Happening this week (& month) in Gainesville

"O humankind! Surely We have created you from a single (pair of) male and female, and made you into tribes and families so that you may know one another (and so build mutuality and co-operative relationships, not so that you may take pride in your differences of race or social rank, and breed enmities)..."

al-Hujurat - The Private Apartments, The Inner Apartments, The Chambers; verse 13

Qu'ran 49:13

~ translation from Arabic to English by Ali Ünal ~

Here are a list of events (related to our Muslim neighbors) happening around the Gainesville community in the upcoming month; everyone is welcome at all events:


Wednesday, September 8

Interfaith Prayer Service
12:00pm
@Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

Thursday, September 9

At 6:00pm, the Gainesville Catholic Worker House ( http://gainesvillecw.org/this-week/ ) will host a ROUNDTABLE AND POTLUCK DINNER DISCUSSION. Bring a dish to share and come discuss the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 and our community’s response.


Friday, September 10

Throughout the day the Gainesville Muslim Initiative will be distributing "Eid goody bags" on UF's campus; Eid is the biggest holiday of the year for Muslims; it is observed at the end of Ramadan.

A Gathering for Peace, Understanding and Hope
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
@Trinity United Methodist Church, 4000 NW 53rd Avenue, on 53rd Avenue next to 43rd St. Hosted by the Gainesville Interfaith Forum The Trinity United Methodist Church along with the support of the Gainesville Interfaith Forum. They will have activities for children of our different faiths to play together, arts and educational crafts, cultural displays, foods from various regions of the world, and a time of prayer.

At 7:30pm, UCG (United Church of Gainesville) will host a night of "Sufi Dancing" / Dances of Universal Peace.


Saturday, September 11

Mayor Craig Lowe has declared this to be Interfaith Solidarity Day

People around the nation are calling this "Read a Qu'ran Day" http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136174563093716

Gainesville Muslim Initiative (GMI) hosts A Day of Peace & Unity
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105303516196821&ref=mf
Beginning at 5:00 p.m., GMI will be serving dinner at the downtown Bo Diddley Plaza (as they do every Saturday). Gainesville community members will also have the opportunity to donate blood at the plaza during a blood drive at this time; there will also be a book drive and a food drive.
Around 7:00pm, GMI will host a program on the Bo-Diddley stage. Community and religious leaders from around the community, state, and nation will have the opportunity to speak here, but should notify GMI prior to the event to help maximize coordination.If you belong to an organization that would like to endorse the vigil and/or possibly speak at the vigil, please contact: Ziad Ghanimiziad.ghanimi@gmail.com312.927.6458
Around 8:15pm, after the speakers, the evening will culminate in a candlelight vigil and a moment of silence.
We hope to make this an annual event.

Direct Counter-Demonstration @ the Dove not-a-church (Eve MacMaster coined this term)From 6:00 - 9:00pm, the Dove World Outreach plans to burn Qu'rans; some members (including the not-a-pastor) of the not-a-church will likely by armed.

Various UF and community organizations will coordinate a direct counter-demonstration (and will promote safety, nonviolence, & intelligent/peaceful behavior and will relay a message to the attending international media that the Dove not-a-church does not represent Gainesville's views); members from the National Lawyers Guild will observe.

Please note: The Gainesville Muslim Initiative is urging people to ignore Dove rather than directly counter-demonstrate & thus feed the counter-productive media frenzy; the GMI will simultaneously be hosting the above family-friendly events (A Day of Peace and Unity) at the Bo Diddley downtown plaza in hopes of creating (1) a much larger & more news-worthy story and (2) an opportunity for people (Muslim and non-Muslim alike) to positively and constructively demonstrate together what we are rather than retaliate against what we are not.


Monday, September 13

Qu'ran 101
6:30pm
@the Reitz Union's Grand BallroomJoin Islam on Campus for a discussion regarding the holy Qur'an. The lecture and info session will be headed by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, a renowned scholar in North America. Shaykh Faraz Rabbani is a researcher and teacher of the Islamic sciences, specializing in Islamic Law.


Friday, September 17

Open House: "Know Your Muslim Neighbors"
Hosted by the Gainesville Muslim Initiative
@the Hoda Center (SW 13th Street)


Beginning Saturday, September 18; continuing for 12 sessions on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of each month (excluding holidays)

Muslims and Christians in Conversation
10:00 - 11:30 am
@the Mennonite Meeting House; 1236 NW 18th Avenue
GainesvilleA Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue by Badru Kateregga and David Shenk will be the text for the discussions; for more information or to reserve a copy of the book, contact Eve MacMaster at gnvmenno@bellsouth.net or 352.377.6577Co-sponsored by the Beltram Peace Center and the Gainesville Interfaith Peace Coalition


Monday, September 27

Fast-a-thon: A community fast ending in a free evening meal & speaker
@the O'Connell Center
Hosted by Islam on Campus


Date & Time TBA

Documentary “Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think”
@the Hippodrome State Theatre
Hosted by the Gainesville Muslim Initiative

Somewhere over in southern Waziristan...

Somewhere over in southern Waziristan,
Bombs are falling
Kids are screaming
Schools are closing
People are running…
Away.

But life goes on.

Away from it all…
Away across the Ocean
Business is booming
Laughter is rising
Choirs are singing
Families are sitting…
Content.

But life goes on.

Content in their comfort
Until something disturbs them.
And suddenly—
The banks are crashing,
The people are frightened,
The wealthy are scrambling,
The poor are left standing
Alone.

But life goes on.

Blind and stubborn
The people in power
Continue to cower
In darkened corners
Giving grandiose orders
To kill
To destroy
To ravish and burn
To spy
To frame
To point and accuse

But life goes on.

Somewhere in rural New Mexico
Soldiers are sitting
At video consuls
Directing robots to
Stalk
Spot
Target
And fire.

Then, suddenly—
Somewhere over in southern Waziristan,
Buildings are burning
People are dying
Mothers are crying
The air is exploding…
Again.

Oh, when will it end?

When will we realize
How interconnected
Our destinies lie?

But life goes on.

Away from it all,
While choirs are singing,
People are dying
The poor are left standing
Alone
Again.
And again
And again
And again
And again

But life goes on.