As’salaamu Alaikum / Peace be up you:

We celebrated Eid yesterday with prayer and a virtual khutbah at MAPS. The virtual stream had over 650 viewers and reached 2,000 people. On this occasion, I had the opportunity to address the community.  Below is the video and text of my message to the community. Following the Eid prayer, we had over 600 cars that came to MAPS to collect goodie bags and treats as part of our Eid Drive-Through celebration. Thank you to all who joined us virtually, in the drive-through, and/or in spirit. We look forward to another celebration after this pandemic is over, insha’Allah (God-willing). Until then, we hope you celebrate safely and remain healthy and blessed. 

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Text of President’s Message to Community on Eid
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As’salaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmat Ullahi Wa Barakatuhu,

Eid Mubarak!

Dear Elders, Brothers, Sisters and Young Ones, Let me start with recitation of Surah Ad-Duhaa [93]

“By the Glorious Morning Light. And the Night when it is still The guardian-Lord has not forsaken you nor displeased with you. And verily the hereafter will be better for you than the present. And soon your Lord give you that you are pleased with. Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter and protection? And He found you without guidance, and He gave you guidance. He found you in need and made you independent. Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness, nor turn away the needy But proclaim the Bounty of thy Lord!”

On behalf of the Muslim Association of Puget Sound, allow me to wish you all a blessed and joyous Eid. Last night my daughter told me how sad she was that she misses seeing her friends at the masjid. Her statement rings true to all of us. How we miss seeing each other in person in the masjid today! How we miss the festive atmosphere at MAPS where our families would have come together dressed in their best in vibrant colors! How we miss the beautiful recitation, the inspiring khutbah and the prayer! The day of Eid-ul-fitr at MAPS is also the day when we honor role models in our community and recognize them with the Vision awards. How we miss recognizing and thanking people too! We will celebrate our Awards during Eid ul Adha IA. Indeed, this Ramadan and this Eid will live in our memories as a unique time in our life. It is easy to look at this pandemic as a calamity upon humanity. However, as Allah, The Merciful, comforted our noble Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the Surah Ad-Duhaa, know that He has not forsaken us. He found us in need before and He provided for us. In times of challenge, He also asked us to remove oppression, to not turn away the needy and to proclaim His grace. Ameen.

This commandment in Surah Ad-Duhaa sums up MAPS response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I must tell you that we had to overcome numerous challenges, find solutions to problems that we never contemplated, and you all rose to the occasion.

From religious to social to educational services, we offered more programs and services and touched more people despite our mosques being closed. Let me put this in perspective.

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you we would be providing Iftar to 10,000 people, who would have believed it? That is what we did. One of the community members who regularly came for the drive-through iftar even shared how that was the only meal their family would have for breaking the fast and for suhoor (starting the fast).

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you we would distribute Fitra to 900 needy people and spend $90K so that they can experience happiness on Eid day without a single person coming to masjid to either pay the fitra or receive the assistance, who would have believed it? That’s what you did!

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you we would distribute 87,000 pounds of food and groceries to 2,500 families, which provided nearly a month’s supply of essential groceries for Ramadan, who would have believed it? That’s what you did!

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you that we would distribute over $130K and help over 1000 families who reached out to us for assistance in desperation, who would have believed it? That’s what you did! Let me unpack this for you.
  • 60% of these requests were for rent and utility
  • 300 families were provided with food and medication assistance
  • 70+ hot meals were delivered each week to the homeless
  • 20+ motel nights were provided to individuals who were otherwise homeless, sleeping in cars as temporary shelter
  • 10+ funerals were conducted during COVID-19 through a contract with a 3^rd party funeral home to perform Ghusl and provide final religious rites while conforming to public health guidelines.  
  • 50+ families were assisted with furniture from the MAPS MCRC furniture warehouse
  • Over 14 people are now residing in transitional housing in our single women shelter. Today, we are issuing a check for 100K to Sophia Way, which is operating the shelter for us.

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you we would have a telemedicine clinic every week, who would have believed it? We will have treated over 2 dozen people who would otherwise not have had the medical help they need!

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you we would have 1000+ Eid goodie bags prepared for distribution for an Eid Drive through celebration, who would have believed it? We will be doing an Eid Drive through celebration today between Noon and 2PM. Please decorate your cars and participate in this new tradition.

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you we would have daily online tafsir and virtual taraweeh, who would have believed it?

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you that we would have not one but two virtual fundraisers with hundreds of people tuned in to participate, who would have believed it? In the 2^nd fundraiser, we executed the event that had almost 10 speakers who shared their perspectives on supporting MAPS and community.

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told you that we would have more media coverage of mosques and the Muslim community in local, national and international media than we ever had, who would have believed it?

• If, at the beginning of Ramadan, I told that you that we will have more participants in the Quran competition than we ever had without anyone coming to the masjid, with 19 judges and all happening online, who have believed it?

Remember, just a month ago, we never knew what we could do or how we would execute any of these tasks. We had to improvise and figure out how to make these happen at a large scale and on a regular basis. These are not mere stats, but real people, scrambling to figure out how to make it happen. Even late last night, there were people trying to figure out how to run this Eid event online. There are not that many centers in the country that can execute at this scale. Alhamdulillah! We are blessed to have a dedicated community. We do these and other things because this is what our faith teaches us; and it is such actions that enable us to call this place our HOME. When a bigot tells us to go home, you can proudly say, this is our HOME – in words and actions!

I want you to know that while I am the face of MAPS to many of you because of the role I play as President, the real work is done by our staff and countless volunteers. I represent the face of many of you who worked tirelessly to make this happen. Many of the initiatives were proposals that came from them which they took upon themselves to execute. While I feel a certain reluctance to constantly be the one updating you, our board felt it was important for you to know that we are actively working to address the dire needs in the community and making deliberate decisions, almost all of which have no precedence. More importantly, this is also the time to show leadership when it is needed the most.

Ramadan is the time we collect donations that fund our operations. Typically, this is the time of the year when our operating funds are low (our bank balance was down to 2 months of operating expense). But we count on Ramadan and our fundraiser to raise the required funds for the remainder of the year. One of our biggest concerns was how we were going to raise the money to sustain our operations when the halls of the masjid are empty. We have 12 part-time and full-time employees including our imams, office staff, cleaning staff and security staff. They work very hard to provide us the services you expect from them. Our budget for the year was $1.95M, of which $1.2M is for operations. Alhamdulillah, so far we have raised about $750K because of your abundant generosity. These funds must come from us. We cannot go to a Government, or other communities to raise the money. So, if you are one of those who has not had a chance to donate yet, please know that we are counting on your support. If you already donated and have the means to give a little more, please consider extending a supporting hand to us.

Before I conclude, I want to take a minute to recognize the amount of effort it takes to maintain the services I just described during a pandemic and during Ramadan. I can tell you that our employees have been working overtime since the pandemic started, and especially during Ramadan, to respond to the community’s needs. In addition, we had 100 volunteers who dedicated countless hours a week to assist with these services. From daily Iftar arrangement, drive-through distribution to packing and delivering food, to fielding and fulfilling financial requests, a number of our community members have stepped up and put others before themselves and put other families before their own families. I will not do justice if I mention a few names now as I know it would take me a long time to recognize and appreciate all of these volunteers. However, I will circulate their names by email after Eid and I ask all of you to take a minute to thank them. The noble Prophet (pbuh) reminds us that “he who does not thank the people is not thankful to Allah.” May Allah bless them all with a better reward in this world and in the hereafter. Ameen.

Eid is a joyous day. Despite being separated, I ask you to celebrate the day with a spirit of togetherness. Don’t forget the Eid gift drive-through from noon to 2pm today. As you observe the celebration today, please remember everyone in the community in your dua’s. Remember to ask that Allah lift the pandemic from the world. Remember to ask that He protect all of us as we slowly re-open our society. Remember those most impacted by the virus; remember those who got sick; remember those who lost their jobs; remember the masjid; and remember to proclaim the grace of our Lord.

You may have seen the message of Ramadan greeting from our WA State Governor Jay Inslee here. If you have not listened to it yet, please do so from our MAPS Facebook page. We also received Eid video messages from our own Redmond Mayor Angela Birney here, our WA State Attorney General Bob Ferguson here, and our U.S. Congresswoman Susan DelBene here. They are all posted on our MAPS Facebook page. Please be sure to listen to them and thank these local, state and national leaders for their support and solidarity with the Muslim community during this blessed Eid.

Jazak-um-ullah-khairan
Eid Mubarak

Hyder Ali
MAPS President