Mosque Maryam Believers, friends, relatives enjoy special fun day
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) – On a beautiful summer afternoon filled with sunshine and warm weather, Believers from Mosque Maryam, headquarters of the Nation of Islam along with their friends and family from Chicago and the surrounding areas, converged on Jackson Park on the city’s South Side for an afternoon of fun, food and laughter.
The 2011 Family Fun Day held July 16 was coordinated by the staff of the National M.G.T and G.C.C office under the direction of Sandy Muhammad, Student National M.G.T and G.C.C Captain.There was a huge turnout and plenty of activities and games enjoyed by adults and children alike.
›The inspiration behind Family Fun Day is the desire to give the Believers an opportunity to enjoy themselves; spend time with their families and to build the brotherhood and sisterhood in the Nation of Islam, said Sister Sandy.
“TheHonorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches that family is the cornerstone of a Nation.Therefore, it is critical that we foster an environment that promotes the building of strong families,” Sister Sandy added.
Marcus Muhammad and his wife Dian attended the outing with their two-year-old son Aariz and enjoyed the atmosphere and spirit of unity and family.Brother Marcus said he enjoyed watching everyone from the youth to the elders participate in all the activities.“Everyone was being youthful and allowing their youthfulness to come out,” he said.
Such outings as Family Fun Day are also important, he added, because they give the children of the Believers a chance to bond and get to know one another.
The children enjoyed the Tiki Island rock climbing wall, jumpers, slides and obstacle courses while others tested their athletic skills in football and a highly spirited volleyball competition.
Jameelah Taylor, age eight, had a fun-filled afternoon and said she enjoyed the fact there were lots of things for children to do.“I liked racing on the blow up horses,” she said. Sister Jameelah also gave the menu a big thumbs-up and said the veggie burgers were her favorite.
Even the teenagers enjoyed themselves. Miya Taylor, 14, said the afternoon was fun and she liked the variety of activities that appealed to everyone because it allowed everyone to “do their own thing.”
“I liked the obstacle course that was fun, and I played volleyball too,” said Sister Miya.
A delicious array of homemade cuisine was served including, BBQ chicken, vegetarian burgers, turkey burgers, potato salad, spaghetti, baked beans, salad, flavorful snow cones and much more. Several of the Believers showed off their righteous dance moves as the DJ played a variety of music ranging from old school to new school to house. All in all, everyone had a good time and is looking forward to future outings to show that Muslims do have fun and to continue growing and developing the bond of brotherhood and sisterhood.
For Timothy 6X, what made the experience great was seeing the fun his son and the other children had.“I got on the inflatable slide about 15 times with my two-year-old son. Just seeing him have fun made me have fun,” he laughed.
