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  • Families come together to design metal tiles for the sculptures on display at the Opening Ceremony.
    Zoya Hajee | 20 August 2017 | USA

    Each Drop is the Ocean; Each Tile is the Mosaic

    Families come together to design metal tiles for the sculptures on display at the Opening Ceremony. Mansoor Hudda
  • Jamati members decorated mosaic tiles at events held across the country.
    Zoya Hajee | 20 August 2017 | USA

    Each Drop is the Ocean; Each Tile is the Mosaic

    Jamati members decorated mosaic tiles at events held across the country. Sarfaraz Lalani
  • Jamati members proudly show the tiles they have designed.
    Zoya Hajee | 20 August 2017 | USA

    Each Drop is the Ocean; Each Tile is the Mosaic

    Jamati members proudly show the tiles they have designed. Sarfaraz Lalani

Across the country, families gathered to draw on metallic tiles to express their felicitations for the Imam on the occasion of his Diamond Jubilee.

Children, elders, and adults excitedly gather around a table in the Santa Clara, California Jamatkhana. Everyone is excited, discussing what to draw on their metal mosaic tiles with gold and white markers. Some are deeper in thought as they contemplate their next design. Others look from their tile to the pattern templates, deciding which aspect of the pattern they can incorporate into their tile. All the participants seem happy with the idea that their tiles, their art, will express their love for the Imam.
 
After a day of volunteering with the Diamond Jubilee event logistics team, one woman sits down to create her own tile. This time, there is no crowd around the table, just a few people milling around mostly working in silence. “This is very, very relaxing,” the woman remarks, “almost soothes my mind after such hustle and bustle.” Drawing on the tiles is an art form that melds creativity and spirituality onto a thin metal tile. Each tile is unique. Each tile is special. The woman motions to all the finished tiles that are laid out to dry. Some of them have the words "Allah" and "Nur" written in Arabic. “All of these are very lovely. And I think it goes to show how creative our Jamat is.” 
 
Besides the expression of love and happiness, the tiles serve as an artistic representation of our cultures. So many of the tiles contain beautiful calligraphy, floral designs, detailed tessellations, and interlacing shapes. There are so many hearts and scribbles from the younger ones; some of the teenagers meticulously draw diamonds. The elders use Hindi, Gujarati, and Urdu to write their felicitations. These tiles reflect so many cultures and so much diversity. What better gift than one that both expresses love for the Imam and showcases the heritage and communities he tirelessly seeks to protect? 
 
As we prepare for the Diamond Jubilee, the mosaic tiles serve as a reminder to slow down and reflect upon the upcoming and past Jubilees while contributing a little piece of one’s self to a bigger picture – a pluralistic mosaic representing the good sentiments of American Ismaili Muslims of all ages and cultures who speak a variety of languages and whose drawings are meant to express their love for their Imam.