SALAM Sacramento: American Muslims Look to the Future
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Glimpses of the graduation ceremony
The Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM) held two programs this month, charting out a future for Muslims in America in their own ways. The May 18th event was a colorful Graduation Ceremony for the SALAM Weekend School which highlighted not only the achievements of mostly American-born Muslim kids but fulfilled the expectations of their parents as well. The second program was held earlier on May 3rd with the Annual Spring Banquet and Fundraiser during which the existing Community Center, which many of us believe is a state-of-the art building, was filled with people who are seeing the beginnings of a very modern or 21st Century Mosque for which ground was broken on March 29th. This could be one of the first mosque projects in America that is actually contemplating going solar.
Close to three hundred people attended the May 3rd event which raised over $90,000 for future projects and expenses. The gathering was first addressed by Omar Mohey Eldin, Chairman SALAM Board of Trustees, along with Qur’anic recitation by Jaafar Albalbool and a performance by Sister Romana’s (SALAM full-time school’s) Pre-School class.
After Maghrib prayers a detailed progress report was presented by Javed Iqbal along with a slide presentation of the groundbreaking ceremony by Karim Menoufy, an inspirational talk by Dr. Metwalli Amer, and last but not least the fundraiser by Imam M.A. Azeez during which SALAM’s young Imam talked about ground-breaking Real Estate ventures not just here and now but in the afterlife.
The SALAM Weekend School’s graduation ceremony was once again a matter of great pride for not only the students and their teachers but for their parents as well. It was also very well attended. The Weekend School is currently looking for qualified teachers for classes that start again after the summer break. Any readers here who are interested in devoting time to the worthy cause of teaching Muslim children important aspects of their faith are encouraged to apply. Please visit SALAM at: at http://www.salamcenter.org/ or email weekendschool@salamcenter.org .
The SALAM facility is located across the street from American River College at 4541 College Oak Drive , Sacramento . The telephone number is 916-979-1933.
The graduation ceremony, besides its beaming children and parents, had the usual festive atmosphere with food and networking at its best. Parents and even some grandparents participated. That this was all happening near fenced open ground with parked construction equipment did not go un-noticed by many of us. Inshallah, by this time next year a brand new Mosque structure will be standing in this open ground, a testament to Islam’s growth in America ’s future as well. (With thanks to sister Lana Tamimi for her many years of service to the SALAM Weekend School).
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