As’salaam alaykum (peace be upon you):   

We hope you had a blessed and beautiful Eid weekend. Each year during the Eid celebration, we present the MAPS Vision Awards to four individuals who have made significant contributions in each of the four cornerstones of MAPS’ vision. These cornerstones are: 

This year, because of the pandemic, we were not able to hold our usual award presentation. However, that did not stop us from recognizing some of the incredible people in the community who are more than deserving of these awards! The award recipients were announced during the Eid service on Friday, and will receive their award plaques in the near future.    

While there were many deserving candidates, here are the final recipients of the 2020 MAPS Vision Awards.  

• Faith: our Imams and Shuyukhs (scholars) who helped us stay grounded and spiritually uplifted despite a global pandemic and our mosque being closed. Thank you for the inspiration you have provided and continue to provide! 
  
• Outbound Good:  Samiah Rizvi for her tireless work with MAPS-MCRC the past few years, and for going above and beyond in ensuring that the medical clinic operated smoothly as it transitioned to an online model when the pandemic hit.
  
• Inbound Good:  Rev. Dr. Kelle Brown for her continued, consistent, and fierce support of the Muslim community, even at personal cost at times. A brave, bold and brilliant ally, Dr. Kelle has a beautiful voice that she uses to speak truth to power and stand firmly for justice. 
  
• Model Citizen:  Nehath Sheriff for striving to live out the best example of what it means to be an American Muslim by excelling at her medical studies, her career and her passion and desire to serve the most vulnerable! 

More details on the individual award recipients below.    

I want to leave you with three action items.  First, please be sure to congratulate these individuals on their award and thank them for their contributions!  Second, please be sure to VOTE (primary ballots due by tomorrow, Aug. 4) and complete the census to make sure our communities are represented. We have an obligation to do our part and use the power of our voice to help get elected leaders that will bring the most benefit to society. And third, please continue to support MAPS as we grow and create long-lasting positive impact in the community right here, right now.    

Thank you, and congratulations again to all the award recipients! 

Samiah Rizvi is a Civil and Structural engineer working at DCI Engineers in the Seattle area. She has volunteered with the MAPS-MCRC medical clinic since its inception. Once Nehath Sheriff moved to D.C., Samiah stepped up to take over the administrative and logistical aspects of running the clinic, with Nehath providing virtual support. Despite her non-healthcare background, Samiah’s on-the ground support, dedication and coordination skills have ensured the smooth operation of the clinic each month, and its growth into a fully self-sustaining model serving those in need. As the clinic transitioned to a virtual model due to COVID, Samiah worked closely with Nehath to manage patient care and volunteer intake. Samiah has spent much time answering patient calls, juggling changing physician schedules, dealing with technical issues, onboarding new volunteers, and so much more – all while juggling her regular full-time job. We recognize the significant time and service by Samiah with the Outbound Good Award! 

The Reverend Dr. Kelle Brown  is Lead Pastor at Plymouth Church. Her church holds Jumuah services for the Downtown Muslim Association, and has put up a large “Love Thy (Muslim) Neighbor” banner in the heart of downtown Seattle. Dr. Kelle has been a fierce supporter of the Muslim community in numerous ways, including inviting Muslim speakers to give sermons during her church services. She always shows up when asked (and even without being asked!) — whether to protest or speak out against the Muslim Bans or family separation policies, or following threats to – or attacks on MAPS or Muslims, or to attend and speak at events. Her participation in some events to support Muslims has even come with personal and professional risk and costs; yet she never backs down in standing up for what’s right and speaking truth to power.  Having a brave, bold, and brilliant ally like Dr. Kelle should provide comfort to the hearts and minds of all Muslims in our area. And we at MAPS are blessed to call her a friend, and honor her with this year’s Inbound Good Award! 

Nehath Sheriff graduated with a bachelor’s from University of Washington and a Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University. She previously taught at the Noor Weekend Academy Sunday School at MAPS, and is currently completing a Fellowship in D.C. Nehath has long been passionate about community service and was instrumental in creating the MAPS-MCRC monthly free medical clinic in 2016. Given the current pandemic, Nehath took the initiative to move the clinic online so the most vulnerable in our community continue to have access to quality healthcare. She essentially functions as the medical office for the now-virtual clinic, even as she balances a full-time job! Due to her work, MAPS-MCRC received a CARES grant to conduct free COVID testing for the uninsured, and she successfully organized a drive-through testing at MAPS. Leveraging the online platform Nehath created for the MAPS-MCRC clinic, she was able to add mental health services, with the series of Mindful Tuesday webinars MAPS-MCRC started each week by Sheikh Yassir Fazzaga. Outside of her significant community work and studies/research, Nehath is an avid student of Islam attending sessions at Center DC. She exemplifies a model citizen and we’re honored to recognize her with the Model Citizen award!  

Jazakum Allah khairan (may you all be rewarded),   

Hyder Ali 
MAPS President