MAS-SSF Holds Impressive Eid Gathering in Sacramento
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Muslim American Society-Social Services Foundation (MAS-SSF) held a large event, bringing the community together for a late Eid-ul-Adha celebration at the Citrus Heights Community Center on Friday, July 22, 2022. Bakra Eid or the Feast of Sacrifice was celebrated on Saturday July 9 th here in the Sacramento, California region, but one is happy to note that the spirit of the festival celebrated almost two weeks later at this event did not lessen its original enthusiasm. With around 600 people in attendance this was most likely the largest separate indoor celebration for Eid in the region. Participants were invited to wear their best Eid clothes and celebrate together and be entertained with Sufi Qawwali presented by Sukhawat Ali Khan and his group.
The Vision of MAS-SSF is: “The Muslim American Society-Social Services Foundation strives to be at the forefront of the community’s social services needs and to support the community in attaining the overall well-being of individuals and families.” The organization takes its social services commitment seriously and has a number of active programs to help people like Amanah House (Domestic Violence Shelter for Muslim Women), AMALA (Muslim Youth Hope line), Al-Afia for Seniors, Peer Counseling and a whole lot more. Readers are encouraged to visit the MAS-SSF website for more information at: https://www.mas-ssf.org/ to access many of these programs. The one area that MAS-SSF has really focused on is the mental health of our community. The subject may not be popular, but it must be addressed and given the importance that it deserves.
The venue appeared to be quite full upon entry. Families were prominent here as many children came dressed in their best ethnic attire adding to the brightness of the Eid celebration. A multi-ethnic crowd of old established Sacramento Muslim families mingled with many newcomers, mainly from Afghanistan. This area has seen quite an influx of Afghan refugees after the American withdrawal and the subsequent fall of government in Kabul last year. Before that we had the Syrians and Iraqis. Middle Easterners and South-Asians were well-represented here.
The languages spoken on stage were English, Arabic, Urdu, Pashto and Dari which did create some reporting challenges. Initiating the proceedings, MAS-SSF Executive Director Gulshan Yusufzai invited Tamer Ahmed the President of the organization to welcome everyone. Tamer said that we are here to serve the community and help it and its families to stay together. He thanked the entities that helped to put this evening together along with MAS-SSF staff and volunteers for their efforts in making the event possible. Lastly, he commended all the attendees for coming to this event and asked them to give themselves a round of applause. Br. Tamer ended his speech with greetings in Arabic. Sadeeya Zaidi followed next with welcoming words in Urdu, followed by Gulshan who greeted everyone in Pashto. Another speaker whose name I could not catch followed up with words of welcome in Dari (Afghan Persian). The formalities continued with a beautiful invocation or recitation from the Holy Qur’an and its translation.
Gulshan Yusufzai returned with Eid greetings and presented a brief overview of the MAS-SSF organization. She said that MAS-SSF had been keeping families together in the Sacramento region for 15 years while sharing the rich diversity of culture and language along with our beautiful Deen (Core Beliefs) with the mainstream community. She went into the genesis of the organization which began in the year 2007 and also shared where it stands today. This writer can add that MAS-SSF is a professional outfit that is funded to address serious community needs and its leadership, including Sister Gulshan and Brother Tamer along with the whole team, need to be commended for providing their services.
And speaking of services let us jump ahead to the introduction of the Afghan Relief organization which occurred during the break in entertainment. Founded by Dr Farid Senzai, its President, Afghan Relief is striving to help the most vulnerable in Afghanistan including orphans and widows. Please visit www.Afghan-Relief.org to find out what is being done and support it. Many in the Sacramento area have known Dr Senzai for many decades because he spent some of his youth here. The last time we met was at an event at SALAM and it was good to see him in Sacramento again. One can vouch for the fact that Dr Senzai is very passionate about helping people everywhere especially those in his native land of Afghanistan.
Last but not least, the entertainment here was provided by Ustad Sukhawat Ali Khan, son of the legendary Salamat Ali Khan who was born in India, moved to Pakistan and whose family later moved here to northern California including Sukhawat’s sister Riffat Sultana. They have been singing for over two decades at various events in this area specializing in South Asian Classical and Sufi music. Sukhawat and his band are not traditional practitioners of Qawwali, but they are versatile and can capture the attention of any audience while successfully working across different music genres and styles.
