I went to the
Global Peace & Unity (GPU) event again. But this time, I went with one of my classmates, Nicole. Ili couldn't make it this time (sorry Ili).
In case you didn't know, this annual event basically offers wide range of events to promote the
syumuliyah of Islam to the world. As far as I know, the event will always take place at an exhibition centre called ExCel in London (ala-ala PWTC kat KL I guess..only much much bigger).
Nicole wanted to know more about Islam. I was trying to be a good dae'i and offer her some other sources (than just listening to me and Ili explaining Islam to her) to learn about Islam. Hey, we're not scholars. We might have not given the best answers to Nicole every time, so I thought this might be a great opportunity for Nicole (and for me to learn and revive some knowledge of my deen too).
The event was pretty much the same as the one that I went last year - speeches in the main hall, exhibitions and stalls in another hall and some workshops in lecture rooms.
My main aim was to go and register for as much workshops as we could. Basically, the workshops are where the scholars will sit with around 80-100 people and discuss on specific topic related to Islam. The attendance, of course, pretty much depends on who's doing the talk and what topic will be discussed =D.
We registered for 6 workshops, 4 of which I managed to record the talk with my MP3 (heh, wait til I get a hold on my own camcoder...some day...huhu).
Here are the talks that I recorded:
1) Understanding Prevailing Ideologies by Sheikh Shabir Ally
2) The Muslim Identity by Sheikh Muhammad Alshareef
3) How to Call the People of the Book to Islam by Ruba Qewar.
4) Reflections of the Reconstruction of History by Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick.
After we were finished with the workshops, we went around the exhibition hall to have a look at the stalls there. There were a lot of them, hundreds I reckon. I bet all the Islamic NGOs in the UK came and put up their stalls there.
I didn't bring a lot of money (nasib baik tak bawak banyak, kalau tak alamatnye tak larat nak mengangkut balik barang-barang belian..huhu). The first stall that I went to was the Muslim World League and believe it or not, they were giving out copies of Sahih Bukhari (among other books) for FREE..!! And I manage to snatch one for myself. Alhamdulillah =). I did try to get a few more to give to my friends but apparently everyone else was grabbing one for themselves too and the book was out of sight within seconds. Huhu..sorry guys =(
Nicole wanted to buy herself a Palestine t-shirt, and she bought one with the famous picture of a Palestinian boy throwing a stone at an Israeli tank. She then wore it right away =).
I bought 2
jubah (yang kain die tebal cam jeans sket tuh) for GBP10 each from
The Hijab Shop. They were having clearance sale and I wasn't about to let myself walk by the stall without buying (at least) one for myself =P. They are quite expensive online.
Oh, did I tell you that we met Abdi, Dhahir, Tom and Ahas too there? Haha..it's a bit funny, going to an event in London, hoping to see new faces around but ended up meeting your own classmates and
ISOC-mates there. What a small world, huh?
We loved their company, of course =)
That was mostly about it.
I hope Nicole had a great time and learn some, if not much, about Islam there. I'm sorry Nicole that you couldn't meet Yusuf Islam, I knew how much you wanted to meet him up and personal. Maybe next year..??
To everyone, there will be an
Islamic Exposition in July 2008. Lets make some room in our schedule and spend some time there. They have a lot to offer, inshaAllah.
To Nicole, may God guide you to the right path =).
p/s: Here is the link to all the talks that I recorded -
GPU2007 Workshops
