September 2007
JIMAS Leicester Islamic Conference 2007
by Somayya Gefori
I have just recently returned home from the annual JIMAS (Jam’iat Ihyaa Minhaaj al-Sunnah) conference, which is held every year on the August British Bank Holiday weekend. It lasts from a Friday through to the Bank Holiday Monday morning. This year’s topic was “Healing the Fragile Earth. Fulfilling our Heavenly Trust”. Many lectures were given on the topics of being environmentally aware and looking after the environment, which is something we should do as Muslims.
A Popular Event
Speakers are invited to the conference, which is held at Leicester University’s Residential site in Oadby, Leicester.
It contains student accommodation, lecture halls and some people have their own stalls whilst the conference is on, selling mainly Islamic clothing and products. It is a very popular event. This year alone around 2,500 people attended. In my personal opinion, the lectures are fulfilling and you always come away knowing something new. As Muslims we are constantly learning and improving our Islamic knowledge. Going to a conference such as this one can only help broaden that knowledge.
Meet Old Friends
The conference is also a chance to meet up with old friends and meet other Muslims. It is a very diverse environment, with Muslims all living in the UK, but with many nationalities represented. From the people who I met, there were Arabs, English, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Africans, etc.
Of course it is possible that some Muslims are racists, and I had the unfortunate experience of meeting someone who did not enjoy mixing with “white people”. The person commented that where she lives in the UK, “You never see a white face”, and that was how she liked it. This kind of behaviour worries me. Aren’t we supposed to be going to conferences like this and mixing with Muslims of other nationalities and enjoying the experience, instead of feeling angry towards those who are not the same as them? I truly believe that myself being mixed-race has helped me know that it is a good thing for people of different nationalities to mix not only as friends, but also in the form of inter-racial marriage.
Interesting Lectures
The lectures this year that I found most interesting included a talk about Islamic wills and inheritance, and “From the Green Dome to the Green Home”, which was a talk about what we can do as Muslims to look after our planet.
The lecture about wills and inheritance was particularly interesting because so many people put off writing a will because it reminds them of death. Perhaps the lecture will spur some of the listeners into action because not writing a will could possibly leave their relatives without an inheritance.
The Green Dome to the Green Home was also interesting because the woman doing the talk was telling us that we should recycle, not use the car if we can help it and try not to go on long-haul flights unless absolutely necessary because aeroplanes give off so much pollution. I did agree with what she was trying to say, but perhaps she could have suggested alternatives to these modern-day ways of getting around. She also said we should have more gardens, so if you are green-fingered, get those seeds out and start planting!
Recommendation: Attend if You Can
I would like to end this article on a recommendation. I have been to seven of the JIMAS conferences starting from when I was a young child, and I have always had the best time there, to the point where it feels a little sad to leave it all and return home. The atmosphere is amazing, the lectures are beneficial, and you can also have a little “retail therapy” at the stalls! They sell everything from jilbabs and perfume to Islamic children’s toys. Many real shops, most based in the south of the UK, are represented. There is also plenty going on for the kids, including a crèche, bouncy castles and a full weekend youth programme.
I would suggest to anyone reading this article to attend this conference if you can, you will have a nice little holiday and further your knowledge, a two-in-one if you like.
You can get in touch with JIMAS charity organisation about further details on the conferences by going to their website www.jimas.org.
Salams,
having personaly attented the Jimas conferences i think your article is very well written. It provides a very fair and acurate view of what it is like.
on a more friendly note - keep it up s! u did gr8
nice writeup. I notice that the pictures of the stalls and the lecture hall is from a conference 5 years ago! (9th Annual conference -this year was the 14th). I particularly liked Tarek El Diwany seminar and lecture regarding Finance/ Islamic Finance.
JIMAS seems to have metamorphosised into a mainstream muslim organisations relative to the conferences they used to hold many years ago.
oh my there was a woman talking usually its men thats good i havnt been there in 2 yrs its a lovely feeling ina place full of muslims
Nice article sis, keep it up! I wud definitely recommond jimas aswell, very beneficial for all the family
Great article somayya, a good insight into the event. Hope to go to the event in the near future.
sabah
salam
salam
this is are good religion website
Assalamualaykum sister
I came on to your website by mistake and couldnt understand y u have got a women half naked on your site if your promoting Islam then at least follow its guide lines. sis I’m pleased with ur postive outlooks that agree with the Islamic prespective and im also proud that ur a sis with an islamic site but please change the picture to a more suitable 1.
As 4 jimas its an excellent place to go 2 4 increasing THE EMAAN I been goin there 4 a few years now and have always benefited.
As-salamu alaykum. I am the webmaster. The advertisements are served up dynamically by Google. They are different every time the website loads and I do not control which ads appear on the site. When I notice an un-Islamic ad I do request that that particular advertiser be blocked. Jazak Allah khayr for your comments.