A Brief Account of the Journey
Feb 14, 2017: Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah! At last, after waiting for so long, comes the joyful announcement that Ahlulbayt Education & Cultural Centre (AECC) is finally a reality.
“It gives the JMAS Management Committee great pleasure to share with you the good news that on February 14th 2017, we have Alhamdulillah made the remaining payments of S$3.39 million to the seller and have acquired the ownership of AECC (17/17C Lorong 15, Geylang). As you know we had already initially paid around S$ 1 million and hence the total payment made comes to S$4.4 million. Now we have our own bigger centre which is owned by the Shia community of Singapore. Thanks to Almighty Allah swt and the Imam of our time for this great gift.
This was a difficult uphill task that has been completed Alhamdolillah. The Management Committee of JMAS would like to congratulate each and every member of the Shia community of Singapore and to those who have currently left and live outside Singapore on this BIG achievement. We would also like to thank all those who have contributed physically, financially or intellectually to make this community dream come true. Special thanks to all those individuals living in Singapore and abroad and the organizations who have financially contributed to this cause. Our special gratitude to Sajjad foundation for their unconditional financial and moral support.
We would also like to thank the Government of Singapore (URA, IRAS, MUIS, Ministry of Muslim Affairs, LTA etc) for their support ,cooperation and granting necessary approvals in the process of acquiring the premises.
Our thanks to different JMAS Sub Committees and volunteers who have played a significant role in the process. Our special thanks to all Trustees for their dedicated efforts and full support. We would also like to recognize and register our gratitude for Bro Asif Husain on his untiring efforts in negotiating different banks and finally procuring the loan from HLF without which it would have been very difficult to reach at this stage.
May Allah swt shower His blessings on all those who have in anyway contributed to this cause.
After acquiring the property our next step is to bring it into operational state before the month of Ramadan by doing some mandatory renovation. Your contribution and financial support is required to complete the task. You will soon receive a message/ email on the renovation plan of AECC. Please come forward and help us by partially or fully sponsoring any item of the renovation project.
You are also requested to please continue to provide your monthly contributions to repay the loan and meet the monthly operational expenses.
For any query please contact JMAS Secretariat on 9725 0388.”
“Blessings are for the man who humbles himself before Allah,whose sources of income are honest, whose intentions are always honorable, whose character is noble, whose habits are sober, who gives away in the cause and in the Name of Allah, the wealth which is lying surplus with him, who controls his tongue from vicious and useless talk, who abstains from oppression, who faithfully follows the traditions of the Holy Prophet and who keeps himself away from innovation in religion”
Imam Ali a.s.
Alhamdulillah, Dreams Realised
A community centre has been an urgent need for the growing shia community in Singapore to enable activities vital to the spiritual and moral development of our members and for conveying the message of true Islam to our fellow human beings. We have not had adequate facilities for weekly islamiat classses for our children. We are hampered in terms of bonding among the diverse ethnic and language groups represented in our community due to the absence of a centre that can accomodate all. The need for unity and co-operation is paramount given the presence of a significant number of members who are the first and second generation shia families.
Management and other resources needed to pursue important objectives of the Association have had to be diverted for the past several years to the task of locating places to hire for every major event and exploring ways to fund the acquisition of a premises in a country with very high property prices.
Our success as a community will Insha’Allah enable us to spread the message of Ahlulbayt and how Islam propagates tolerance and compassion not only among other Singaporeans but also among the large numbers who reside here from countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. Singapore is at the centre of this crucial part of the world and deserves a shia centre that is presentable and accessible to all.
Hectic efforts and appeals have shown results. Alhamdulillah our dreams have come true. The dream of madressah children and their dedicated teachers, the dream of our vibrant youth and volunteers, the dream of the elderly who cannot tackle stairs, the dream of those who joined the ranks of AhlulBayt lovers despite challenges and chiding that continue unabated to this day, the dream of those who have given away their jewelry and carpets, the dream of retirees and low income earners who have given well beyond their means and many others who have been donating to the hilt from scarce resources.
Dear Momineen wa mominaat,
Assalam un Alaikum wr wb
Alhamdulillah after completion of most of the renovation work, AECC will be opened for routine activities inshaAllah from the evening of Thursday 11th of May 2017 corresponding to 14th Shaaban. This is the eve of a very auspicious day of the Birth Anniversary of the Imam of our time (atfs)
While Allah swt has given us our own Centre, we need to protect this Ne’mat by acting as a responsible person to make sure we are not causing any disturbance to our neighbours. We have recently been visited twice by relevant Agencies to investigate the complaints which they had received from our neighbours due to renovation work. The complaint has been amicably settled but we should avoid any activity that may aggravate the matter further. The lack of complaints would be helpful in getting the “Use of Premises as Association” permanently and reimbursement of a huge amount of ABSD that we paid.
Following are few steps that may help us in avoiding any unpleasant incident:
1. We should not stand outside the Centre in groups and chat loudly.
2. Those who are driving should park their cars in the parking areas only.
3. For pick and drop do not keep your cars in front of Centre in a way that may cause traffic jam.
4. Smokers are humbly requested NOT TO SMOKE in front of the centre.
5. We cannot afford to lose this Centre and hence avoid any such activity that may lead to complaint from our neighbours.
This is also our responsibility to keep the entire Centre clean including the main hall and toilet areas.
The place is open to our community activities and anyone who wants to book the place for their program may contact JMAS secretariat where Sister Saleha will help in booking the place. JMAS operations Committee will decide on the appropriateness of the program.
The renovation work has cost us over S$240,000 and Alhamdulillah with the help of community we were able to raise it. We urge everyone to contribute as much as you can towards monthly loan repayments and running expenses.
CONTACT: Bro Tayib Alias (Mobile: 9654 5644 email: tayib.alias@yahoo.com )
Bro Jamil Raza Syed ( Mobile: 9137 8382 email: jamilraza@yahoo.com)
Dr Raza Zaidi (Mobile: 9725 0388 email: zaidi.raza1@gmail.com )
JMAS Account details:
Name of A/C: Jaafari Muslim Association Singapore
Bank Name: United Overseas bank Singapore
Account No: 380 320 8911
Swift Code: UOVBSGSG
Kind regards,
Dr Raza Zaidi, Honorary Secretary
Salam Respected Brothers & Sisters,
Alhamdulillah, we have received the approval from relevant Authority to conduct operations at our Ahlulbayt Educational & Cultural Center (AECC) as announced on 5 November 2016 by JMAS Honorary Secretary, Dr. Raza Zaidi.
The AECC Operation Committee has done some initial work and is very pleased to announce the permitted activities as below and to share guidelines for smooth running of our Center (please refer to the attachment). It is our utmost responsibility to respect the sanctity of the Centre and avoid any action, which may hurt the Centre, community unity and harmony with our neighbors. A kind cooperation and strict adherence will be highly appreciated.
Permissible Activities:
Annual/Extra-Ordinary General Meeting and any other official meeting.
Muharram, Arbaeen & Ramadhan Majalis.
Majalis on special occasions, such as birth (wiladah) and death (wafat/shahadah) of the Ahlulbayt (AS) according to our events calendar including ladies majalis which are done separately from these special occasion majalis.
Duas session on Thursdays.
Children Madressa classes.
Youth programs & forums including those which organize various recreational events for the youth as well as special sessions on vocational trainings, career counseling, etc.
Eid gatherings.
Sport club activities that can be done indoor safely.
Volunteer works, such as visiting to the home for the aged, contribution to the victims of natural disasters, and so on which aim to nurture the community on moral and intellectual grounds to help other fellow human beings.
Inter-Faith and Intra-Faith activities which are intended to help foster a more united and cohesive society as well as to forge deeper understanding of one another.
Community welfare projects for less fortunate Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Health talks for the community members including development & training of volunteers to serve the need of larger community of Singapore.
Social activities such as blood donation drives and other programs in cooperation with The Health Ministry and any other government bodies.
Workshops & seminars for youth education and uplifting of our community including free tuition of our children to help improve their academic achievements.
Educational talks and discussions for the ladies.
Funeral services for janazah.
Any other activities that may be approved from time to time by AECC Operation Committee.
Private programs below are chargeable at SGD 150/session (for max 3 hours):
Majlis for Esale Sawab, Quran Khawani, Community group’s lunch/dinner, etc.
For these private programs, premises cleanliness and safety will be the responsibility of the host and any damage will be claimed.
Please inform our Admin Support, Sister Saleha Buang (Office: 6846 1440, Email: lasalong@yahoo.com.sg) well in advance for proper arrangements.
Please note that all programs done at AECC would be managed centrally by AECC Operation Committee, which has the discretion to approve/disapprove the requested activities/events to be done at our Center.
For any issue, query, feedback or proposal, please contact us in writing by sending an email to: aeccannouncement@gmail.com.
Thank you. JazakAllah khair.
AECC Operation Committee 15 November 2016
