Sacramento SALAM Weekend School Graduation 
By Ras H. Siddiqui

The Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM) held its annual Weekend School graduation ceremony on May 17 to highlight the achievements of the children in our community who attend the school here on Sunday. This event was primarily a celebration of learning by students, but it also highlighted the hard work of many parents, grandparents, volunteers, teachers and administrators of this fine school which this year was run by the husband and wife team of Saeed and Connie Ahmed, who deserve a vote of thanks. 

SALAM ( http://www.salamcenter.org/) is a truly American Islamic Center, masjid or mosque which caters to the religious and educational needs of diverse ethnicities and is trans-sectarian in outlook. Besides Arabic, Persian (Farsi) and the Urdu language classes are also taught here. The place is so diverse that the medium of communication is none other than the English language!

The Weekend School is a part of SALAM’s vision. Its community center is popular with area residents who have taken advantage of its hall rental facilities to get together for family events, celebrations and even to gather young Muslims together for finding marriage prospects.

SALAM is also in the process of building the area’s first futuristic mosque, which will incorporate a library, bookstore and other facilities. During this graduation ceremony, Br. Javed Iqbal took various individuals on a “hard hat” tour of the mosque structure under construction and I must say that it is both an impressive and an ambitious plan. The mosque dome has already taken shape to the delight of all of us.

But back to the event: The kids were gracious in accepting their graduation certificates and the presentations that they put together in Arabic, English, Persian and Urdu were a big hit amongst the approximately 400 people present. One can go on and on commenting  on this ceremony, but to conclude here, beaming parents, proud children and the addition of halal hamburgers and hot dogs with a sampling just about every cuisine around sure made the afternoon almost memorable (Mashallah).

 (Please visit the SALAM weekend school site at http://www.salamcenter.org/salam-weekend-school.html for more information)

 

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