Meeting Recap 11/3
Posted by Wes Baumann
Today’s meeting opened with the Thought of the Day presented by Robert Mardirossian in the form of a prayer of thanks. He expressed gratitude for the Cubs winning the World Series but also reminded us to be grateful for some of the things we take for granted, such as living in a community where we do not have to fear for our safety, living in homes with running water, and enjoying the comfort of homes that are cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
There were 29 members in attendance at our special venue, the Hadley Institute for the Blind. Additionally, there we seven guests in attendance, including Bigan Bayzaer a friend of Ned Meisner from the Baha'i National Center, Julie Flood, a colleague of Barb Tubekis at the Volunteer Center, Betty Skalski, Peter’s wife, and four staff members from Hadley – Julie Tye, Linda Dunlavey, Sheri Burton and Brooke Burton.
The Club celebrated and sang happy birthday to Tony Kambich. Also acknowledged were the club anniversaries of John Ford (’84), Jeanne Beckman (’88) and Lee Padgitt (’93).
Brooke Peppey announced that the Club is accepting grant requests for our club’s foundation. Every request must have a member who will act as its sponsor. Each spring the club presents over $10,000 in grants to mostly local charitable organizations. Rich Lalley put in a plug for Operation Warm that presents new winter coats for children in need through eight local youth organizations. Each coat cost $20, so a check for $100 will supply five children with new warm coats for the winter. Please consider a donation at any level in the next two weeks as they hope to distribute coats around Thanksgiving. If you would like to participate in the distribution of these coats contact Rich.
Happy Buck$ this week were contributed by Wes Baumann, New Meisner, Fred Schwimmer, Barb Tubekis Bernie Michna, Robert Mardirossian and Rich Lalley. Almost $100 was raised in tribute to the Cubs victory in the World Series. Remember the Happy Buck$ and Dig ‘n Grin money goes towards Rotary International’s effort to end polio.
The speaker for the day was Azam Nizamuddin who gave a presentation on Islam. Azam is the chairman of the Interfaith Committee of the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park as well as an adjunct professor at Loyola University. He began by speaking of Muhammad Jalaluddin Rumi. Rumi was a 13th century poet, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic. He made use of everyday life’s circumstances to describe the spiritual world. Rumi’s poems have acquired immense popularity and have been translated into many different languages. His masterwork was the six-volume Masnavi.
Azam said that Rumi explored several major questions to life: “Who are you?” “Where did you come from?” “Where are you going?” and “What happens after you die?” Islam tries to answer these questions In Islam God is a supreme being and creator of the universe. There is but one God, – thus, Islam is a monotheistic religion. There is a hereafter and eternal salvation in Islam. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muhammad was the final prophet who brought the Quran to the Muslims. They believe it comes directly from God through Muhammad and that it provides guidance to live the right life. The prophet died in 632 CE (or AD).
In Islam self-discipline is essential to living one’s life according to the Quran. Life must be centered on God. Islam, according to Azam, developed within a political empire. By the 4th century Christianity was the largest religion in the world and remains so today, but Islam is currently the 2nd largest world religion and it is the fastest growing one. Islam is not monolithic. There are two major sects of Muslims – Sunni (about 75%) and Shia; there are also much smaller sects in Islam as many sects developed under different forms of sectarian governments.
Negative attacks increased after the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Azam said there is an Islamophobia industry that exists in the U.S. that is paid to foment hatred toward Muslims in our country. He referred our club to “Fear, Inc. 2.0” for a very informative and eye-opening report on this group of democracy subversives. This organization can be found on the Internet.