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So, Saturday morning, in the middle of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, our local friendly Muslims of the Jafaria community center gave out boxes and boxes of great healthy food to the local needy – as Muslims do during every Ramadan. Given that this community center is literally a stone’s throw from Anna Drive (and given that Yesenia Rojas is such a go-getter) most of it went to us.
I was there with Donna and other friends to help, because Yesenia called that morning and asked us, and we worked up quite a sweat over a couple hours of helping carry big boxes and bags of food to the cars and homes of the older neighbors. This was not something I was planning to write about, except … well, eventually I had four reasons…
First of all, Yesenia (with some exaggeration) boasted to the community center President Abid Mirza (holding the oranges in the first picture) that I am a “very important journalist.” And immediately Abid gasped, “Really? Oh, please write something about us.” And then on Monday it struck me – when the multinational hoteliers The Wincome Group gave furniture away to the same neighborhood last month, they had reporters and photographers there, and quickly put out a press release that went directly to Cunningham’s blog. And I had to consider the fact that Wincome had all that, while Jafaria had nobody but me! Obviously these Shiites are much closer to the spirit of Matthew 6:3 which I always scold Dan C about.
Oranges! Apples! Cooking oil! English tea! Then I get home and discover that the Trump-Right (my preferred term) has chosen Ramadan as a great time to organize nationwide rallies “against Shari’a Law” – really against Muslims. Shari’a Law – I thought I’d heard the last of that obsession, but it’s back – Trump’s xenophobia, his Muslim ban and his wall – have brought all those social pathologies and bogeymen back. And that is not the capper – my youngest son Gabriel went to one of those rallies in Oceanside to speak reason to these Islamophobes, and ended up first getting attacked by the protesters, then beaten and dragged off by Oceanside police (why do cops always seem to side with the Trumpsters?) and then charged with “resisting arrest,” and now looking for a good lawyer. But that’ll be its own story – we’ll get back to being positive here.
Hey there I am finally, behind Nithia. So much cheese, walnuts, dates, lentils, rice, and pasta! The Muslims of Jafaria, mostly hailing from India and Pakistan, are Shiite; while the Muslims with the fancy mosques are Sunnis – here in America they all get along just fine, just as they don’t want to force their religion (or Shari’a Law) on any of us. I asked Abid if his parishioners had been experiencing any hostility from non-Muslims, and he said, no, really, not at all… “Well, when we first got here a little but not after that.” Hopefully the spirit of Trump never takes root in the City of Kindness.
Businessman Firaz Merchant, the elderly gentleman standing in the back in the first picture and who arranged this event, asked me to print this from a handout he gave me:
Ramadan Blessing
We are very happy to report that with the help of Almighty God and the participation of our great volunteers and their families, we serve thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims during the Holy month of Ramadan.
We Muslims, Sunnis and Shias alike, seek genuine dialogue with the broader Islamic Communities, a dialogue built on mutual respect. We are inspired to work together, not because of our personal interests, but because of our shared belief in God, His Messenger, and the Holy Quran.
As Muslims, we should work together for Human Rights and Religious Freedom. We should raise our voices quickly and boldly against Racism, Terrorism, Bigotry, Poverty, and Homelessness all the time.
The month of Ramadan is the month of fasting, kindness, and forgiveness. As your Muslim neighbors, we continue to strive to make our world a better place.
Imagine a world in which the people of all faiths live in peace and serenity.
As the Grand Imam Ali said: “The worth of all humans is in the good deeds they perform.”
Hold fast all of you to the cord of God and be not divided; and remember the blessing of God upon you… (Quran 3:103.)
Inside the Jafaria Community Center. Take off your shoes though!
Trump is another name for bigotry!!!
I would like to thank the Jafaria congregation for exhibiting such love to the hard working and big-hearted friends of Anna Drive. It is wonderful to see people of faith living out what they believe in a tangible way. We are called to be the hands and feet of a loving God, and that is universal to all the major religions that I know of. While I do not share the Muslim faith, I would love to come help the next time an event like this is hosted. Vern, please text me when another one is planned?
I am glad to hear this congregation has not reported experiencing harassment. I am so horrified to hear others, who claim to share my belief in Christ as Savior, violating the Love He called us to share with others by being legalistic jerks. You see, in America we DO have a form of Taliban, we DO have a group of hardcore religious zealots intent upon turning our nation into a Theocracy, and they are neither Shiite nor Sunni, they are calling themselves Christian but there is nothing Christ-like about them. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/yes-theres-an-american-christian-taliban-and-yes-we-need-to-stand-against-them/
Some of those calling themselves Christian twist religious doctrine to fit their own narrow interpretation of it, just as the Muslim extremists who kill innocents twist a religion I am told is one of peace. We MUST stand against hate and extremism in all its forms, no matter what religion is claimed as the underlying value. So thank you, Jafaria church, for showing real love at a time when it is genuinely needed. May you continue to prosper as you share that abundance with others, (people I happen to love very much on Anna Drive.)
*The Shia Community is wonderful. We wish all the Syrian and Iranian immigrants well while they establish their peaceful and respectful appreciation for being in this country. Having worked with Shia Yemenese and Palastinians in the 70’s…….we know how hard working and caring they are. We are generally very proud of our Islamic brothers and sisters who show nothing but high regard for the United States. It is a very tough job…just as it has been for our brown and black brothers and sisters and so many Native Americans, our yellow brothers and sisters and even those that have a different point of view. Travel and diversity….make a country stronger….not weaker. You don’t have to believe what anyone else thinks…..but it is always wonderful when you don’t feel compelled to pick on those that are different in look or thought.