TMO’s 9th Annual Banquet Dinner

The ninth annual TMO Foundation’s banquet dinner was held at Burton Manor in Livonia, Michigan on September 23rd, 2018.

The banquet takes place every year with the motto, “Giving a voice to our youth.”

This alternative media newspaper was established in 1999. The reason was to establish a platform of media to the Muslim community to have a strong voice.

The program started with a beautiful Qur’an recitation by Imam Mabrook. Dr. Iltefat Hamzavi (President of TMO) gave welcome remarks to the guests. Dr. Nakadar (CEO and Founder of TMO and TMO Foundation) presented the journey and role of TMO for the community and success of young journalist who started their career from TMO and now working at the big international news agencies. He also encouraged our youth to choose their career in journalism. TMO Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Aslam Abdullah explained the importance of Muslim News Madia in his speech.

A video introduction of our honorable guest speaker Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim woman to be in Congress and Dr. Sayyid Syeed, President of ISNA, was presented. The video contained a short documentary of both guests’ lifelong journey, success, achievements, great work and contribution for the community.

Dr. Sayyid Syeed discussed the Islamic values, the importance of storytelling and how the media can manipulate the truth.

Rashida Tlaib made several remarks in her speech regarding alternative media and on how crucial it is for young journalists starting their careers.

She praised TMO and its young journalists for their work. She said that this newspaper truly lets young individuals voice their opinions to get involved to move up the ladder. She also pitched ideas to TMO’s young journalists for their future articles and stories.

The night was hosted by Aftab Borka, a freelance reporter for TMO.

He was followed by a sincere thank you speech to end the program by Managing Director of TMO, Javeria Ahmed. She thanked the honorable guest speakers and other respectable community members including Imams and Muslim organizations for their attendance and support of TMO.

The night included a vast variety of food and the opportunity for the people of the community to give their opinions on how TMO can make reporting better for its audience.

Overall, the night was a success with many laughs, smiles and new ideas exchanged. Most importantly, the community was able to gather insight from one another.