CAIR Sacramento Valley Holds 16th Annual Banquet
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Sacramento Valley Chapter held its 16 th Annual Banquet themed “FAITH LED Justice Driven” on Saturday, November 10, 2018 at the Sacramento State University Union Ballroom.
The local CAIR’s annual event remains the largest formal gathering of the Muslim community and their friends in the Sacramento region and this year was no exception as the venue was filled to capacity. Plus, there was a special attraction waiting for the participants here as one of the first two Muslim women ever elected to the United States Congress, Rashida Tlaib, was the keynote speaker, making this her first major speaking engagement in California (and possibly nationwide) after her election victory.
The evening started off on a rather somber note as event emcee Dr Masood Cajee spoke about what was on everyone’s mind (we drove through thick smoke to get to this event) which was the fire that was raging approximately 100 miles north of Sacramento which has destroyed the town of Paradise, California and claimed many lives. Cajee invited Khalid Sayedi to start the formalities with the customary Qur’anic recitation, the verses of which Maheen Ahmed subsequently translated into English.
The outgoing/former President of CAIR Sacramento Valley Eyas Abdeen offered his thoughts on the local chapter and the important work that it has been doing. Eyas next passed on his role and the podium to the new chapter President Wasim Ali who made his first address to a CAIR event in his new official capacity. Wasim exhibited both wit and humor during his short speech, a necessary ingredient for successful leadership within the Muslim community. And since a successful event in our community has to include great food, a fine dinner catered by Crest Café was served next.
As the dinner ended, CAIR Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim Elkarra took the opportunity to recognize a long list of dignitaries present. That set the stage for the Awards Ceremony which was once again both moving and laudatory. The first, Youth Inspiration Award was presented to the family of young Adnan Muhammad for his spirit of volunteerism in the CAIR family. 16-year-old Adnan passed away tragically on October 14 th. CAIR’s Courage & Inspiration Award was presented to Rabbi Seth Castleman from Davis in recognition of his work for building bridges between faiths in the Sacramento region and a whole lot more.
The next two awardees received the CAIR Sacramento Valley Lifetime Achievement Award which goes to people who have made extraordinary contributions to our area community. And if one was to even try and detail just some of the work done by these two individuals, it would take another full article if not more for each. The first awardee, Sociology Professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz, is an area institution all by himself. He has taught Middle Eastern culture at CSU Sacramento for approximately 50 years (yes, that is correct). Beyond that he has also been a regular contributor to our local community offering both scholarships and advice to our young people over many years. The second recipient of the lifetime award, Dr Hamza El-Nakhal, has been one of the pillars of the area Muslim and interfaith community locally for decades. When not writing on microbiology he has led the Islamic Center of Davis and has been a co-founder of the Celebration of Abraham and many other organizations. And his community outreach work can be recognized throughout the region. Congratulations to both of them for receiving CAIR’s highest local honor.
A video presentation of some of the valuable work done by this CAIR Chapter was next. Executive Director Basim Elkarra presented more details and set the stage for the fundraising segment of the event. Out of the many services offered by the organization, its legal support certainly stands out. Whether it is lawsuits against discrimination or help with immigration matters, CAIR has been there for many in need of their services. CAIR takes civil rights seriously and has the ability to sue generously!
For the actual fundraising that evening Imam Siraj Wahhaj from Brooklyn, New York, the leader of The Muslim Alliance in North America, returned to Sacramento to assist. The Imam was amongst many friends here and conducted the fundraiser using a great deal of shared wisdom and humor. He is a gifted orator and accomplished the appeal for funds convincingly.
Keynote speaker Congresswoman-Elect Rashida Tlaib from Michigan’s 13 th District personifies “The Year of the Woman” results of the recent Mid-Term Elections in America. And it is no surprise that she won. This writer had asked whether there was the usual customary VIP Reception before this CAIR event with her, and found out that she was busy addressing and interacting with the kids at a local Girl Scouts Troop at SALAM instead. Rashida spent time with the girls and shared that she’s going to Washington to fight bullies, and encouraged them to be whatever they wanted to be if they are willing to work hard to meet their goals. The girls were thrilled to meet her. This is just one example of her priorities and the people person that she is, and why she is now one of two (first time) Muslim-American women members of the next US House of Representatives.
Rashida started her speech with the customary Salams and Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim and immediately proceeded to thank the servers at this event for their hard work and service. She added that all working-class friends and neighbors that we have in this country need a lot of love and our respect these days. She added that for those who may know (or not), she is a proud Palestinian, an elder sister of 13 siblings, and a mom of two boys. She said that Sister Ilhan Omar (from Minnesota’s 5 thDistrict) and she were not elected by Muslims. They were elected by their communities. In the case of Sister Ilhan, a predominantly white community elected her and in her own case it was the Black community which helped to make history. She also added that her passion for justice derives a great deal of inspiration from our faith and the Prophet (Peace be Upon Him).
Tlaib spoke of pushing back against the anti-Black environment that we encounter and urged all within our community to also go beyond the humanitarian and interfaith work that we do and speak up more when others are being targeted because of structural racism. Her basic message was that the Muslim community in this country needs to visibly stand up for the rights of Mexican and African-Americans amongst others so that they will stand with us too. Our community cannot remain silent when others are being targeted, she said. We need to speak up for everyone. One could add a great deal more here but space constraints limit what Congresswoman-Elect Rashida Tlaib said during her excellent speech.
The event closed with an introduction of the entire CAIR-Sacramento Valley team on stage and a Nasheed performance by Wendell Uthman Ames and Marlon Altan. Congratulations to all CAIR officials and volunteers for another tremendously successful annual banquet.
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