about 15 Islamic schools across Chicagoland; the Annual Seerah Program; and the Annual Surah Memorization Competition. The senior students also take up the year-book project. Additionally, the school routinely organizes open house, parent-teachers meetings, and teachers’ training seminars. This year the school is also planning extracurricular activities for senior students regarding site-specific civic duties. The school also has its own website MCC Saturday by which it communicates with students and parents on important events.

School th Samiha Barbarawi, MCC Saturday school has an enrollment of108 students (from KG through 6 Principal grade and one class each of beginners and preschool. These classes are taught by 9 dedicated teachers that are paid on hourly basis. School timings are 9:45 to Suzan Ismael, th Administrator 2:30 PM every Saturday. Lunch is served by volunteers. We plan to start 7 grade next year. Each month teachers meeting is conducted to follow up on educational goals. There is a weekly follow up with the teachers by checking their preparation books and discuss the weekly and monthly plan with them in the monthly meetings. Other activities include, Eid Al Adha party, Movie time, Arabic Heritage Day, Qur'an competition, Seerah competition, spelling bee. Every Saturday morning there are different classes for mothers in Tajwid, Islamic Evening Schools education, memorizing the Qur'an and ahadeth given by the principal. Suzan Ismael & Zainab Khan, Evening Schools at MCC and MEC operate classes four days a week, typically from 6 Respective Principals PM to 8 PM. MCC policy is to provide every avenue to the students and parents to learn Islamic values. Currently there are 35 students in MCC evening school and three teachers along with 3 volunteers. Typically Quran reading with rules and regulations, memorization and Islamic studies are taught that include, Aqueeda, fiqh and Akhlaq.

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FULL-TIME SCHOOL (FTS): “MCC ACADEMY” Academy During 2016; The school enrollment at MCC Academy exceeded 660 students. IOWA Council: Standardize Test score was 88.4 percentile during this year. School added new Musarrat Khan Coding and STEM Robotics courses for students. Three (3) students were selected for Chair the State Science Fair. Many of our students were placed in the top three positions in Sazzad Nasir our Niles Township feeder school competition Math competition. Two (2) of our Senior Umar Masihuddin Alumni Students scored a 35 and 36 on the ACT this year. Several of our Alumni Kashif Puthawala students at Niles West and Niles North were recognized as Illinois State Scholars. Our Tariq Laliwala Athletics teams were placed either 1st or 2nd in the Southwest Conference, whereas Habeeb Quadri - Girls Basketball team advanced to the State Regional Finals. School students Principal participated in several community outreach and dawah programs. Silvat Sheikh- In order to fulfil the needs of the school, We have added a Full Time School Counselor Teachers and Nurse, a full time Math Support and Reading Specialist and two (2) full time Representative substitute teachers. Thazneem Faiz - Parent Year 2016 had the largest graduating class of 48 students. Two (2) boys and two (2) Representative girls finished their hifz during 2016. We finished a new school curriculum map for all Urooj Lakhani subjects. School received $20,000 State Title Money. School has more than 30 Parent afterschool programs and activities. School has started a new Teen Academy for Representative Teenagers in the Community on Saturdays. We are beginning a Saturday School for students with Special Needs in January 2017. Academy annual dinner is very popular and is attended by more than 1000 people. School administration keeps a strong relationship with parent support group. School website (www.mcc-academy.org) and the electronic version of our school newsletter provide additional means of communication. EDUCATION (Continued) There was no activity by CDE in year 2016. Comm. of Directors for Along with its normal activities, the Education Development Council (EDC) was Education (CDE) assigned the responsibility of "Studying the High School Feasibility" which needed to Ayesha Ali (Chair) be concluded within 4 months. The EDC conducted several meetings during the Tariq malhance designated time and also involved MCCA Council Chair and Principal since they had Tahera Ahmed already done some work on this project. The school Council had already conducted a Shaizan Malik survey with the school parents in March 2016 regarding starting a High School. Parents had a very positive response. The further discussion took place in the areas of space, curriculum, quality of education, teachers, finances etc. In light of the above findings, EDC recommended to the Board to proceed with the High School and the Board approved the project and further assigned the EDC to do Educational in depth analysis for the areas as mentioned above and give a report in 3 months. Development The EDC has already started the preliminary discussion in this regard. Council (EDC) Tariq Malhance For year 2016, Youth gatherings were held every Saturday for both brothers and (Chair) sisters separately, bringing in many youth regularly for activities, a halaqah, and food. Saba Khan In addition to these regular gatherings, the Youth Council held a charity drive in Feroze Khan which they prepared and distributed almost 50 care packages to the homeless of Maryam Qureshi Chicago filled with sleeping bags, socks, hats, toiletries, and other essential items. Sazzad Nasir We also organized a successful Ramadan Preparation Seminar with Mufti Kamani Naushina Rahman and other scholars. Over 100 brothers and sisters were in attendance and benefitted from this program. Additionally, the brothers and sisters volunteered at various MEC programs, including the Annual Dinner, Food and Fun Fair, and Open Mosque Day. We have also held many overnight Qiyam programs at MEC during Ramadan and Winter Break Youth Council Saadat Ali Youth programs by YM (for brothers) and SSU (for sisters) are now overseen by, and Hajar Berrada are under, the Youth Council. One youth program at MCC is on 3rd Friday of every month. The council also plans to have monthly programs to help connect parents with their children.

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OPERATIONS: Mazhar Khan, Department Head Building 1. Before the start of the Ramadan, the Parking lot was again seal coated and parking lines Committee were pained to be more visible to facilitate the proper parking. 2. A new Chandelier, (MEC) donated by a member, was installed in place of Imam’s prayer area. New security cameras were installed to enhance security for the building and parking lot. 3.The new Khutba Amanatulla recording system and better microphones have been installed. 4. Window tinting was done Ansari on the school side. 5. The Gymnasium lights were replaced with LED bulbs to conserve Shahjehan electricity. New Gymnasium floor was installed. 6. Landscaping and Snow cleaning is Baig maintained in an excellent condition to make it beautiful and safe for our patrons and Ebrahim students. 7. The facility has been alive with constant activity in the areas of Islamic Ismael education, daily congregational prayers and sports activities for our youths. 8. The Banquet Mohammad hall with a capacity of 300 people is busy with community festivities and programs for rental Sabihuddin fee. As many as 150 people attend the daily Isha Salaah and about 100 people attend the Saif Mazhar Fajr Salaah, with generally higher numbers during summer months. A second Jumu’ah

prayer is a constant feature. Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha prayers were also arranged. Every Saturday morning after Fajr prayer, the Dars-e-Qur’an continues by some interested community members. Study of “Surah-Kahf” continues by Hafiz Ikhlas Ansari every Thursday between Maghrib and Isha.

During 2016, some of the improvements made in MCC building are as follows. Building 1.The lighting in the entire building was upgraded to LED with new fixtures. This will be Committee saving us over 55% of the electric bill but with better lights. 2. Fixed all prior Building (MCC) violation related issues; installed a brand new Exit door in the Community Hall. 3. The house Aarif lakada owned by MCC at 4209 N. Lawndale was remodeled with fresh paint and new carpet. Yusuf Umar 4. MCC Second floor washrooms for Boy's and Girls were renovated with quick access to Mohammad hot water previously unavailable. 5. New Fire Extinguishers and smoke/carbon monoxide Sabiuddin detectors were installed. 6. Light in the Parking lot was added for the safety and Saif Mazhar convenience of the MCC patrons. 7. Repaired washroom and Basement leaked pipe by Yusuf Baig installing a new pipe. 8. Teacher's Lounge air vents and ceiling tiles were replaced. 9. Zebra Cross walk project on Elston Ave was completed which added to the safety of MCC patrons coming from the parking lot. 10. New Air-conditioning unit was installed for III&E. 11. New water fountain was installed on the first floor. 12. Air vents and Stove in the kitchen were repaired and cleaned before Ramadan. 13. New Baby changing station was installed in the first floor Women washroom. 14. New Storage room was built in the side lobby for the

Zakat committee.15. All chandeliers in the Prayer Hall as well as in the lobby were deep cleaned, which lightened up the entire area. 16. Floor tiles on the second floor were waxed and buffed. 17. New cabinets were installed in the Funeral body preparation room. 18. Landscaping was redone in the front of III&E with new soil, flowers and mulch. 19. Gutters in the Alley were repaired for public safety. 20. New heavy duty tables were purchased for Community functions and programs. 21.Women lounge near 1st floor side lobby was completely renovated. 22. New fast wireless internet network installed thru out

entire building. Building Committee also plans to upgrade the following; 1. Construction of mezzanine for women prayer in the Masjid hall. 2. Tuck pointing for whole building. 3. Redesign of parking lot lines to facilitate easy access/exit and safety. 4. Upgrade current Sound system through out the building. 5. Exterior painting and repairing of the building. 6. Replace old doors and windows with new.. 7. Add extra Security cameras in and around the building. 8. Add extra lights in the parking lot. 9. Remodel the first floor main office. 10. Initiate Youth and Adults Gym/recreational facility project. 11. Second floor tile remodeling. 12. Organize Fire drill/emergency drill for daily/Saturday/Sunday school.

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FINANCE: Naseeruddin Mahmood, Department Head Annual Dinner MCC Annual dinner was held on Nov 5th 2016. This annual event brings our Committee community together and celebrates our achievements for the year. Theme for this Khadija Ahmed year's dinner was 'Promoting Positive Community Building', just in line with the (Chair) negative rhetoric that was everywhere during the election season. The keynote Masood Bijapuri speaker Mr Azhar Azeez, President of ISNA, gave an inspiring and uplifting speech Habib Abbasi that was well received by the audience. Alumni award was given to Mr Habeeb Quadri Shakira bijapuri for his great work in the community and globally. MCC also gave a community award Fikreta Ademi to Ms. Lesley Williams, an activist from Jewish Voice for Peace who has been raising Khaula Chaudhry awareness against islamophobia. It was wonderful to include community members like Mona Mahmood Lesley to reinforce stronger community building. The dinner was attended by about Atiya Usman 500 guests, and it included silent auction (thanks to all the donors), raffles and Ayesha Amjad surprise gifts at the tables. Thazneem Faiz

Budget Preparation of MCC’s annual budget of over $5.0 Million went smoothly with the Committee cooperation of the Treasurer’s Office, Executive Committee, Board of Directors and all Naseeruddin the Committee Chairpersons. Mahmood Mohammad MCC Food and Fun Fair was hosted on Sunday, August 21st for the community. The Basheeruddin goal was to redesign this event and include more carnival rides and carnival type of foods. There were 3 different inflatables and a rock wall and 5 games. Wrist bands Food & Fun Fair were sold at a flat rate for unlimited access to rides and games which was well Committee received by parents. Pony rides were also a big hit. There were several food options Khadija Ahmed from a variety of vendors from Tikka, Bihari kabob to funnel cakes, popcorn and Gola Habib Abbasi ganda and Pani poori. There was a clothes Bazaar as well, with 15 vendors in the Sara Kadir Masjid basement. There was a core team of 10 members led by Khadija Ahmed as chair-person, Habib Abbasi as co-chair and Sarah Kadir as the team lead for volunteers. Over 25 youth volunteers were involved in this project, from setup to clean up. This event was MUHSEN friendly for families of special needs and provided them access to rides without standing in lines, access to Quiet Rooms to take breaks and some fun snack treats. Financial - There was approx. $17,000 income and $13,700 in expenses, with a net profit of around $3300. Please note that this event isn't a fundraiser - we had 4 paid sponsors, that helped offset the cost.

MCC Investment Committee liquidated almost all the money related to school to pay Investment for the new Skokie school building. There is about $89K and $16K money that is Committee mostly invested in Iman fund. Further information may be found in the accompanying Masood Bijapuri financial report. Abid patwa Kashif Puthawala

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