ICNA Sacramento Holds Young Muslims Islamic Quiz
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Sacramento Chapter held a “Young Muslims Islamic Quiz” event at the Mack Powell Event Center in California’s Capital City on Saturday, April 5 th to the delight of over 400 people present. Out of these approximately 150 were children ranging from elementary to high school age.
The objective of this program was to bring Muslim kids together at one venue and stimulate their knowledge base about religion and: 1) To impart a basic understanding and knowledge of Islamic fundamentals amongst them, 2) Provide them a platform for healthy competition and an incentive for gaining knowledge of Islamic history, 3) Train them to be future leaders by developing skills in public speaking, and 4) To build bonds within the community schools and parents.
ICNA is a well-known grassroots organization active across the country with three main projects that it concentrates on, namely, “ICNA Relief” which aids in providing immediate assistance to people facing disasters, “WhyIslam” which is performing important and challenging Daawah work, increasing awareness about Islam and its true message in post- 9/11 America, and last but not least, a focus on “Young Muslims” which “endeavors to preserve their physical, intellectual and spiritual capabilities,” which events like this one are actively trying to promote.
The halls were buzzing with activity when this scribe arrived. Many of the youth were busy finishing up their written quiz competition in a separate room, the outcome of which led to the selection of four winners from each category A through F with increasing seniority. From there the four went on to a “Buzzer Round” from which a winner was chosen. In a way all these kids were winners because they all appeared to be enthusiastic about answering questions on Islam and its history and in more than one category some tied for second place and had to answer more tie-breaking questions to determine a clear winner.
Food was supplied by Sacramento’s original Halal Food Trucks (SunPizza) where people obtained a range of delicacies including halal Gyros, Burgers, Schwarma and Pizza. Prizes or gifts awarded included the iPad, iPod and Kindle readers and Tablets. The event in a nutshell was quite a success since both parents and children appeared to enjoy the afternoon and kept the organizers and judges quite busy too.
Sacramento’s ICNA Chapter has once again proven its strong credentials by holding this successful event. And it is already well known locally for its “WhyIslam” effort which this newspaper and the local mainstream media have covered over the past few years. The fundraiser for that drive is coming up on May 31 st at the same venue at 6:00PM.
