My Dear Community Members,

Assalam Alaikum

Alhamdulillah the newly elected EC is very energetic, bringing new ideas and are really committed to serve the community to please Allah SWT. We have an open door policy, if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns please reach out to us anytime. We need your support and duas to achieve our goals and objectives.

Our IFN community has been on the forefront for helping and donating to needy throughout the year. Last year with your generous donations we shipped 3 containers of rice. This year IFN is partnering again with Helping Hands for the Ramadan food drive until February 29th for our refugee sisters and brothers in Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq to alleviate their anguish and hunger by sustaining these displaced families with food. Please donate generously which is indeed a good deed and we do not know which good deed is accepted by Allah SWT and becomes a means for our maghfirah.

Please donate generously as the food drive is Sadaqah and Zakat eligible.

You can donate a full pallet for $850, ½ Pallet for $425, ¼ Pallet for $215 or as little as one bag for $10.

I look forward to your generosity, support and compassion in achieving the above objective.

Jazak Allah Khair

The winners for the post Fajr raffle are Zaina Kagzi and Mustafa Ahmed.

The purpose of this initiative was to encourage people to go to sleep early and stay away from the vices that occur at night (vaping+drugs) and get up early to pray the Fajr prayer.

If you have any other ideas that will help us achieve our vision (Fulfilling the rights of Allah + the creation), please let Imam Azfar know.

IFN, MUHSEN, SSU, and YM collaborated together to Present: No Families Left Behind--a Disability Awareness Evening at Islamic Foundation North on Saturday January 18th, 2020. The agenda was as follows:Interactive Youth Workshop & Activities by Team MUHSEN and a Community Awareness Event by Sh. Tariq Musleh who was the speaker for the event. It’s courageous when people stand up for what they believe in and our IFN Youth are a perfect example of this MashaAllah. The disability awareness event was a huge success with the youth of our community. A big shout out to SSU and YM for helping out the IFN MUHSEN team throughout the event.

There was a presentation on Home Buying & Islamic financing on Sunday, January 12th, 2020 by Br. Maaz Shahid of UIF in the IFN Basement Banquet Hall from Noon to 1:00 PM. Br. Maaz Shahid is a financial banker with UIF. He use's his education in accounting to direct and assist his clients in all phases of the residential home ownership process. His goal is to help his clients realize the dream of owning a home and providing financing that is tailored to fit their individual needs. UIF is a Partner In Shariah Finance and makes it easy to finance your home. UIF's goal is to serve the financial needs of the American Muslim community with competitive costs and excellent service.

The South Asian Healthy Lifestyle Initiative (SAHELI) was invited to visit IFN because a significant of our members are South Asians. They are at a high risk for heart disease.

Presentation at IFN was on January, 26th at 1:00pm in the Banquet Hall. It could save your life or the life of a loved one! No cost comprehensive screenings by SAHELI were available starting at 11:00 AM.

SAHELI is well known to us at IFN. We initially met Sr.Fatema at a conference for Free and Charitable Clinics in 2018 and invited SAHELI to visit IFN to provide more information about their study. After discussing details with the Mosque Community Nurse and meeting with IFN President, SAHELI was approved to bring their study to IFN for recruitment. Since then SAHELI has been visible at IFN, recruiting members and appearing at the ladies' Thursday morning Halaqa. You may have already met Sr.Fatema or Br. Zohrab from Northwestern University.

• South Asians are people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
• South Asians are at particularly high risk for heart disease and are known to be dying of cardiac incidents at very young ages.
• Participation in these studies benefits participants personality through screenings, education, and help with changing lifestyle behaviors which lowers risk for heart disease.
• Study findings also benefit South Asians in providing data or evidence of what approaches work best in lowering the risk and increasing the lifespan of South Asians.

On January 26th, 2020 IFN arranged a bus to participate in the Indian Republic Day Protest Rally against the Indian Government's Citizenship Act. There was a lot of enthusiasm in the community to participate in this rally. Many community members participated in the rally. The Indian Government has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act which is discriminatory towards the Muslim minority in India. There are also protests currently going on in several parts of India. The rally was planned in Downtown Chicago from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM and the location of the event was at 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

Below is a link from the Daily Herald about the protest that was held on January 26th in Downtown.

https://www.dailyherald.com/submitted/20200127/thousands-in-chicago-hold-mega-protest-rally-amended-citizenship-act-call-for-abolition-of-nrc-amp-npr

Communities all over United States are struggling to cope with substance use disorders. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about this issue. At the same time, we need to spread the word that substance misuse and addiction are solvable problems. At IFN multiple sessions with both Adults and Youth groups was hosted on January 24th and January 26th to see how we can collaboratively raise awareness and effectively address the problem.

Presenters for the sessions were as follows:

• Dr. Shazia Tayyab, MD Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist
• Kareemah Abdallah, MSW Addiction Counselor
• Sadaf Raheel, School Psychologist
• Imam Azfar Uddin, IFN Imam

Session for Youth: was held on January 24, 2020 in the IFN Banquet Hall at 7:00 PM.

Session for Adults: was held on January 26, 2020 in the IFN Banquet Hall at 12:00 PM

IFN Smoke and Vape Free Policy: IFN prohibits use of Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking and Vaping on IFN premises. This policy is applicable to everyone and will be strictly enforced.

https://ifnonline.com/resources/Documents/Policies/011%20-%20Smoke%20and%20Vape.pdf

Sisters Steppin Up (SSU) hosted a hot chocolate sale to raise money for Pakistan water project on January 26th. The water in Pakistan is currently undrinkable due to the high levels of arsenic concentrations. Arsenic is deadly, which is why Sisters Steppin' Up Lake County (SSU) raised money for this cause. One well and one hand pump does not cost a lot. One well : only $226 and one hand pump only $55. All proceeds will go to Pakistan In Shaa Allah.Thank you to our generous community members, SSU has raised a total amount of $1127.47 MashaAllah.

The IFN 2020 Membership Campaign has begun. We invite you to actively renew or acquire IFN Membership. The Membership Committee at IFN has been diligently working to not only make it easy for you to become an IFN member, but also to define some tangible benefits of that membership. Membership fees are minimal and serve to support the operating expenses of our beautiful Masjid and is a Sadaqah Jariyah.IFN is your organization and needs your support as it continues to establish itself as a model community. Becoming an IFN member also allows you to have a voice in shaping IFN's future and its direction.

Annual Membership Cost :

For Family:$250

Individual:$125

Student:$50

1)Membership can be renewed/obtained online by visiting IFN’s website at: http://ifnonline.com/membership

2) https://paypal.me/donateIFN?locale.x=en_US (Paypal Link)

3) You can also complete the membership form in the IFN office and pay by cash/check/credit card.

4) Payments can also be made at the conveniently located Kiosk in the lobby.

5)QuickPay with Zelle : Now you can donate using QuickPay with Zelle by sending your donations to "donate@ifnonline.com". Please mention a memo for the purpose of the funds, examples: Donation, Zakat, Membership, School Fees, Sadaqah, Expansion Project etc.

IFN will be hosting its first Community Potluck of 2020 at the IFN Banquet Hall on Sunday, February 16th. The event will start at 5:00 PM before the Maghreb Prayers followed by a short lecture , social hour, games , Potluck Dinner and Isha.We encourage all IFN Members and Non-members to join us for this Fun Evening and Potluck Dinner. Bring a dish or dessert of your choice to share with everyone. The IFN Basement Hall Capacity is limited, so please confirm/RSVP your participation in advance.

IFN Community Potluck Team:

Mrs. Mona Manzoor, IFN Social Director (847) 668-5875

Mrs. Seema Jaseem (224) 944-1383

Mrs. Riffat Mehmood (847) 401-8502

Mrs. Shamim Chaudhry (847) 212-8138

Mrs. Asma Aamir (224) 733-3621