Dear members of Spain Jamat, Ya Ali Madad.
We submit issue no. 10 of the Bulletin of the Jamat of Spain, hoping that you have been able to celebrate the 66th Imamat Day by participating in the festivities offered in the places where your Jamatkhanas are located, or by meeting physically or virtually with your families and friends, or sending and receiving messages of congratulations and good wishes from all corners of the world where other Ismaili brothers and sisters are located. Or perhaps also by enjoying all the historic events of this week on Ismaili TV, such as the reception that took place at the Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat on the 11th of July, which was attended by the most senior members of the Portuguese state.
On Imamat Day it is customary for there to be changes and new appointments in institutions and Jamatkhanas. We congratulate all those in office from this week onwards and those retiring from their posts, for their dedication and willingness to serve.
In his farewell speech as President of the National Council, which you will find in this bulletin, Rahim Firozali outlines the current challenges we face and the support programs already in place. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, which is also being celebrated this week, he takes an emotive look back at the early years of our community in Portugal and stresses the importance of the role we all play in continuing its development, no matter where we live:
"... This is the Community formed by your parents, by your grandparents, over decades, in different countries, and each generation has the responsibility and the blessing to continue that legacy and make it grow for future generations, contributing to an ever stronger, more pluralistic, more intellectually and spiritually developed Community ...".
In one of our previous newsletters, we informed you of how to access online the Religious Education Curriculum developed by the Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS), and which is suitable for children, the youth and adults. Now, another step has been taken to facilitate our understanding of the rich diversity in Islam, this time in the form of a podcast. In the articles entitled Muslim Footprints, we introduce the first two episodes (and there is already a third one!), which you can listen to via your usual platform. This new material offers us the chance to delve deeper into knowledge -or for some of us to begin to acquire it- which will help us articulate our faith.
The expressive and colourful drawings and texts of the religious education students, presented to us by their dedicated teachers, give us an idea of the diversity of topics covered in their classes ¡don't miss them!
On July 5th, the anniversary of Eid-e-Ghadir, an important event in Muslim history, was celebrated. This occasion commemorates the pivotal meeting of Ghadir Khumm, when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), following a divine command, appointed Hazrat Ali as his "Mawla", which in Shi´i tradition means his successor and the first in the continuous line of hereditary Imams. As ours is a lunar calendar, this year's anniversary was only 6 days apart from the 66th Imamat Day. Two articles focusing on these important milestones -one of them from the 11th century- are included in this bulletin.
Our tenth newsletter is the first we have produced without the unconditional support of our beloved Council member for Spain, Farana Sadrudin. This publication was conceived as the first tool to keep the Jamat of Spain cohesive and informed, and it was Farana who ensured that it was implemented. And how can we not mention that "Soulful Time" of June 2020, which she pushed so hard to make it happen and through which the long history of the Spanish Jamat became known, through Ismaili TV, in all corners of the world! Any tribute to people so dear to so many always seems inadequate. However, the beautiful gesture of the Jamat of Portugal who on Imamat Day wore a bracelet engraved with the names of Farana and Mariana and the sign of infinity, really touched our hearts. Our bulletin includes an In Memoriam article in honor of Farana; she will always be in our memory and in our hearts.
