Thirty days, 29 days, 28 days, all the way to T minus one: the countdown progressed. July 11, 2017 marked the beginning of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee commemoration. However, the Jamats’ celebrations, reflections, and engagement began weeks earlier. Each day preceding July 11, the Jamat was showered with a wave of new and unique experiences designed to prepare Jamati members for the Jubilee or give them opportunities to create memories and engage with the historic event. Teal and white “Diamond Jubilee” banners, raas and garba, Jubilee Memories, Jubilee Wishes, Jubilee Mosaic Tiles, the One Jamat Celebration Dance workshops, mehndi nights, the Jubilee Book Drive, Shaam-e-Intezaari - all built excitement for and spiritual understanding of the big day.
Many of these programs were developed by National Task Forces created for the Diamond Jubilee, and implemented in local Jamatkhanas. Jubilee Mosaic, for instance, invited Jamati members of all ages to express their faith artistically on mirrored tiles that would later be joined in a mosaic forming the base of professional commemorative sculptural art developed for the Jubilee. “It was amazing to see the hundreds of perspectives on nur, aql, nafs, Allah, Ali, and Muhammad,” says Rayhaan Merani, a project lead for the Washington, DC Jamat.
Conceptually, the mosaic symbolized each Jamati member’s expression of individual faith, coming together to form a coherent, integrated, supportive, and beautiful whole. “I think the tiles project fostered a sense of celebration and community ... Everyone came together to draw the tiles and it was something everyone could get involved in - it really fostered a sense of unity,” recalls Rayhaan. The finished sculptures were displayed prominently at the Imamat Day Jubilee gatherings, where many Jamati members looked for their individual contribution, while marveling at the final, harmonized display.
Shaam-e-Intezaari was another Jubilee initiative, one that prepared the Jamat spiritually for viewing the Homage Ceremony. Ginans, nasheeds, and munajats enhanced murids’ individual religious journeys. Munira Mulani-Samnani, lead for Shaam-e-Intezaari at New York Headquarters Jamatkhana, experienced the event as a step towards being in the physical presence of the, Imam that helped murids “remember the importance of the Homage Ceremony and recollect memories of past Jubilees.”
Organizing these events for the Northeastern region required a heavy lift by volunteers, given the geographic spread of the Jamat. The leadership was motivated by the goal of ensuring the full participation of each Jamat, a desire to prompt excitement and a memorable Jubilee experience for all, and to enable the Jamat to come together as a united community. The variety of programs piqued the interest of diverse groups within the Jamat and, ultimately, brought everyone together as One Jamat, with a fitting culmination at the Imamat Day gatherings.
