ICNA Islamic Circle of North America

No figure in history is a greater unifier of the world’s prophetic traditions than Prophet Abraham, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. Jews, Christians and Muslims alike view him as the patriarch of their respective faiths.

To honor the tradition of the great prophet, ICNA Relief annually celebrates Abraham Day right after Eid Al-Adha. It is a day for hundreds of volunteers to exemplify that prophetic characteristic of goodwill by providing hot meals and other necessities to the downtrodden. Men and women, young and old come together across national, racial, ethnic and religious divides, unified in their goal of community service. This year Abraham Day was celebrated in the Bay Area on January 19th. Muslims who made the traditional animal sacrifice on Eid Al-Adha contributed 400 pounds of goat meat. 100 pounds of beef was contributed by the Hidaya Foundation. More than 1400 meals were served with these contributions.

On Abraham Day hot meals were served in four Bay Area locations: United Nations Plaza in San Francisco, the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, and two distribution locations in Oakland. Our brothers and sisters from MSA West led the food distribution in one of the locations in Oakland. The meat was prepared with rice, curry and
vegetables at Yaseen’s Corner (Santa Clara) and packaged at Masjid Noorul Islam (San Francisco), SBIA and Masjid al-Islam (Oakland).

Enshrined in the Muslim tradition is the encouragement to lift up our brothers and sisters who have fallen. It was this profound urge that brought an overwhelming response from the Muslim community. The event was cosponsored by a number of local organizations including the MCA, SBIA, Hidaya Foundation, MSA West, Masjid Noorul Islam, and Masjid al-Islam. Generous donations were made by individuals and volunteers. Children baked cookies to be handed out.

The efforts of the selfless volunteers, many of whom were sisters, were warmly received and highly appreciated by those whose lives they touched.

The Islamic Circle of North America co-sponsored an Appreciation Dinner honoring Hassan Askari and Walter Adler in which more than 150 Muslims from more than 35 Muslim Organizations congregated on a bitterly cold night in a restaurant in Jamaica, Queens. Dr. Khurshid Khan, President of Islamic Circle of North America presented Awards to both Hassan Askari and Walter Adler.

Hassan by now has become a household name for many Muslim families living in the Tri-State area. He leaped to the defense of a group when he saw two couples being pummeled by a group yelling anti-Semitic slurs during the holiday season on a train ride on the Q. Walter Adler and Maria Parsheva happened to be the couple and were honorary guests during the dinner that applauded Hassan’s admirable heroism. Mr. Askari embodies the principles of courage, strength and love for fellow Americans as taught by the Quran and Sunnah. The Dinner was therefore a salute to Mr. Askari for putting himself in harms way which resulted in worldwide overage of Islam and Muslims in a positive light. Council Member James F. Genarro, representative of District 24 of Queens, was also one of many who gave a speech about “our common humanity” and commending the work of Hassan. For many, Hassan’s deed was an extension of his Islamic upbringing.

Excerpt taken from:
http://tsmmedia.net/images/jan152008.pdf

JAWED ANWAR on 15 January, 2008

The shocking news of the demise of Imam Mohammad Naseem in Houston, Texas, USA on December 27, 2007, stirred my memories. I recalled the morning in 2001 when he was packing to move permanently to
Houston. I was with him in his New York apartment as he packed. It was hard to believe that he was leaving New York at this stage and would never return to the city he loved.
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