The Council Of European Jamaats

 but these questions hopefully no longer linger after last weekend’s tour of the spell bounding instruments at work in the hospital of our imam.

The weekend seminar featuring reflection upon azadari was split into two parts, on Saturday 6th march a boys camp of youths aged between 16 and 25 participated in informal and interactive lectures and debates on Imam Hussein and Kerbala from Sunni sources, which enabled many to grasp the vast universal nature of Imam Hussein’s message and to understand the varying interpretations which have been the root cause of the split off point within the Muslim Ummah.

The evening ended on a good note with a vigorous match of football at Warrington sports centre (just to burn of the variety of junk food consumed throughout the day). In actual fact ‘lights out’ at 11pm should have signified the end of the first day but it seems from the loud microphone announcement the next morning as the girls registered that mini flash lights and mobile phones may have been involved.

So as the girls started filtering in for registration on Sunday 7th march; the second part of the seminar, there was a sense of ‘Sunday morning blues’- but I think the team soon sorted that out with red hot and spicy pakoras – and after that I think most of us were wide awake. These hot pakoras and mahambri were followed within three hours by hot cheesy pizzas and chips for lunch, which kept us well fuelled up throughout the day.

The first thing on the agenda was sheikh Kassamali’s lecture on the origin, purpose and reward or marthiya. This was an interesting and topical issue that brought forward much reflection on what may seem to have become more of a must have item on the agenda before a majalis. However I am now certain that most of us have acquired a greater understanding and we greatly appreciate the sheikh’s efforts.

Certainly the highlight of the day was the touching and in depth talk into the philosophies behind weeping by Sheikh Murtaza Alidina, indeed his relevant references to the Quran and deep ideas enlightened us all and gave us a clear understanding into the history behind our tears and the significant benefits of these pearls. We very much appreciate his time and efforts.

After this inspiring and heart softening lecture the youth put their energy and optimism into some interactive group debates. Both sides of the camp were organised into groups and were given one of four randomly picked ‘burning questions’ to discuss and thereafter present to the sheikh and the rest of the camp. Indeed topics such as the language of marthiya and nauha and the effectiveness of current azadari methods brought forward interesting concepts and ideas, which should now be inculcated, into our azadari; after all it is now the action of the youth that will make the thoughts of this seminar come to life.

Following this participative activity, sheikh Hassanain Kassamali went through FAQ regarding the tabut and alam.

The seminar concluded with a revolutionary few words by the sheikh on the importance of action by the youth and it was on this note that youths from Essex, Leicester, Birmingham, Wessex and Peterborough dispersed for dinner.

The evening joined well with the enthralling lecture by sheikh Mudharasi on Imam Hussein a.s and his message in today’s terms, indeed the youth that attended this weekend training tour of the all encompassing hospital of Imam Hussein are now well fuelled with the knowledge of our Imam’s powerful message and healing capability in this corrupt world. All we have to do now is pick up the right tools and operate.

My Allah give us the guidance to do so