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Our second event was held in Mountain View, CA on February 16th, 2002. The location was the historic Adobe Building located in downtown. The evening is best summed up by a (unsolicited) review that we received from one of the attendees. Pictures from the event“Simplicity
reveals important truths to us; usually the secret of the truth lies in simple
things.” My
friend and I arrived just as things were getting started (about an hour and a
half after scheduled start-time- but, hey, I’m half-desi, so it was all good): the organizers had the mic and were
making introductions, setting the playful, relaxed, and halal-conscious tone for
the evening. The ceiling was high, the floors wood, the punch strong, the sliced
apples and samosa fresh, and the brothas and sistas lookin’ fine.
Red paper and pens were distributed- a “getting-to-know-you” activity
designed to spark movement and discussion with as many people as possible.
Ready, set, go! and everyone was on their feet (well, ok, most were
already on their feet as chairs were slim-picking- no wallflowers allowed!), as
Muslim men and women started introducing themselves to each other, usually in
safe, friendship-clusters of two’s and three’s.
Latin music served as the backdrop
to the increasingly animated discussions on the floor.
Though there was the incentive of a prize for the person with the most
signatures (i.e. the person who met the most people in the shortest time), at
the end of the game, I looked down at my paper and noticed that I had met only
about four of the one hundred people present.
I had been engrossed in a conversation about the nature of cultural
evolution, and cultural degradation with the first person who had made
introductions, poor guy (just call me an intellectual, I don’t care).
The winner was called, we looked around at those we had just met,
evaluated those we wanted to get to know a little better… and we were ready
for the next round. ROUND
2: The
music was turned off as Hisham Abdullah, notable in the community for serving as
Imam numerous times at the local MCA, among other things, was introduced to give
a short talk. Salient and
well-delivered, Mr. Abdullah spoke with confidence and compassion to this crowd
of mostly late-twenty-somethings/early-thirty-somethings about how socializing
with the right intentions is actually a form of worship of Our Creator.
Evaluating each other with the intention of marriage, in a halal way,
brings God-Consciousness to what would otherwise be just a good party with good
food and lots of people in black. Though
some of us there may not have admitted it, we were all there, to some extent, to
meet other single people- whether to meet “The ONE,” or create friendships,
or simply to network for the purpose of passing on a resume (can someone say
“lay-offs”?). But,
importantly, Mr. Abdullah brought to our attention that with the right
intentions, in these sorts of cross-gender interactions, IS the possibility of
meeting “The ONE”- our Creator, that is.
And with that, it was time for tandoori chicken. ROUND
3: Dinner:
buffet line, an awesome eggplant and tomato dish, catching up with old friends,
and a slightly spicy yogurt sauce, but then again, I am only half-desi,
as you know. Hung out with the
friend I came with (who had disappeared while following the directions for the
red-paper game), and met a few more people.
And there were still those coming in from the light rain outside.
Conversations ranged dramatically: from, “Oh, yeah, we met at
Fatima’s party a couple weeks ago,” to, “I was in Jerusalem two years
ago,” to, “Would you like me to introduce you to someone?” to, “I
can’t believe your roommate was detained for four weeks of FBI questioning
after 9/11.” It was during this
time that I noticed what was (apparently inadvertently) written on the cake,
demurely sitting on a side-table next to the punch- but I’ve promised the
organizers not to say, so you’ll just have to ask one of them.
It is the start, no doubt, of an inside joke to last at least a few years
among those of us “in-the-know.” Lots
of good mingling, and let-me-introduce-you-to-my-friend’s going on as people
munched and chewed their way toward a deeper understanding of the person next to
them- and quite possibly to themselves- but that comes later.
A quick stop to the powder room, and it was time for the evening’s last
organized activity. ROUND
4: Boys
got the blue cards, girls got orange cards, and that’s the way the game goes.
On the boys’ cards were written questions pertaining mostly to
pop-culture, and on the girls’ cards were, you guessed it, the answers.
Find the answer to your question. I
asked someone with a blue card if he thought it was appropriate that the girls
had all the answers. He replied,
“Naturally.” It was at this
point in the evening, after a prolonged, yet interesting discussion of the
Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and over dessert (delicious, and now infamous,
cake and lychee ice cream) that I began to hear friends ask each other if they
had been “successful” that evening. Business
cards were exchanged, phone numbers scribbled on the backs of (yes) those red
papers, and greetings of peace shared as people put their coats back on and
ventured back out into the world. New
contacts, new friendships, and perhaps the starts of some things big had
happened in those few hours. Bring
single Muslims together for the sake of “networking” in a halal environment-
simple idea. Recognize the presence
of the Divine in your interactions- simple speech. Recognize who you are among others and what your intentions
are- profound truths. In providing
this opportunity, and space, for such reflection, I feel, lies the evening’s
success. Here’s to our hosts, the
organizers- or as Basem would say: Takbir!
Sophia Thank
you Sophia - from the MG Team
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