2017 Competitions
This year's Knowledge Test books are:
This year’s MIST Bowl topics are:
Topic I – Crime, Justice, and the Politics of Mass Incarcerations (the documentary "13th" available on Netflix)
Topic II – Contemporary Conflicts
Topic III – The Middle East: History, Economy, and Culture
Topic IV – The Muslim Influence Part 2
Topic V – The Ayyubid Empire
Topic VI – Current Events (Starting January 1st, 2017)
Other competitions that require topics:
Original Oratory/Prepared Essay
Debate
- Reclaim Your Heart by Yasmin Mogahed
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- We Too Sing America by Deepa Iyer
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This year’s MIST Bowl topics are:
Topic I – Crime, Justice, and the Politics of Mass Incarcerations (the documentary "13th" available on Netflix)
Topic II – Contemporary Conflicts
Topic III – The Middle East: History, Economy, and Culture
Topic IV – The Muslim Influence Part 2
Topic V – The Ayyubid Empire
Topic VI – Current Events (Starting January 1st, 2017)
Other competitions that require topics:
Original Oratory/Prepared Essay
Debate
2017 Theme
The Challenge of Beauty: Striving for Perfection in an Imperfect World
“God is beautiful and loves beauty.” -Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him
One of the great mysteries of life is its inextricable beauty. Mankind is surrounded by a wondrous universe. From the depths of the night sky upon the vastness of the seas to hearing a bird’s song while tasting a pear plucked from the tree, beauty surrounds us at every turn of our lives. And yet, beauty is not so superficial that it’s limited to our sensory perceptions. We find beauty in the smile of a grandmother, wrinkled as she may be. We find beauty in the pages of a book, nerve-racking as the plot may be. We find beauty in the footwork of the athlete, grueling as the sport may be. We find beauty in the pitter patter of raindrops, scary as the storm may be. What is it about these disparate things that cause us such admiration?
Some may argue that the world is not so beautiful after all. Pain. Arrogance. Anger. Jealousy. Hatred. Greed. However, isn’t it true that each comes with its own antidote? Joy. Humility. Compassion. Generosity. Love. Sacrifice. For those who are adamant, beauty can be found or created in every situation, amidst every challenge, through every difficulty, and even within every ugliness, where the only place we find beauty may be in the hope that things get better.
Arabic has a word for beauty generally: jamal, as in the quote, “God is beautiful and loves beauty.” Arabic also has a word for beauty that people can attain through action: ihsan, beauty that emanates from the perfection of good deeds. Written in the Quran is a command: “...and do ihsan. God loves the doers of ihsan” (Quran 2:195). Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, defined the term thus: “Ihsan is to be aware of God as if you see Him, knowing that if you do not see Him, He sees you” (Bukhari, Muslim). Taken together, when someone strives to constantly be aware of their purpose and live up to their highest ideals as much as possible, even if they falter at times, that’s beautiful. As Rumi famously said, “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
Beauty has many other dimensions to explore. There is beauty in social harmony. As Dr. Cornel West recently said, “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” There is the portrayal of beauty in popular culture, which leads to issues dealing with body image and self-esteem against impossible expectations. There is beauty in diversity amidst the disease of racism. There is beauty in “a word of truth spoken to an unjust ruler.” The list goes on...
How do you define beauty? How do you think we can we make our world more beautiful? How can we make our nation “a more perfect union?” How can we make our homes and communities more loving spaces? How can we sculpt ourselves and our characters to emanate more beauty? Finally, how do we reconcile our struggle for perfection with our human limitations and frailties?
We challenge you to take a deeper look and analyze the various concepts surrounding this theme. You have a chance to explore these concepts and more in the competitions and workshops of MIST this year, at both the Regional and National levels. Remember, competitive submissions with the most creativity and insight earn the greatest points.
Some may argue that the world is not so beautiful after all. Pain. Arrogance. Anger. Jealousy. Hatred. Greed. However, isn’t it true that each comes with its own antidote? Joy. Humility. Compassion. Generosity. Love. Sacrifice. For those who are adamant, beauty can be found or created in every situation, amidst every challenge, through every difficulty, and even within every ugliness, where the only place we find beauty may be in the hope that things get better.
Arabic has a word for beauty generally: jamal, as in the quote, “God is beautiful and loves beauty.” Arabic also has a word for beauty that people can attain through action: ihsan, beauty that emanates from the perfection of good deeds. Written in the Quran is a command: “...and do ihsan. God loves the doers of ihsan” (Quran 2:195). Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, defined the term thus: “Ihsan is to be aware of God as if you see Him, knowing that if you do not see Him, He sees you” (Bukhari, Muslim). Taken together, when someone strives to constantly be aware of their purpose and live up to their highest ideals as much as possible, even if they falter at times, that’s beautiful. As Rumi famously said, “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
Beauty has many other dimensions to explore. There is beauty in social harmony. As Dr. Cornel West recently said, “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” There is the portrayal of beauty in popular culture, which leads to issues dealing with body image and self-esteem against impossible expectations. There is beauty in diversity amidst the disease of racism. There is beauty in “a word of truth spoken to an unjust ruler.” The list goes on...
How do you define beauty? How do you think we can we make our world more beautiful? How can we make our nation “a more perfect union?” How can we make our homes and communities more loving spaces? How can we sculpt ourselves and our characters to emanate more beauty? Finally, how do we reconcile our struggle for perfection with our human limitations and frailties?
We challenge you to take a deeper look and analyze the various concepts surrounding this theme. You have a chance to explore these concepts and more in the competitions and workshops of MIST this year, at both the Regional and National levels. Remember, competitive submissions with the most creativity and insight earn the greatest points.
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A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT MIST
The Muslim Interscholastic Tournament of Florida (MIST) is a fun, educational, interactive program of competitions and workshops designed to bring Muslim and non-Muslim high school students together from around the nation to develop leadership, communication, and other creative skills in order to develop a strong personal identity. Our mission is to unite high school students together in order to create a growing environment in which leadership, communication, and creative skills are developed all while gaining a more intellectual understanding of Islam. These environments thrive during our annual regional and national tournaments. MIST was founded in 2002 by a young woman named Shazia Siddiqi in Houston, Texas. MIST now takes place in 15 different regions across North America. The top four winners in any category of the regional competitions qualify to compete in Nationals. It is now once again time for high school students to take the stand through their own creative identities. Competitors have the opportunity to raise their voices through art, writing, debate, and so much more. So get MISTified! Join in on the hype, joy, and thrill. To get started, form a team at your high school, decide on a team name, pick a coach, and find an ambassador. Be sure to get your teammates registered early and begin preparing for competitions and possible early submission deadlines. There is an entire community that is ready to embrace you! Want to learn more? Interested in participating? Want to get a team together, but don't know where to start? Get in touch with us today to set up a MIST Florida kickoff event at your school or in you city! You can find all of our contact info at our Contact Us page. Email us anytime at [email protected] |
LAST YEAR'S THEME
Memento mori is a Latin phrase that can be roughly translated as, “remember your mortality.” It is a universal concept that exists in many ancient faiths and philosophies, a perspective that our time in this life is limited, so we must remember to make the most of the fleeting moments we have. When we consider how our time is not guaranteed, even the smallest and most mundane moments with family and friends can be transformed into the most precious and beautiful blessings. For this reason, the essence of memento mori is its counterpart memento vivere, “remember to live.” A healthy and balanced attitude towards life comes not just with treasuring blessings, but also with making peace with its inevitabilities. When there is death, there is life. When there is pain, there is healing. When there is sorrow, there is joy, and there are a full range of states in between and beyond. Sometimes loss hits closer to home than we expect. Sometimes change occurs, which can be scary. How do we cope when times get tough? How do we make sense of the pain we experience in life, and how do we bring joy back into our lives and the lives of others? How do we remember to keep our lives in perspective so we can live it fully with balance?
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COMPETEWin it all
Having a safe space for personal expression is a critical objective of MIST. Every individual has a unique voice. Through our competitions, we strive to validate and motivate our participants to be successful, compassionate human beings. With over two dozen competitions, participate in your favorites and take home the gold medals! |
LEARNIncrease your knowledge
One of our objectives is to provide a platform to help our participants develop confidence and professionalism by practicing presentation, public speaking, and problem solving skills. Competitors present their projects in front of a panel of judges and an audience of other MIST participants. All participants have the opportunity to explore and discover unknown talents and hidden potential! |
HAVE FUNConnect with others
MIST provides participants with the opportunity to meet and network with diverse peers who share the same (or different!) talents and interests, as well as build relationships that can last a lifetime. We welcome everyone of any religion or no religion. Our topics and workshops are geared towards developing critical thinking skills while promoting a greater understanding of Islam and Muslims. |
