This post contains pictures of the RIS 2006 Convention, Concert and Knowledge Retreat, as well as some video clips of Imam Zaid Shakir, A’ashiq al Rasul, Ehab Tawfiq, Outlandish. I have also updated my personal unedited notes from the 2006 RIS Knowledge Retreat.
This was my second year in a row attending the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention and based on my experience last year it only got better. Last year, you may have remember my post, Why RIS is better than ISNA or ICNA conventions well this year I am upgrading that statement to this: Reviving the Islamic Spirit is the best convention in North America!
I have been to ISNAs, ICNAs, MSA EZs, and I have heard about TDCs and MASs, but not a single organization can come close to RIS. There is a major difference between the organizer of RIS and the other conventions and conferences and that is the organizers of RIS (Spirit Works Inc.) are a group of young Muslim brothers and sisters who voluntarily put together RIS. ISNA hires people to organize there conventions. ICNA and MAS are Islamic organizations that have experience elders who have been organizing conventions for decades. Still with all of this, RIS is able to invite and bring real scholars like Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah to North America. They also almost were able to bring Habib Ali al Jafri, but his visa came late. He would still have been able to come, but he planned to go to hajj since the visa was late.
This was the 5th year of RIS and they have accomplished many things that no other convention or conference could have ever done. They brought Amr Khaled for the first time in North America. They brought Isam and Waqas from Outlandish for the first time in North America. Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah spoke to his largest crowd in North America at RIS.
Can anyone name any other Islamic event in North America that had Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir, Dr. Abdul Hakim Jackson, Dr. Tareq Suwaidan, Amr Khaled, Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Shaykh Muhammad alShareef, Shaykh Sulaiman Mulla, Shaykh Riyad ul Haq, Dr. Zakir Naik, Dr. Tariq Ramadan, Shaykh Abdullah Hakim Quick and others all at the same event? Think about that. SubhanAllah! May Allah (swt) reward all the organizers and volunteers for RIS! Ameen!
Not only do they bring world famous ‘ulema, but starting last year they developed the RIS Knowledge Retreat which lasts for 4 days during the week after the RIS convention with the scholars. This is the best part of RIS! I have learned so much at both knowledge retreats that it has increased my knowledge immensely.
Here is a diary of my 2006 RIS experience:
- Friday Dec. 22, 2006
- Didn’t go to the conference. My friends and I stopped off at Darul Uloom Madania in Buffalo to purchase some books.
- Slept at my cousins house.
- Saturday Dec. 23, 2006
- Reached the conference and went to the Bazaar to meet family and friends. Saw Maniac Muslim and other MR fans (Shout out to the most energetic brother Zack!).
- Went and listened to Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah translated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. Wallahi, Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah is a genius. I didn’t take notes during the convention, sorry. You can buy the lectures on the Revival Media site.
- Went out for lunch with my cousins to get some Hakka Chicken! I was hungry so the food was amazing. “I feel like a Mexican.”
- Came back and listened to Robert Fisk. Fisk owned the media and the way many newspapers word there articles. He was mocking how they twist the words to make it please there own views instead of saying the truth. He is a very smart man! I love his British accent.
- Then came Imam Zaid and Imam Siraj. Imam Zaid exploded on the stage saying how we Muslims are so concerned about the East, when we have problems right here in the West. “You can’t fix the problems over there if it’s not working here.” Imam Siraj got really old, mashaAllah. He talked about how he got angry at a lady one time at the airport and the lady sent his luggage to another state. Now he is kind and patient no matter what. He said that we should observe this patience. It was amazing to be in the audience listening to these two speakers.
- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Rabbi Michael Lerner spoke. The Rabbi was kinda creepy to me, but he had some good points. He’s one of those Jews who supports Palestine and Israel and wants a peaceful two independent states. He said some things I didn’t agree with. Shaykh Hamza was the last speaker of the night before the concert and he did a very good job relating the way human beings treat animals and it’s relation to how human beings treat other human beings. He discussed how the sunnah places special concern for the animals and the environment and that it is lacked today.
- RIS Concert
- Noor
– Nasheed group from California
They were first up. They were okay. There songs have similar beats and they copy a lot of other people. There like the 786 boys, but Arab. - Hamza Robertson – UK singer
When I first saw this guy come on stage, I was shocked. He looked straight up like a white boy singer from MTV. He can really sing, but his songs are too white for me. (I’m a former Hip Hop fanatic). He is a student of Sami Yusuf and Sami is quoted to be saying “He can sing better then me.” - Nazeel Azami – UK singer
He’s the brown version of Sami Yusuf. That’s pretty much it. - A’ashiq al Rasul – UK nasheed group
Wallahi, I love almost all there songs. They have amazing lyrics and beats. Sadly, they peformance was not good. The lead singer’s voice cracked. There songs are still mad good, mashaAllah! Check out the video below of them. - Ehab Tawfiq
– Egyptian singer
This guy has a PhD in music! Who does that?!? Anyways he can really sing mashaAllah. He barely moves his lips but the voice is perfect. He sang only nasheeds and none of his pop songs. Check out the video below of him. - Isam and Waqas from Outlandish
::screams like a girl:: and that’s all I have to say. (They were my favorite of the night) Check out the video below of them. - Sunday Dec. 24, 2006
- Woke up and went to Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah’s session. Honestly, I can’t explain how good it was. You just had to be there.
- Then I chilled in the bazaar for couple of hours. Bought some books, clothes and met random MR fans and MM fans.
- I went to Red Lobster with my family. Amazing food! Thanks Aunty Naza!
- Dr. Jackson owned the audience and made me fell pretty dumb in a good way. Haha!
- Qari Sadaqat has amazing beautiful recitation. He was a student of Qari Abdul Basit. He sounds just like him too.
- The final lecture that night was Imam Zaid Shakir and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. Imam Zaid was short and gave it up to Shaykh Hamza. Shaykh Hamza himself said to summarize his lecture in one word would be, Adab. We lack adab. We as Muslims need to make our adab pure. Imam Zaid sang a nasheed at the end. Check out the video below.
MR’s 2006 RIS Pictures:
2006 RIS Conference and Concert pictures
2006 RIS Knowledge Retreat pictures
The RIS Knowledge Retreat was out of this world! My notes do absolutely no justice to what was said there.
WARNING: MY NOTES ARE UNEDITED AND MAY CONTAIN MANY ERRORS. DO NOT MISUSE OR QUOTE MY NOTES.
MR’s 2006 RIS Knowlege Retreat Notes:
- Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah
- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
- Imam Zaid Shakir
- Dr. Abdul Hakim Jackson
- Ustadh Yahya Rhodus
MR’s 2006 RIS Video Clips:
Imam Zaid Shakir at RIS:
Another clip of Imam Zaid singing here.
MR’s Video Clips of RIS Concert
(Includes A’ashiq al Rasul, Ehab Tawfiq and Outlandish)
Other people’s videos:
Outlandish – I Only ask of God – RIS 2006
Outlandish – Aisha – RIS 2006
Outlandish – I only ask of God – RIS 2006
Outlandish – Aisha – RIS 2006
Outlandish – I’ve Seen – RIS 2006
Finally it’s done. Until RIS 2007…Ma’salama!
59 Responses for "RIS is the Best Convention in North America!"
mashaAllah it was a solid conference. i wish i could have stayed for the knowledge retreat.
Oh, I wish I was there! Both ISNA and MAS were a complete disappointment this year. The Al-Noor group are kind of popular back here on the West Coast. One of the singers, Muneer, is my boss at the paper, so I suppose I’m required to like them
. No, really, they’re great.
You’re so lucky to have seen Imam Siraj. He’s one of my favorite speakers, but I see him less and less at conferences.
Tasbeeh
[...] My man Amir Sahib has come through yet again with another great post highlighting the 2006 RIS Conference and Retreat Here [...]
[...] My man Amir Sahib has come through yet again with another great post highlighting the 2006 RIS Conference and Retreat Here [...]
salamu `alaykum
Great post Amir. Till next year!
It was awesome chilling with you bro. Maybe I might come to Alim!? We’ll see inshAllah
what was the sensitivity concern of the last clip? did they do something that is not “for the public’s eyes” ?
i have the same question as the above.
Also.IT’S ABOUT TIME. lol. just playing. awsome post bro. I was there too! i wanna go back :’(
awwww, dont remind me, i wish i could rewind that event, it was amazing mashallah
thnx for posting the videos
Jazakallah for that,
But I wasnt able to watch the mawlid clip,whys that? it doesnt seem to load:s
I really enjoyed the Qasida sung by Imaam Zaid, he has a luvley voice, He sang ‘Ya imaam al rusli…’ in Jeddah, I have the audio clip I recorded, but i dont know how to upload it on to my blog:|
Ok I was able to view it, wow! I have rushk big time! I wish it was longer:( But Alhamdulila, at least we got to see 10 seconds of it,
Jazakallah khyr MR May Allah bless you for sharing it with us.
too many wasabis come to my blog, so its a warning to them.
Mashallah looks sik, wish i could of been there.. U americans are lucky.. u got loads of conventions, and the best scholars..
Dont you have the full event of this RIS convention, like here in uk. The global peac and unity event, they show it on islam channel. and you can watch it on google you tube… What about ris convetion, or isna..someone should record this whole event and post it up man..I wanted to watch this… esp imam siraj wahaj speech.. he speak from the heart.. amazing brother.
Anyway jazakalla khair MR for the notes, and the videos..
whats so ground breaking about your post?
Jazakullahu Khayr for the notes.
alhamdulillah, that seemed like a great conference…..next year inshaAllah
wow, you really want a ground breaking statement?
check your email…
Subhannallah, mashallah, allahuakbar!!!!!
you officially have unlimited [as can be]islamica reps coming from me on the way…
Jazakallah for the detailed post akhi
Salam, sorry im back, lol.
1) hajji noor deen was there?!!!! Mashallah, he is a humble, very talented uncle!!
2) the mawlid!! … subhannallah, the singing is so beautiful..and i love the qasida!!…very small group considering the mass of RIS go’ers. was it like a private invitation only or not publicised? Mashallah
Great coverage of the RIS. Unfortunatly I couldn’t go this year but, Insh’Allah you’ll see me there next year.
Welcome back MR. I’m so glad you had such a great time. Your excitement is overwhelming.
There is a major difference between the organizer of RIS and the other conventions and conferences and that is the organizers of RIS (Spirit Works Inc.) are a group of young Muslim brothers and sisters who voluntarily put together RIS. ISNA hires people to organize there conventions.
Not true. The people at the top are not volunteers. And they’re not youth.
I met the brother who is the head of the whole thing and he is young. Also, he is the only one paid, while everyone else are volunteers. What I mean when I say that is that you have hired groups of people and old uncles with great grand children running the show.
It is interesting that your only claim to knowing anything about TDC is that you have “heard about it”, but that still allows you to make your outlandish claim about RIS being tops. Its your opinion, and that is quite your prerogative, but before you throw in TDC in the mix, at least make it clear that you know absolutely zilch about it. You have never attended it, you haven’t even done the basic research on it. I would give it to you though that for sufis, I reckon RIS cannot be beaten. Straight lectures, and ‘concert-style’ musical entertainment doesn’t sound that ingenious anymore. Here is my analysis that isn’t really targeted at your audience, but it may soften your assertions.
http://amadsden.blogspot.com/2006/12/ris-vs-tdc.html
TDC is not being compared here. What I mean when I said I just heard about TDC, it means I’m not comparing them. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Oh yeah RIS is the only one that has a week long intensive college setting class with the scholars after the convention. ISNA, ICNA, MAS or TDC do not have this.
We weren’t comparing post-scripts, so the intensive program doesn’t count
Btw, TDC has no full-time paid position, so by the time its over, the volunteers are ready for a 1-year break, let alone a week-long seminar!
Let’s trade places this year. You come to RIS and I go to TDC. Thus we both can come together and analyze them.
(just kidding, I know u want to go to TDC 07 and I know i want to go to RIS 07, hahaha)
You have a special offer on my blog, interestingly, it is along the lines of what you mentioned, though I didn’t see this until after I posted it! Perhaps its a sign!
amadsden.blogspot.com: Musings of a Muslim Mind
the blog is kind of a maze… so here’s the direct link to the offer, in the comments: http://amadsden.blogspot.com/2006/12/ris-vs-tdc.html
Amr Khaled has been to RIS before, this was not his first time in North America. And how could you say RIs is the best convention North America? Do you know Mexico is also part of North America? Have you ever been to a Tableeghi convention there? Until you do, you can’t claim that RIS is the best in North America.
yesterday, i watched the video from the mawlid -the one that was after RIS. was it deleted?
Yeah, I was asked by close friends of the shuyukh to take it down. So I did.
ok
He gets paid?!? Didn’t know that.
Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with getting reward for the hard work. But I’m just surprised that it was never publicized. I had never heard that before…
I was wondering if they do any activities for youth i.e. tournaments etc. I went to RIS a few years ago and didn’t see any. At ISNA ive seen lame attempts to copy, but never successfully.
You have to admit that you can’t find all the activities ICNA has to offer for youth at other conferences. Aside from the Youth Conference the idea behind these activities is to engage young people instead of having them wander all over the place, especially at night.
I like the retreat idea though, that’s definitely innovative. Also you know some speakers are banned from the US (or have had problems in the near past) i.e. Tariq Ramadan, Yusuf Islam while im sure others avoid coming here. It’s good that they take advantage of that. I definitely noticed the diversity in thought amongst the speakers at RIS. That’s a really good move as well.
Btw ICNA Convention isn’t run by really old uncles. Its run by younger but not too young uncles. When you have an existing setup it takes time for things to change. RIS was the brain child of the group thats running it now. They started it from scratch and didn’t inherit a model so they got to think afresh.
Azeem, I like the ICNA bros a lot… In Houston, there is so much unity mashallah. In fact, you wouldn’t believe it, but the ICNA-Houston president, Br. Hanif, is the security chief (volunteer) for Texas Dawah, and a very old friend! MAS does a conference there with ICNA in Thanksgiving, but it is really MAS’s…
By the way, Texas Dawah actually spends a lot of time on youth, from infants to MSA. You will be amazed to know that there are literally separate programs going on for all age groups… Here is the link to the program (its a back-page link):
http://www.texasdawah.org/txdawah/program.html
1) Regular Program (Adults or whoever)
2) MSA Program (High School+)
3) Boys 11-14 Teen Program
4) Girls 11-14 Teen Program
5) Kids Zone 0-5 yrs (3 groups)
6) Kids Zone 6-10 yrs (4 groups)
I mean, it is REALLY family-oriented, and that is why the kids have to be literally dragged out of the Kids Zone at the end of the TDC. In fact, my kids start asking about TDC 6 mths in advance!
i would put my money on TD as well:)
oh snap
first it was al maghrib vs. sunnipath
now its TDC vs RIS
haha
why cant we all just get along?
kudos to Azeems point about the point about RIS starting from scratch and thinking afresh – but mashallah bringing the scholars they have over the past couple of years – and establishing the Knowledge Retreat – that is quite an impressive feat – why cant we just give them their due props.
Also Amir probably is a little biased – hes never been to the TDC, and hes from the east coast and is based primarily in NY and has family in Toronto. So cut the bro some slack.
may Allah reward all those who are establishing such conferences incl. TDC, ICNA, ISNA, MSA Zones, Deen Intensive, Al Maghrib, Alim, etc.
haseeb, I agree
Mad props to them for all their accomplishments, mashallah
may they achieve many many more. Ameen
YM is number 1 when it comes to youth activites!
i wish i was there i heard it was very good, and also can you guys look at my website and check out my new blogs, theres like four pleeeeeeeeaaaaassssssssseeeeeeeeee
dont forget to comment
http://www.getyahmindcorrect.blogspot.com please check it out
my dear brother this doesn’t mean other organization or events or not good we don’t criticize mashallah it was great
I am not criticizsing any other organization or events. I am just voicing my opinion. This is just my view.
check my website?
I have a question… do u or ur blog-roll friends approve of this music, of outlandish or whatever? I mean all the girls screaming and shouting, in a full-blown concert? What’s the difference? The lyrics?
Do you really think the Prophet(S) would have been part of such a gathering? Would you accept that?
pls help me understand how this is good in any islamic way?
My money’s on the RIS!
most of them don’t listen to music. in fact all the friends i came up with did not attend the concert. i was there with family.
half the hall was empty for the concert compared to the shaykh hamza and imam zaid lecture when it was packed. (maybe it was too late that’s why it was empty during the concert, i dunno).
most of my friend’s dont really listen to music and the ones that do listen to muslim artists with out the jahil harami lyrics.
me personally, i really struggled growing up and listening to hip hop, in fact i still struggle. nasheeds, and muslim artists have helped me stray from haram hip hop, now i only listen to haram hip hop when im forced or when im tempted while driving and i have no CD in the car (i make sure theres always some CDs in the car).
the actions of the sisters is ridiculous. but then again i don’t expect much from this ummah. even super reliogus muslims beef with each other, so i can’t expect much from muslims who don’t have that much knowledge.
like Imam Siraj Wahhaj famously said one time: “People are people.”
I didn’t see any scholars at the RIS concert and I highly doubt they approve.
The Prophet (saas) wouldn’t take part, but probably just watch based on the hadith where the Prophet (saas) watched with his wife, Aisha, when he put his cheek next to her cheek.
But none of my friends that I went to RIS with went to the concert.
I am glad to hear that MR… I am proud of you and your friends in staying away from this nonsense…
I am surprised that you linked up the outlandish songs on ur post.
I would be extremely surprised if hamza or zaid would approve this, so i am glad to hear that you confirmed my good thoughts for them.
I think this shows just another area of common interest between us— that we need to concentrate on making people religious, just to pray 5 times, than to worry about labels, etc.
Hip /\ Hop aint tht bad, well…I unno i listen to alot so dont take my actions and words, but you know, is it harram to read the lyrics i really dont know, cus maybe i can read em and qquit
what happened to my picture! You were taking my picture when I was sitting with my sis-in-law and friends but just when you were focusing I waved you and you got embarrassed…don’t be shy publish my picture
Kidding aside, this is an amazing blog you’ve put together. I am still thinking to type my notes and you have already published it.
Keep the good work up. May Allah give you strenght.
Ameen
MR, need your thoughts here… i want to sincerely understand where the ‘moderate sufis’ stop at, and the ‘extreme’ start at… Like Yursil…
pls see here
Speaking of notes…I was wondering if anyone was able to jot down the name of the Oxford Professor of Islamic Studies that Dr. Tariq Swuidan said influenced John Locke? I wasn’t able to jot his name down.
i know but saying that they’re not good or you know but it’s ok i think they all make effort you know!
hey assalamualaikum, great pics and videos, mashaAllah, the zaid shakir one rules. But I noticed you didn’t take notes during Tariq Suwaidan’s part!! Hahaha my friends did the same and hence I’m out of notes for the part that I missed on the last day. if anyone you know has the notes from suwaidan’s last lecture, with dates and all, do lemme know inshaALlah. or email it here.
thanks! wassalam
and yes. RIS rules!
We are in desperae need of guidance … there is nothing more to say.
[...] video was removed from MR’s site and the description is now password protected at Contemplating Chishti. Mawlid video deleted as [...]
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