Sacramento Community Recognizes Three of Its Leaders
By Ras H. Siddiqui

We do know that immigrants from South Asia arrived in this part of California over a century ago. But the first Middle Easterners to arrive in the Sacramento region could be more difficult to pinpoint. What we have knowledge of is that the 1960’s was a somewhat experimental decade here, in the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the contrasting Summer of Love with California at its epicenter. It was also the decade during which three young people from the Middle East, two from Egypt and one from Iraq, came in pursuit of education and “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” to American shores, and to enrich it in their own unique ways.

Two from amongst this trio, Dr Metwalli Amer and Professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz became educators, teaching at California State University (CSU), Sacramento (aka Sacramento State) for several decades and the third, Veterinarian Dr Atif Wardany, set up his practice taking care of numerous animals in the region. But their contributions to local lives did not end there. They became pioneers for the area Arab American and the local immigrant Muslims because they refused to be siloed into just their professional roles. Using their varied talents, they reached out to Sacramento’s non-Muslim mainstream too for which we are collectively grateful.

To show their appreciation for the positive role that this trio has played in our region, the Who’s Who of the Middle Eastern community along with a sprinkling of South Asian and local groups gathered to honor them at the residence of Nasser and Rofaida Omary in Granite Bay, California, on Saturday, October 1, 2022.  After having known Dr Amer and Professor Al-Qazzaz for the past twenty-five years and being familiar with their work, this was an invitation that could not be passed up. And for the event to happen right here in our neighborhood just happened to be the cherry on top.

Besides our gracious hosts, the Omary’s, this “Lifetime Achievement” poolside banquet event was coordinated with the support of Mohammad Armiti, Mahmoud Sharif, and Shakir Shatnawi. Emcee for the evening was local attorney Bashar Ahmad. On entry, one could not ignore that the backdrop of the stage was adorned with the American flag, along with the flags of the State of California, Egypt, and Iraq. A long period of socializing kicked things off the evening followed by dinner, which served some fine Persian cuisine.

The formalities started with the playing of the American National Anthem. Emcee Bashar briefly highlighted the contributions of the three people being honored and thanked the hosts along with a handful of other individuals and invited Shakir Shatnawi to introduce the first honoree, Professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz. The professor was introduced as a man of honor and dignity who came to Sacramento in 1969 and one who has taught thousands of students at CSU Sacramento since then. He was also described as a voice against extremism and a bridge-builder between the Middle East and the West. Professor Ayad was also presented with a resolution from the California Assembly, a recognition courtesy of Assemblymember Jim Cooper. 

Professor Al-Qazzaz in his speech thanked the hosts and recognized some representatives and friends from CSU Sacramento present here. He delved into the reason why he is still teaching and has not completely retired (he is certainly passionate about his area of study). He added that he was a product of the 1960’s and reflected on his time attending UC Berkeley during an interesting decade. He also highlighted the ongoing problems in the Middle East which remain a focus of his work and criticized misguided policies that have created more problems than they have solved. He ended his speech with a quote from the poet Rumi.

Next up Amal Fattah introduced Dr Atif Wardany who came to Sacramento from Cairo, Egypt in 1968 and helped to start the Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM) and the Masjid Annur Islamic Center in Sacramento. Dr Wardany was not present at this event (he was in Egypt) and was represented here by his son Tamir who thanked everyone for honoring his father. He highlighted his father’s vision when he came to this country which was to share how beautiful his religion was with people in his newly adopted land.

The last honoree Dr Metwalli Amer was introduced by Osama Hassoun. Dr Amer, the founder (1987) and Executive Director of SALAM, was described as a pioneer in interfaith activities in our region and a professor in the Economics Department at CSU Sacramento for several decades. Especially noteworthy was his effort of initiating the annual SALAM Interfaith Iftar (breaking of the Ramadan fast) which has become an annual tradition not just for area Muslims but for Christians, Jews, and other communities as well. 

Dr Metwalli in his speech said that his wife Rosalie and him had just returned from Carmel where he celebrated his 89 th birthday. He described his journey from Egypt where he grew up in a farming family from which he was the first one to go to school. He said that he had always wanted to be a professor and pursued education to reach his goal. In Egypt he shared that he was honored to once work on the Suez Canal. He highlighted his quest to reach America in the early 1960’s where he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne and met his wife. He did return to Egypt for a few years and then came back to Sacramento in 1969. If Mrs Rosalie Amer had something to do with his return to our area, we need to be even more appreciative of her! The event formalities ended with everyone present singing “Happy Birthday” to Dr Amer.

To conclude, it is not easy to condense the work of three octogenarian lives into just one short article. But an attempt is being made here, and it always nice to report that the right people were honored in our neighborhood by their own community.