Pakistani Friends of SALAM Hold Fundraiser
A Pakistan Link Report
Glimpses of the fundraiser organized by the Pakistani friends of SALAM
The Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM) is currently in the midst of its most ambitious project yet: building a 21 st Century state-of-the-art mosque off College Oak Drive opposite American River College in the suburbs of the California State’s Capital city. And as one can easily guess, such a project requires a great deal of funding to become a reality, an especially daunting task in this economy where shrinking financial portfolios and high unemployment are still the norm. But the SALAM organization is not lacking in either fervor or ambition and wants its congregation to pray inside a new mosque before the close of this year.
The local Pakistani/South-Asian community arranged a fundraiser on Saturday, August 8 th at the Arian Palace in Fair Oaks to aid SALAM in its efforts, since community outreach for funds has become necessary. Over 300 people gathered at this event organized by Anjum Saeed, Arshad Alvi, Asif Haq, Azmat Siddiqui, Bilal Adenwala, Khalid Siddiqui, Sadaf Khan and Tariq Munir along with a number of others who assisted. Arshad Khan started with a Qur’anic recitation after which emcee Asif Haq opened the formal evening program during which youngsters Kamran Islam, Mayer Zahid and Hiba Munir also spoke. Thanking the community for its ongoing efforts acting Chairman of the SALAM Board Saeed Ahmed thanked everyone and Azmat Siddiqui followed up with “Reasons to Support SALAM” in his speech. This was followed by a video presentation about SALAM and the great work that it has been doing. Imam Azeez of the SALAM mosque conducted the fundraiser with his usual wisdom, wit and humor before dinner was served.
At the end of the day over $140,000 was raised towards this effort for which our local Pakistani and American Muslim community deserves to be congratulated. Inshallah, the mosque project is one step closer to completion with this infusion of funds. Readers are encouraged to visit the SALAM website at http://www.salamcenter.org/ if they are interested in becoming a part of this vibrant community or want to contribute to this project.
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