Training of Palestine Specialist

Date: 25-26 October 2014

Israa’ Institution held its first event of the year with a program called “Training of Palestine Specialist” (TOPS) which aims to educate its members about the history and issues regarding the holy land of Palestine.

The event was held at Education Malaysia, London for 2 days and was attended by 20 participants from various parts of the UK and Ireland. The participants received four modules from the beginners’ syllabus; the first two sessions was presented by Mus’ab bin Shaharom (President of IKRAM UKE) while the last two sessions were presented by Dr Arif Zaquan Abd Ghafar (Vice President of IKRAM UKE). Among the topics covered included the importance of Palestine in Islam, the history and also current issues revolving it.

The event finished off with a presentation of Israa’ Institution by its president, Faiq Hassin. The participants also had the chance to discuss about future events and how they can further spread awareness about the Palestinian issue in their respective locality.

iLubnan4: From UK & Ireland With Love

In The Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

On Tuesday, 22nd of April 2014, 10 delegations of iLubnan4 safely arrived in Beirut with the mission to help Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Alhamdulillah, this year we brought along £33,000.00 fund that we managed to raise and sponsored 22 orphans for a year Alhamdulillah.

Among the refugee camps visited by members of iLubnan 4 were Burj Al-Barajneh, Shatilla and Albass refugee camp. Their housing conditions were very bad. Buildings were built without proper foundation and structure. Houses were separated by narrow and damp alleys. Electric wires were dangling just above our head, intertwined with water pipes. 

There, we handed out stationaries, sweets and toys to them that we brought along from UK and Ireland on behalf of many donors. It was such a joyous moments for all of us to get the opportunity to meet the lovely children there. Amongst all the tangled up wires in their 'lawns', seeing those dear faces of smiles and laughters, it was hard for us not to feel touched. 

During our stay in Beirut, we also took the opportunity to visit several Palestinian institutions. Among the institutions visited were Takaful for Child Welfare, Al Quds International Foundation, Al-Ghawth Humanitarian Relief for Development, Palestinian Association for Human Rights "Witness" and Human Charity For Relief & Development Orphans' Centre. The purpose of these visits are to learn more about each institutions, and to show support to the common humanitarian cause that each institution fight for.

Apart from that, members of iLubnan4 also spent 2 days at Al- Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultation.  The title of our training was “An introduction to the Palestinian Issue”. We were very honoured to receive training on the issue of Palestine from Dr Mohsein, General Manager of Al-Zaytouna. 

The most intriguing experience in the training was regarding the resolutions for Palestinian issues that Dr Mohsein mentioned to us. The important thing to do is to for us to work hard and improve ourselves to be a better Muslim. 

If we could not help in terms of war or combat and full economy support then we need to contribute by educating ourselves more about Palestinian issues. Keep ourselves updated and show to people of Palestine that we never forget about them It was indeed a very eye-opening session and a lot of well researched information was shared with us.

There, we also received copies of the book that we set to gain sponsors for its publication through our Bookshelf Project. Israa Insitution logo is printed at the back of the book as a sign of appreciation to our sponsorship.

On our second last day, we went to Lebanese-Palestian border which is approximately 2 hours south from Beirut. Members of iLubnan4 could only ponder upon the fact that we were so close to Palastine as we came across the road sign saying "Palastain" just straight ahead. 

The Lebanese-Palestinian border is a long stretch of road, with a high wired fence on both sides. We were just few metres away from the sacred land where we can see the Israeli settlements in Palestinian land. It was so near, yet so far and so frustrating and saddening at the same time. We vowed that one day, the fence will be torn down and we will have the chance to walk freely and pray in Masjidil Aqsa inshaallah.

Thanks to Allah as things were running smoothly throughout our mission and jazakumullahu kheyr to everyone who support and donates! All the contributions really make a difference in the lives of the Palestinians. Indeed, we have a lot more to do, a lot more to give. Ya Allah, please liberate Palestine and make us among its liberators!

Allahumma Ameen.    

Palestine Conference 2014

On the 15^th of September 2014, Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) has organised Palestine Conference 2014 that was held at the University of Nottingham, UK. The whole day conference was filled with talks by international speakers, panel discussions, and also workshops on issues related to the current situation in Palestine and how the participants can get involved. The speakers who attended the conference are Norman Finkelstein, Wadah Khanfar, and Dr Daud Abdullah to name a few.

The day started off with a brief introduction on ‘Palestine: Past and Present’ by Sarah Colborne. The introduction gave a clear view on the history of the conflict between Palestine and Israel, and how the Palestinians have been oppressed and displaced since the foundation of Israel. Further keynote speech is by Wadah Khanfar on the topic ‘Palestine amidst an uncertain Arab Spring’. With his experience as a former Director General of Al-Jazeera network and also co-founder of the Sharq forum, he engages with the participants on his views regarding Palestinian issues and the significance of political movements in Middle East.

The conference continued with a panel discussion on ‘Settlements and the Right of Return’ that was given by Tim Llewellyn, a journalist specialising in the Middle East; Dr Daud Abdullah, the Director of Middle East Monitor an independent UK based media research institution; and also Sarah Colborne, the Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The discussion touches on the issue of media bias by the western media, the critical situation of Palestinian refugees, and also an introduction into several international campaigns for example boycotts and sanctions.

Other than talks, participants are also given the opportunity to choose two out of five workshop sessions that mainly promotes different types of campaigns for the Palestinians throughout the day. The workshops are Press and Palestine, Political Campaigning, Careers Campaigning, Organised Campaigning and also Dabka. These workshop sessions gave the participants a chance to interact with the speakers in a smaller group so they can gain a lot more insight on each session.

The last session of the conference was a keynote speech by Norman Finkelstein who is well known for his research on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the basis of human rights, he condemned the actions and demands of Israel that has clearly violated the human rights of the Palestinian especially their right of return. He also presented the consequences of the Kerry Initiative to the Palestine-Israeli conflict based on his research and studies.

Alhamdulillah, three of our Israa Volunteers were able to attend the conference and it has been an eye opener and a good experience for all of us since Israa Institution itself is also a body to campaign on the issue of Palestinians. We hope with the information that we have gained, we are able to create more awareness among people about the issue of Palestinians.

On the authority of Abu Hamzah Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) the servant of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), the Prophet (pbuh) said: "None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself." [Bukhari & Muslim]

iLubnan4 Charity Dinner

Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Allah SWT, the event ‘iLubnan4 Charity Dinner’ was successfully held at the Raoshi Restaurant, Manchester on the 12^th of March 2014. The event, organized by Israa Institution’s activists with the aim to raise funds that can be donated to the Palestinians refugees who are currently in Lebanon. Alhamdulillah guests including students, professionals and families came to show their support for the Palestinian cause.

The event was begun with a recital of passages from the Holy Quran. It then proceeded with speeches by the honorable guest, Mr Taufik bin Ahmad, the representator of Education Malaysian, the Chairman of Israa Institution, Brother Musaini bin Ramlee and the director of ‘iLubnan4 Charity Dinner’, Brother Haikal Uzir. This was followed by activities of performances, auctions and the dinner itself.

During the event, an amount of GBP 2260 was collected during the auctioning session. Items that were auctioned include cakes, drawings of Al-Aqsa Masjid and a symbolic painting symbolizing the Palestinian’s struggle and the promised freedom. The guests had shown great enthusiasm in helping our Palestinian brothers and sisters. For those who were not able to attend the dinner itself were able to contribute through online donation. Overall, the dinner had successfully collected a total of GBP 3517.94 .

On behalf of the organizer, we would like to thank all of you that had contributed not only to the success of the event but also to those whom play a role to help our Palestinian brothers and sisters. As narrated by Ibn ‘Umar: Allah’s Messenger said, “A Muslim is a brother of Muslim, he neither wrongs him nor does hand him over to one who does him wrong. If anyone fulfills his brother’s needs, Allah will fulfill his needs; if one relieves a Muslim of his troubles, Allah will relieve his troubles on the Day of Resurrection.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim). May Allah accept our deeds and relieve us on the Day of Resurrection, as mentioned in the hadith.

It is also hoped alongside raising funds for humanitarian aid, we can continue to grow stronger sense of belonging with our brothers and sisters in Palestine, with continuous Dua’ and increased drive to provide them aid, biidznilah.

‘Palestine in our heart’ 

Report by: Nur Irra Syahiddah