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30th National Ijtema 2008: The Khilafat Ijtema

mkaflag.png30th National Ijtema 2008: The Khilafat Ijtema
Inshallah, this year's National Ijtema (Annual Youth Camp) will be held on August 22-24, 2008 at Hudson Valley Sportsdome. The event will also serve to echo this year's celebration of 100 years of Khilafat (Divine Leadership). Registration for the event is now open.
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A Historic Event Concludes PDF Print E-mail
Khilafat International Sports Tournament
Island Park, New York

      The Khilafat International Sports Tournament (KIST), held February 16th and 17th, 2008 in New York exemplified the spirit of brotherhood and camaraderie.   The event brought together teams from Europe, Canada, and the United States.  Over 300 competitors and 40 teams competed in basketball and soccer at two venues.  This year, for the first time, Atfal energized the tournament with their presence in basketball.

     Three basketball courts at the Island Garden basketball facility allowed play of two Khuddam and one Atfal games simultaneously, quickening the pace of the preliminary rounds.  Through the early rounds, dominance was shown by perennial powerhouse teams including Virginia, Canada, Queens, and West South.  They were joined by MKA USA, a team consisting of some of the best players from across the US.

     After a long day of basketball, players headed to the Aviator Sports and Recreation Facility for the soccer part of KIST.  The smart, aggressive play of the Europeans clearly showed superiority to the Americans.  The finals showcased two rivals:  Germany and the UK.  A dramatic penalty shootout resulted in the UK team being crowned the soccer champions of KIST.

     The next day brought as much excitement as the previous night’s shootout.  As many spectators had predicted, Team Canada and MKA USA advanced to the Khuddam basketball finals.   The Canadians, the defending basketball champions, edged their way to a comfortable half time lead.  Just as a recrowning of Canada seemed inevitable, several key plays brought MKA USA roaring back.  With the crowd cheering on the MKA USA team, they pushed themselves to victory.  The Atfal basketball championship went to Team Canada.

     While the sports competition took centerstage, brotherhood was on everybody’s minds.  “KIST meant the opportunity to renew old bonds and to forge new ones in an atmosphere of love and brotherhood,” said Tariq Hayat.  This was exemplified as Team Canada huddled around and chanted for their opponents, “U-S-A”.   One Khadim added, “Brotherhood means belonging to something greater than just yourself.” 

     Though the opening ceremony took place on Saturday morning, planning for the event started months prior.  “An event like this has many different dynamics” said Zeshan Hamid, Nazim-e-Alaa.  He added, “As for our team, it took three months and forty people to plan and execute.”  The execution was near flawless, as many were heard sharing the sentiments of one Khaddim, “I was most impressed by the smooth running of the event. The program started and finished on time and most games started at their scheduled times.”

     In the end, the Khilafat International Sports Tournament lived up to expectations as a premier Khuddam and Atfal sporting event in the world.    

[Article by Ahmad Chaudhry]
 
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