Well Attended Eid al-Adha at SALAM in Sacramento, California
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Eid al-Adha or Bakra Eid as it is often referred to in South Asia was celebrated at all mosques in the Sacramento area on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. With many Islamic centers to choose from now in the Sacramento region to attend Eid prayers, we decided on the SALAM Islamic Center located at 4545 College Oak Drive, Sacramento, opposite American River College. SALAM’s beautiful mosque is visited by many non-Muslims in the area too but that will be a topic for another article.
The prayers were held in two shifts here, the first shift prayer and Khutba conducted by Dr Metwalli Amer starting at 8:30 AM and the second shift at 10:30 AM with Br Hamid Arghandiwal leading and Takbeerat by Shaykh Achour El Qaddoury. The second shift was more convenient for us to attend since this Eid fell during the middle of the week and heavier traffic would have been encountered to attend the early shift.
According to its website SALAM is: “An American Islamic Center. Since Islam is a universal faith, all of our programs are held in English, so the message is universal for everyone to understand. SALAM strongly advocates for women to attend all the events. We believe in the highest Islamic qualities of modesty, decency and moral integrity but do not enforce segregation of the sexes.”
Additionally, “SALAM’s mission is to practice and promote Islam by providing religious, educational, and recreational facilities and services for members of the public. The emergence of an American-Muslim identity is its prime goal.” Our family has been connected with the SALAM congregation for over 20 years and has seen its good work. It is indeed a place to be admired.
Parking across the street at the American River College lot was very convenient for the community. Getting to the SALAM Mosque across the street was easy and supervised because the lines of people making their way there were long. It is interesting that besides English and Arabic, the other languages we heard were predominantly Dari and some Pashto as the second shift attendance appeared to have a slight majority from the Afghan community.
The Sacramento area has seen a large influx of Afghan refugees in the past couple of years and SALAM has been one of the organizations helping them with their spiritual and resettlement needs. The Afghan Women’s Resource Center is a SALAM project, a 12-week program that provides essential guidance and support to Afghan women in the process of navigating and adapting to their new environment in the region. On a side note, due to this influx of people from Afghanistan settling in Sacramento, we have been lucky to see several new Afghan restaurants and bakeries in our region.
The SALAM Mosque was already full when we arrived. The ladies had a separate entrance as they assembled in the theater area. For the men, the SALAM Community Center was the additional designated space for worshippers and that too filled up as some had to join the prayers on the mats provided outside in the courtyard. If this trend continues, SALAM may soon have to branch out and build another mosque or rent space elsewhere, specifically for Eid prayers. The Muslim community in the Sacramento region is certainly growing and SALAM is doing its best to keep up.
There was an Eid Festival arranged by SALAM on Saturday July 1, 2023, between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Many braved the heat as families took advantage of several attractions for children there including giant slides, bounce houses and sports activities. There was also ice cream and cotton candy and food available for purchase. Kudos to the organizers and volunteers who made this festival possible.
Once again Eid Mubarak to our readers from Sacramento, California, a region where Muslims have been residing for over a hundred years.
