Enaya

Salaam everyone! As a member of my university’s Thaqalayn Muslim Association, I am involved in planning a large scale memorial/vigil/commemorative event for all the victims of the recent attacks against the Shia populations in Pakistan. The TMA members and I have some really exciting ideas, and we hope to host the event during the last week of this month inshaAllah. However, I need all of your guys’ help! If any of you can provide me with a list of the Shia victims’ names, be it even 10 or 20 or 100 (hopefully), it would really be appreciated. The TMA and I plan to acknowledge and pray for each of the men, women, and children that were killed in the recent attacks. We cannot do that, however, without their names. I am currently researching on my own, but will accomplish more with your help! It is mine, and the TMA’s belief that by using the victims’ names, we are humanizing them; giving them an identity to present to the world. With names, the victims will be far greater than statistics, they will be actual people. They will be recognized. They will be respected. They will be mourned for. I really hope that you all can help me. An infinite number of thank you’s in advance. Fee aman Allah! :)

Salam :) There are two Khoja jam'at khanas in Calgary. However, they conduct their religious practices far differently than Ithna-Asheris. Their jummahs take place on Friday nights and, I am not sure if you are aware of this, but Ismailis do not preform regular 5 daily sala't. Instead they recite a dua'a together three times a day. If you are an Ithna-Ashari my best best is for you to go to the Hussaini Association of Calgary (the Indian/Pakistani) one. There is also an Iraqi, Lebanese, and Iranian centre as well. :) Enaya

Salam, There are a few Hussainyas actually. The main one is the Hussaini Association of Calgary, it is located in the NE part of the city and is often organized by Pakistanis and Indians. A few blocks away from that centre is an Iraqi Hussainya. There is also a Lebanese and Iranian Hussainya in Calgary. The Lebanese and Iranian centres are not actual masjids, more like rented areas and such. If you wish, I can get the contact information for all. :) Enaya

Thank you for welcoming me :) and yes, I agree. I did not intend my post to cause such fights. I was just hoping to find others who made the same changes that I did :) P.S. I am from Canada too! Hahaha, born and raised eh.

Salam Abdul, I was born and raised a Sunni. I did not choose to be one. I was born into it. Just as being born into Islam does not necessarily make one a Muslim. I taught Sunni Islamic School for two years and never really understood what I was teaching my students. I did not understand why there was so much emphasis on the Sahaba and little to none on the Ahlul-Bayt. I had always known that Rasulullah (SAW) loved his family very much. I did not understand why I wasn't teaching my students about them instead. Aside from that, I was surrounded by a community who believed that Sunni'ism was the only correct form of Islam. How is that possible? As a Sunni I did not even feel Muslim. I had so many questions and whenever I asked them I would be told "that's just how it is." I was angry and began to drift away from Islam. I stopped teaching and praying. I was angry at the ignorance my community had and the self-righteousness they possessed. The mosque that I taught at was lead by an Imam who would preach against Shi'as. He considered them non-Muslim. Some of my family friends also felt the same way, I even know one woman who stated that, "Shi'as are wajib-ul-qatl." I hated such terms and sermons that lashed out against Shias. Even though I was not one at the time, I still always stood up for Shias. I always supported them. I didn't like the environment I was surrounded by, and since I could not change their ignorance, I had to change myself. Sunnism was not for me. I started to research Shia'ism and began reading stories of Karbala, and listening to latmiyas, and reading Hadith. I read this one hadith about the birth of Imam Hussain (as); that on the day of his birth, Rasulullah (SAW) received a revelation about his beloved grandson's fate. While sobbing he stated, "Hussain-o-Minni wa Ana Minul Hussain," which translates to "Hussain is from me and I from him." This was the first time I ever cried when reading a hadith. Even the latimyas that I had put on my i-pod made me cry. I felt a pain that I had never before in my life. I was distant from din for so long and finally felt that I had found it. I had found religion. Not the Sunni ideologies that I was raised upon, but a truth that my entire heart and soul felt embraced by. Today, as a Shi'a I feel so much more Muslim than I ever did. I am still trying to improve myself religiously, as there is always room for improvement, but I feel as if I am on the correct path now. When I tell others that I am a Shi'a I feel so much pride. By loving the Prophet's family, I love the Prophet, and therefore I love Allah ÓÈÍÇäå æÊÚÇáì. When I tell people about my conversion tears spring to my eyes and a light resonates within my heart. I could never be more happy with the change I made. Now I could go on and on and on but I wanted to keep it short and simple. If you wish to know the elongated, detailed version feel free to message me personally. Sorry if my story is all jumbled up and makes no sense. I tried to include as much as possible. I would love to tell you all the entire, detailed story. I am working on creating such a post on my blog. Once it is made I shall notify those interested! P.S. Just to let you know, my parents is not fond me being Shi'a. They say that 18 is too young to be making such decisions. If I didn't change now, then when would I? I changed myself for the better. I know I did. My parents are hesitant because of how it will look to my city's Pakistani community. I don't care how it looks. There is nothing shameful about what I did. I found truth. I found myself. :lol: :wub: Lol I am a sister! :P But nonetheless, thank you.

Yes I agree. You made a valid point there :)

That is great! It is very nice to meet you Qaim, and thank you for replying to my post :) Thank you for replying to my post and thank you for the links! I shall check them out :D Thank you Mr. Kamran Syed. May Allah also bless you! Thank you very much for replying to my post Osama. It is nice to meet you :) And Insh'Allah. I am only on the first few steps of my spiritual journey. Hello Dawud, wow you converted from Salafi'ism to Shi'a! That is amazing, especially due to the fact that most Salafis are not very fond of the Shi'a sect. It is an honour to meet you :) I am very glad to see such positive feedback on this topic. Thank you to everyone who took time to read it. And a greater thank you to those who replied. <3

My personal opinion is: 1). We are no one to be judging who is Muslim and who is not. 2). The fundamental declaration of faith, the Shahadat, is the same for all religions. And I believe that as long as any man/woman truly believes in the Shahadat then they are as Muslim as any one of us. I am aware that several Ismaili beliefs differ from the common Ithna-Ashari values and are quite liberal to some extent. However, instead of finding ways to divide ourselves, we should respect such differences and use them to learn about one another and become more tolerant. This entire battle of "who is Muslim and who is not" has destroyed the Ummah. Many Muslim countries have ruined themselves due to this. We must unify as a people first before we can progress our nations.

Salaam Everyone, I am a recent convert into the Shi'a sect from the Sunni sect. I was just wondering if there are others like me on this website. If so, do contact me :) I would love to get to know you, and perhaps share our "finding of truth" tales! Love Enaya