Updated 28 July 2009

The Council of European Jamaats (CoEJ), with the support of The World Federation successfully conducted a Continuous Personal Development (CDP) course for Upcoming Muballigheen. This was the fifth CPD course arranged in the CoEJ Region.

The weekend programme was coordinated by Brother Hassanain Govani on behalf of CoEJ with the support of Shaykh Abbas Ismail of The World Federation’s Islamic Education Department, and Dr. Mahmood Datoo, The World Federation CPD Coordinator. The latter two, along with Shaykh Mohamed Kassamali, stood for the design of course content as well as its delivery. To assist and support the lady participants, Sister Zainab Tajri also attended the CPD.

SESSION WITH SHAYKH MOHAMED KASSAMALI
The course commenced on the eve of Friday24th April 2009. It began with a general discussion led by Shaykh Mohamed Kassamali on the reasons behind delivering lectures and majaalis. Participant comments on the evaluation forms included:

• “He spoke from the heart and from experience - so I benefited a lot from him”
• “Excellent. Really inspired us with reasons to undertake the art of Islamic speechmaking”

SESSION WITH DR. MAHMOOD DATOO
This was followed by a review session led by Dr. Datoo where the participants were given feedback on their presentation skills. The review session allowed the participants to objectively see their weaknesses and strengths, as they commented later:

• “Excellent. Some of the issues that he came out with I, as an individual had not even thought about it.”
• “A real view of reality: Posture etc.. which we never ever thought about which turns out to make a real difference”
• “Brilliant observation - great tips”

SESSION WITH SHAYKH ABBAS ISMAIL
Finally, the day ended with Shaykh Abbas Ismail leading a reflective session which allowed the participants to a more in depth understanding; as well, they started working with what had previously been learnt. Some commented:

• “Very probing and real questions about how we're going to improve something we're lacking”
• “Lots of opportunity to self-reflect and ponder”

Commenting on the first days outcome, one of the participants said:

• “When I looked at the first day of the course, I didn’t think we’d be doing very much, but as soon as we did it and we had the whole day, we did a lot more then I really thought we could do in one day, and it has just increased my expectations for the rest of the course.”(Zoheir Esmail, Stanmore)

The next day the participants were exposed to more theory as well as practice. In sessions covering topics like Target Audience & Topic Selection, Content and Sources & Resources, Shaykh Mohamed Kassamali and Shaykh Abbas Ismail explained more in depth what needs to be taken into consideration when preparing for a lecture, the importance of keeping the topic relevant whilst remaining objective.

• Some commented:
  “Amazing... I really enjoyed the content session as it helped practically”
• “Good talk on authenticity”
• “Good basic foundation points”

Dr. Mahmood Datoo held session pertaining to Presentation, such as Eye Communication, Posture & Movement and Voice & Vocal Variety. The sessions, which were followed by workshops to develop the newly learned skills, were very well received.

• “Excellent presentation on how we can use eye communication; Voice and posture”
• “Funny and enthusiastic with good tips”

Commenting on the course half way through, some said about the course so far:

• “Absolutely fantastic, a great insight into actually what is Public Speaking.”(Ashiq Damani, Stanmore)
• “I’ve found the course very beneficial, before I could collate information to structure a lecture but due to coming to the course I am able to present that information in a much more efficient and direct way.” (Ahmad Kaouri, Milton Keynes)

The final day, Sunday 26th April 2009, started with some advice regarding the respect of the Pulpit and a discussion around the Masaa’ib. On the presentation side, topics like Audience Involvement and Dress & Appearance were discussed amongst others. After the workshops, the participants were given yet another opportunity to deliver a short talk. This presentation was then contrasted with the participants’ presentations on Friday evening.

At the end of it, some participants, answering the question “What I liked the most was” on the evaluation form, wrote:

• “Speeches and Reviews/discussions (recording)”
• “The review sessions & feedback”

Some of the participants commented regarding the learning outcomes of the CPD:

• “I’ve learnt lot of different aspects of Public Speaking, how to improve public speaking, how be aware of yourself, and how you come across to your audience.” (Arzina Merali, Wessex)
• “I have learnt what can be done to produce better lectures, insha’allah” (Fredrik Hussein Muhola, Stockholm)

Giving their feedback regarding the course in general to anyone interested in Public Speaking, participants commented:

• “It’s a definite must, if you want to enter the public speaking domain you must attend such a course” (Hassanain Abdulla, Leicester)
• “I think they have missed out, there’s been lots of information, and there is lots of improvement, so courses like this should be held more often.” (Zishaan Moledina, Hyderi)