ABOUT THIS WEBSITE*

 وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۖ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
[ التوبة: 105]

And say (O Muhammad SAW), “Do deeds! Allah will see your deeds, and (so will) His Messenger and the believers. And you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. Then He will inform you of what you used to do.” (At’Tawbah: 105)

“This who believes in Allah and the Day Of Judgement, let him (her) say good, or may he (she) stay silent.” Prophet Muhammad (May Allah pray on him)

Many times have I been approached with the challenging responsibility of editing, fixing, and updating the current Islamic Society of Stillwater (ISS) website. Each time this request surfaced, I found myself conjuring up excuses. The ISS’s current website needs more of an overhaul than just minor fixes and edits, from my technical point of view, of course. The daunting nature of the job stemmed from the fact that I knew I would tackle it solo, from conceptualizing the design to choosing the main pages to code, let alone having many bosses and opinions that I needed to reconcile! Yet, above all, my concern about bearing the weighty responsibility of the website’s contents—and I mean all of its contents– was my dreaded part.

Upon learning that the current website incurred a significant cost for the Islamic Society of Stillwater (ISS), I had to reevaluate my stance. Subsequently, when I was approached again to fix Salat Times on the current ISS website, after many requests from Dr. Ahmed Abo Basha, declining became increasingly difficult. Discussing technicalities with someone juggling numerous responsibilities felt like no use. However, a decision crystallized in my mind—I would undertake the task with due diligence. The ICS was born.

Embarking on the project, I initiated the website design, sketching out initial concepts and using a simple theme (appearance). Creating a rudimentary web page on my localhost server and using my private testing domains, dissatisfaction lingered. If I am going to do it, then at least it should bear the minimum of a respected online presence. The first design model was not what I wanted for a work to be considered among my good deeds.

Determined to infuse the project with an extra layer of expertise, which means more time and hard work, I started afresh. I had to come up with my theme as most of the Islamic centers’ themes available (for fees) on the market did not fulfill my taste. As you may know, this required extensive knowledge of PHP and HTML and long hours of work. The database available at almost all hosting companies is MySQL 5.8/8.2. I, personally, prefer to use MariaDB or PostgreSQL to avoid some licensing issues. Also, PostgreSQL is more ISO SQL compliant than MySQL, and offers many schemas per database. As a staunch supporter of Free and Open Source Software, PostgreSQL is always my choice.

An additional complexity arose when the idea of incorporating content related to Dawaa (Dawaa is presenting Islam to non-Muslims,  and many times to many Muslims!) occurred to me. It added an unforeseen complex layer to the workload I committed myself to tackling. Now, I have to write tens of pages about Islam; add introductory information about Islam; and present its basic principles, hoping to clear misconceptions and misunderstandings spread all over by the mainstream media and other prejudiced outlets. The idea was appealing as I already have the required knowledge for such an endeavor (Alhamdu lil Lah = Thanks to Allah). Working nearly 14 hours daily, utilizing the holiday season’s break, and consuming tons of tea, I dedicated myself to the design and coding of this website*. This is how the ABOUT ISLAM page was born. Dr. Abo Basha, who encourages anything that would add to the ICS mission, was present at every single line of code written, lines of work done, pictures posted, and pages added. I find it enjoyable to ask his opinion on everything I do. His encouragement and, above all, patience with me and my hard and hot tempers were essential. Contents were added, and are being added on almost a weekly basis. The work took months to compile, prepare, edit, correct, and read thoroughly. Of course, you will find mistakes, misspellings, grammar errors, and other errors. I would be grateful in advance if you could help correct some of them.

Contemplating the donation page, I grappled with the intricacies of dealing with money. Mindful of my unpleasant experience (I was the chairman of the ISS once, for almost a year), I opted to distance myself from financial transactions altogether. I don’t take this responsibility lightly, and many people do not like it. I also had to decide whether to include a donation page or omit it completely. Consequently, the idea to purchase new domains and hosting services** emerged. This move allowed me full autonomy in updating this website without interference except from Dr. Abo Basha! This is how the Islamic Center in Stillwater’s web page was born.

It was the right decision! The completion date surpassed my expectations, culminating on the evening of Thursday, December 28th, 2023, preceding the new year. The next morning, Friday, December 29th, 2023, this website was live and kicking. Alhamdu liLah (All thanks is to Allah (Allah is the name of God in Arabic and Aramaic, just as it is Gott in German and Dieu in French)).

Resources

The content on the ABOUT ISLAM portal page covers a wide range of dedicated subjects that I have compiled from various sources. Yet many and many of them are my original writings. The concise Sirah of the Prophet Muhammad is the best piece I have written in my life. I printed it and distributed it to the mosque-goers and visitors. I have also utilized information provided in some other sources from dedicated companies. I reached out to them, and all of them permitted me to use their materials. I am sincerely grateful for their permission. A copy of their permissions is available.

Note To The Reader

I hereby assert exclusive ownership of all rights of this website, including, though not limited to, the domain names (icstillwater.org & stillwateric.org, among many others that can be used if the need arises,) hosting services, and any other associated assets, except for certain contents. I have chosen to allocate some of these assets for the benefit of the Islamic Center in Stillwater, herein referred to as ICS, temporarily.

This website is acknowledged as personal property, entirely owned and managed by me (Hatim Hegab, PhD). Modifications may be implemented without prior notification, contingent upon personal, technical, financial, or other exigencies. Decisions regarding such alterations remain solely within my purview and are predicated upon personal discretion.

It is imperative to underscore that this website DOES NOT constitute the official online platform of the Islamic Society of Stillwater. Efforts will be made to maintain the website’s currency. Users may access information about the Islamic Center, its services, and activities, and utilize the provided contact details for communication purposes. The materials featured in the ABOUT ISLAM portal page are encouraged for use in Dawa endeavors and reference.

Furthermore, as the developer, I neither solicit nor accept donations in any form. Your prayers (Duaa) are appreciated as a sufficient form of support.

Please be informed of the following:

  1. Ongoing Work: There are several tasks to be completed. These tasks include, but are not limited to, fixing the mobile version of the website and adding collapsible menus on certain pages. These items are currently on my To-Do list.

  2. Commitment to Maintenance and Enhancement: I am committed to the continuous updating, enhancement, servicing, and financing of this website for as long as I can do so. The decision to stop is solely mine.

  3. Future Development (Version 2.0): I have already planned Version 2.0 of the website and have begun the design process.

  4. Suggestions and Feedback: Suggestions and feedback from users are always welcome and appreciated. However, I do not guarantee that any suggestions will be incorporated into the website. The final decision regarding any aspect of the website remains solely at my discretion.

  5. Additional Projects: Other online projects are currently under construction. Announcements regarding these projects will be made through blog posts on this website as appropriate.

This statement is intended to provide clarity on the current and future state of this website and to set expectations regarding its development and management. 

Please take note 1:

  1. ICS does not feature a donation page. (For further clarification, please refer to this link.
  2. I do not accept donations of any kind to support this work. This is the primary reason for keeping the warning.
  3. We accept donations for Dawa’s efforts only. Contact us for details of our Dawa’ work.
  4. Credit/debit card information is not solicited anywhere on the website.

Please take note 2 (Legal):

ِAll materials on this website are protected by the copyright laws of the United States. No part of this work may be reproduced, copied, stored, or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the owner of this website (Dr. Hatim Hegab). A copy has been reserved at the Internet Archive of all the contents of this website.

The Blog

I initiated a personal blog to accompany this work, where I can discuss the ISS, its management, its affairs, and anything I deem important or want to talk freely about. Feel free to suggest topics that may concern you; I may highlight them in a blog post. The blog is located here.

In all your communications, please use the following email for contact:
Email me


* This page is subject to continuous updates to ensure accuracy and relevance. This page’s latest version should be the definitive reference for all decisions and considerations. Any information or guidance provided in previous versions is rendered obsolete and should not influence current or future decisions. Users are encouraged to check this page regularly to stay informed of the most recent updates and information regarding or related to my_policy for running this website.

* The importance of PHP, databases (PostgreSQL), and JavaScript to edit, fix, and solve issues I had with WP cannot be stressed enough. HTML & CSS were invaluable in situations that would have taken hours, and maybe days, to solve from within the WP framework. Node.js was used for the back-end on the server (my own) and then replaced with other options.

I am grateful to the Open Source Software Community for their dedication and their important work. I have always been a staunch supporter of the OSS & FOSS communities. This website was built on a Slackware Box.

** I decided to opt to have the services of two different hosting companies. A mirror website is always ready to take over if the need ever arises, as it happened before in February 2024. I decided to have the server located in Germany because of their stricter data laws.