Announcement: The EMC Board of Directors is pleased to announce that our 10th Annual Convention will be held in Washington, DC on July 6-8, 2012, inshaAllah. We take this opportunity to thank the Eritrean Muslims Association in North America (EMANA) for kindly agreeing to host the convention. Watch this space for news about convention preparations.

Abdulkareem Aberra, a man who faced tragedy with a smile and determination: Abdul Kareem is a name I am sure many of you know. Many of you have probably met Abdul Kareem at the masjid for Isha prayer or at Safeway buying groceries. Many of you see him around or at least know of him, but how many of you actually know anything about him?

I had the opportunity to sit down with Abdul Kareem to learn about him and his past. I have known Abdul Kareem for roughly two years now and I have become good friends with him over time. I started asking him some questions and he began to confide in me about his past. Abdul Kareem was born in Eritrea to a large well known business family in which he had four brothers and four sisters.

Eritrean Canadian Islamic Association (ECIA) Celebrates Eid Al-Adha: ECIA celebrated Eid Al-Adha event at the Islamic Foundation of Toronto on November 12, 2011. More than 200 Eritrean Canadians from the Greater Toronto Area participated in the event.

The event was officially opened with recitation of the Quran by brother Yunus Mohamed. Then Dr. Nasser Ismail, ECIA’s president delivered a speech in which he welcomed the participants of the event as well as wished them on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha praying to Allah that He accepts their good deeds. Dr. Nasser also indicated in his speech the meaning of Eid Al-Adha emphasizing the story of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail (may peace be upon them). “There is a metaphorical message attached to the story. Allah (s.w.) wants us to learn that message and the message is very clear. Prior to success and reward there is always a test of faith.” explained Dr. Nasser.

EMC 2011 Convention Annual Report: On a cool Friday afternoon on July 8, 2011 in Seattle, Washington, a group of approximately 550 Eritrean Muslims gathered together with the enthusiasm of a family reunion to discuss leadership, progress and empowerment as part of the annual three-day Eritrean Muslim Council convention. AbdulRahim Omer, one of the local coordinators of the Seattle Convention, opened the program and welcomed the attendees in the auditorium of Newport High School. The first presentation was a panel and discussion on women’s leadership, the importance of empowering women in the community, supporting leadership opportunities and the challenges women face in their journey. Moderated by Rekia Mahmud, Kheria Adem, Semira Abdu and I discussed the qualities of leadership and how to inspire Eritrean Muslim women to achieve the fullest potential and then participated in a question and answer.

2011 EMC Scholarship Winners: On behalf of the EMC Board of Directors it is our pleasure to announce the winners of the 2011 EMC Scholarship Awards. Please refer to previous announcements for the selection criteria used by the judges. We will post an article on lessons learned and improvements for future competitions in a day or two, iA. If you have suggestions, please contact us using the tab at the top of this page. We thank all the applicants and everyone who donated to the scholarship fund. The winners listed below can only be viewed as first among equals because all the applicants had stellar records of academic and extracurricular achievements. We wish them all continued success (2011 EMC Scholarships Judges).