Record Attendance at the 38th ICNA-MAS Convention

 
HARTFORD, CT (May 27, 2013) – ICNA thanks the attendees of the just concluded 38th Annual ICNA-MAS Convention for making this convention a success.
 
With 18,000 people in attendance at the Hartford Convention Center, this year’s conference, which was themed “Islam: The Pursuit of Happiness”, broke all previous records. About 14,000 people also tuned in to watch the ad-free live telecast from around the world.

The President of ICNA, Naeem Baig, said, “We thank Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, for giving us another opportunity to organize such a wonderful event. And, we also thank our speakers and scholars, our attendees, vendors and volunteers all of whom made this convention a memorable event.”

Prayers were well organized despite limited room this year.

This year ICNA launched the first ever web app for iPhone and Android. The app which was downloaded by about 2700 people, allowed for people to watch the live stream, view the program including parallel programs, hotel information and accommodations, food menus, flight information, and much more.

The bazaar was sold out much earlier this year and the vendors benefited from the higher attendance.

Running parallel to ICNA’s main sessions were the ICNA Sisters Wing sisters’ only sessions, the Window to Islam sessions, children program offered by MCNA, and the annual Young Muslims Youth Conference. Even with such a variety of choices, each session was filled to the brim.

Aside from the main parallel sessions, sessions such as those in Spanish and “Social Media for Parents” were a big success. For the first time ICNA also screened the film Test of Freedom to a packed audience at the conference.

Volunteers worked round the clock to provide an incident free, well organized and enjoyable experience. Here they are preparing the attendee package.

The main hall keynote session on Sunday reached maximum capacity and an overflow area was created where attendees were able to view the keynote and entertainment sessions live on two huge screens.

Due to the record breaking attendance this year, the ICNA-MAS Annual Convention will be moving to a bigger location next year. ICNA would like to thank the Hartford Convention Center and staff for accommodating us throughout these years and by Allah’s grace helping this convention grow into what it is today. Also to all the attendees who have continued to support us over the years, we thank you and hope to see you next year at a new location for an even bigger and better conference God Willing.

Photos by Muhammad Tahir

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