Dear community members,
On behalf of the team at The World Federation, it gives me great pleasure to wish you all Kushali Mubarak on the birth anniversary of our awaited saviour, Imam Al-Mahdi (ajfs). This is a time of great happiness, joy and pride for the Shia community. A time when we renew our allegiance with the Imam of our time (ajfs) and a time when we self-reflect and ask ourselves, are we ready?
Are we ready if our Imam (ajfs) was to come today? Are we ready to recognise our Imam (ajfs)? Are we ready to be in his army?
When we look around us, this is a time when we need our Imam (ajfs) the most. On a daily basis, we hear of so many of the difficulties faced by our Shia brothers and sisters around the world – from the recent attacks in Saudia Arabia to the continued Shia Geneocide in Pakistan to the escalating conflicts in Iraq and Yemen.
Today, let us all raise our hands in prayer asking Allah (swt) to hasten the reappearance of our 12th Imam, Imam Mahdi (ajfs). As we prepare, this should also be a time for change – a change for the better.
At The World Federation, we are also changing. You will have noticed the new format of our newswires, which will now inshAllah be fortnightly. We have taken on feedback that we have received from you to better the way we are communicating the work that we are doing. Our Assistant Secretary General, Sister Anisa Kanji, has taken on overall responsibility for Marketing and Communications at the organisation and she will write to you all soon inshAllah to update you on the work that she has been involved in.
It’s been a busy last month for the team. During the month of May, I was in Djibouti before flying to the Africa Federation Supreme Council meeting in Mombasa. I then visited Uganda. Many of the team have also been extremely busy with the Yemen Emergency Appeal. More than 400 of our community members are now in Djibouti and are being supported by The World Federation. We have organised an Emergency Executive Council meeting in Stanmore, London on Saturday 13th June 2015. This is open for all community members to attend so please do come if you can.
You will also have seen we launched our Ramadhan Relief campaign yesterday. Last year, we raised and distributed over $1.6m USD in 18 countries.
Lastly, in terms of updates from the team, the preparation for the Madinah and Bab courses which you may have seen advertised recently are now well underway. We have the largest number of participants compared to previous years and have alhamdullilah, appointed 12 mentors.
All in all, there is lots happening at The World Federation and many positive changes being put through. With so many of our activities being volunteer-led, we would love to have you involved. Please feel free to email me directly or any other member of the team if you are interested in getting involved.
Let us all remember each other in our duas during the Holy Months of Shabaan and Mahe Ramadhan, especially those in difficulties around the world. I look forward to meeting many of you in Stanmore on the 13th June.
With Salaams and Duas,
