Assalamu-Alaykum (Peace Be Upon You)

On behalf of Muslim Association of Puget Sound, I extend to all of you a very warm Eid Greetings! Eid Mubarak. We are at the very end of the most blessed time of the year, the most blessed days are the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Let’s all try to make the best out of the remaining few hours we have left, inshaAllah.

In this annual Eid message, I’d like to cover two topics:

• Our priorities and programming focus for the remainder of the year – building on what we’ve achieved in the first half of the year by the grace of Allah swt
• Our Vision & awards that we give out to four recipients annually

President’s Address at Eid Salah

Upcoming Programs

I invite you to take full advantage of programs, which our shuyukh, staff and volunteers are working hard to bring for the benefit of the community.

Religious & Education Classes: With our focus now on Faith and Islamic Education, we have conducted 70,000 student hours of programming with 1200+ students in the first six months of the year already.

1. We have rebooted Scholarship programs, where this year we’re giving scholarships to 5 students to attend Al Qalam Institute in Dallas (1 offline option?).
2. Sunday School Expansion – doubling our capacity to 500+. Enrollment starts Saturday, on July 1, 2023, please enroll your kids
3. Community Led Summer Camps (Ages 4-14) – This year we went from 6 to 17 different summer camps on wide range of topics, e.g. Quran Memorization, Reading, Wudu, Salah, Prophetic Manners & Akhlaq in Islam, Tafseer, Islamic Art, Reading/Writing, Table Tennis, DIY Arts & Crafts, Basketball, etc.
4. To help parents and kids navigate the gender identity challenges at school, our education team and shuyukh are developing set of curriculum and events to educate our community on. All of these programs will be aligned to the religious position our shuyukh had explained (https://www.mapsredmond.org/nd). We have also visits being planned by national speakers, likes of Sh. Mustafa Omer and Dr. Suzy Ismail.

MAPS-Seattle: Our team in Seattle is reporting that their 2nd Jummah, which they started earlier this year, has started to fill up. There’s another masjid in the Central District, close to Capitol Hill, might face a closure that can result in more pressure for us, possibly requiring a 3rd Jummah.

1. Imam Akram is starting a new on series on Seerah a week after July 4th.
2. Qari Abdulsamad is starting Tajweed classes.
3. Every other Sunday, Toddler Circle started and planning to continue

MAPS-Snohomish County Plans: We are about to close buying a permanent facility in the City of Marysville, isA. Team is very excited to extend and planning to offer all our programming:

1. Sunday School being planned, already 35 kids pre-registered and they’ve not opened any formal registration yet
2. Day Care onsite
3. Tutoring program
4. Halaqas for youth and families
5. Other religious, social, and educational programs are being planned.

Social Programs:

1. Annual Camp at Camp Casey, Whidbey Island has been announced for Aug. 18th weekend. Please sign-up, spots are very limited. We will also have our Imams join us and keep us spiritually uplifted
2. Friday Family Nights – We try to bring social and learning components for the entire family. This is the night, when we hold monthly potlucks, monthly guest speaker series, etc.

MAPS-MCRC Services:

1. MAPS-MCRC Clinic – phase I – in person monthly kicked off
   Looking for more single women transition housing
2. Refugee Self-Sufficiency Program ($200K grant, +10 families, +1 case mgr, etc.)

MAPS-Interfaith & Outreach Committee (IOC): Team is reviving their systems and processes by automating masjid tour requests, speaker requests, and centralizing it to help us scale:

1. Masjid tours by 3x from ~200 non-Muslims in H1 to 600 non-Muslims in Q4
2. Speaker requests by 3x from 60 students in Q1 and Q2 to 180 students in Q4
3. Grow relationships with school district superintendents, principals and teachers (who came for the Iftar) to help us achieve our goals.

Vision and Awards

Hajj and Eidul Adha are about commemorating the legacy of Prophet Ibrahim AS, who built Kaaba with his son Ismail AS. After building it, he made number of duas of acceptance, establishing a city and community, but also showing his vision thousands of years into the future in this dua, as follows:

رَبَّنَا وَٱبْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًۭا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ١٢٩

“And, our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from among them, who should recite to them Your verses, and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and cleanse them of all impurities. Indeed You, and You alone, are the All Mighty, the All-Wise” 2:129

This is where we learn the importance of vision and working tirelessly towards it. There are no short cuts to achieving it. The very same Kaaba that was built by Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail, it took Prophet Muhammad SAW a lifetime to purify it of idols.

Today, following our annual tradition, we hand out awards to individuals in our community who have exemplified the four cornerstones of our Vision. These cornerstones are Faith, Service, Advocacy and Model Citizen. Before I announce and introduce the awardees for this year, I would like to take a few minutes to reiterate our Vision and re-explain what MAPS is all about.

We all know the story when our noble Prophet SAW received the first revelation from Jibreel AS in cave Hira and he went to our mother Khadija RA in fear. Khadijah RA comforted the Prophet SAW saying, “Do not worry, for by Him who has dominion over Khadijah’s soul, I hope that you are the Prophet of this nation. Allah would never humiliate you, for you are good to your relatives, you are true to your word, you help those who are in need, you support the weak, you feed the guest and you answer the call of those who are in distress.” Our prophet’s character in being truthful, kind, compassionate, and caring was at the heart of his prophethood. Indeed, Imam Ibn Qayyim said, “the religion (deen), in its entirety, is all moral character (khuluq).” MAPS Vision aims to embody this prophetic character in each one of us. And, our Vision cornerstones are the paths through which we bring this character to life.

Faith is our first cornerstone. We are first and foremost a masjid. In fact, we are now not one but three masajids (Redmond, Seattle, and Snohomish County). We operate this place of prayer where we seek connection with Allah swt. We run extensive education programs to inculcate our faith and its practices in our children. In doing so, we recognize that we are a community of 7000 families from very diverse backgrounds and experiences. Hence, two of the core tenets in our bylaws are: (i) “The Association will respect diversity and be inclusive of different schools of Islamic Jurisprudence,” and (ii) “The Association will ensure that everyone, regardless of their level of iman (faith) and practice of Islam, feels welcome and given the opportunity to grow spiritually and enhance the practice of Islam in their daily lives.”

Service is our next cornerstone. We see from the hadith of Khadija I mentioned, and from many other ahadiths, that our Prophet SAW was very concerned about the well-being of others. MAPS spends a significant amount of its budget assisting the needy, providing rent relief, paying fees for those who cannot do so, providing shelter, etc. Indeed, the best dawa’h is through our public example. We have not one but two divisions, MAPS-MCRC and MAPS-As Sadaqah, whose sole aim is to help people not only in the Muslims community but in our broader community. They do so individually but also in partnership with many other faith-based, non-faith-based and government organizations. Today, MAPS is one of the largest service organizations in the city of Redmond and surrounding suburbs.

Advocacy is our cornerstone where we make effective change in places that matter. As our last president is fond of saying, if you are not at the table where decisions get made, you will be on the menu. From the beginning, MAPS has recognized that our voices are amplified and our impacts are magnified if we push our causes in the right forums. MAPS-AMEN has been critical in helping American Muslims not just in our state but across the country. The fact that our state was the first one to defeat the Muslim ban, to open its doors to Iraqi, Syrian, Somali and Afghan refugees, to pass a $30M bill to support them, to take a strong stance against Islamophobic groups, including Hindutva and white supremacist groups, is directly attributable to our advocacy efforts. Again, this is part of the core tenets of our bylaws that reads “The Association will support a range of activities beyond religious affairs within the bounds of Sharia and the laws that govern a 501c(3) non-profit organization.”

Model Citizen is our fourth cornerstone and it defines excellence of behavior out there in the world. In a Bukhari hadith, Abu Shurayh reported: The Prophet SAW said three times, “By Allah, he does not have faith!” It was said, “Who is it, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “He whose neighbor is not safe from his harm.” And, our scholars tell us that our neighbor is one who is 40 houses around us in every direction. Our Model Citizen cornerstone implements this hadith, ensures that our neighbor is safe from harm, from hunger and from fear while demonstrating prophetic character.

With this background, let me now introduce you to 4 community members who exemplify these cornerstones of MAPS Vision.

1. Faith Award – Sr. Asna Ali: Asna has been the devoted Sunday School program principal for 2 years and before that one of our star teachers for many years. With her help we got through COVID and Post-COVID we were able to re-transition as the program doubled from 140 to nearly 400 students and from 20 to 40+ teachers and volunteers every Sunday. Asna was also a big part of the MAPS Seattle community during Ramadan.
2. Service Award – Sr. Afreen Rahman: We commend Sister Afreen for her outstanding contributions to our community. Her leadership drove successful Ramadan events, especially for sisters and Iftar. She efficiently managed volunteer activities, dedicating her nights to coordinating Iftar and Taraweeh prayers. Despite her daily responsibilities, Sister Afreen balanced her professional commitments while ensuring ample provisions for Iftar. Her efforts extended beyond Ramadan, as she led sister-related operations during Eid. Sister Afreen’s substantial contribution inspires us and exemplifies the spirit of giving and community service.
3. Advocacy Award – Sr. Sarah Fathi: As an Iranian-American attorney and Policy Director at the Washington Attorney General’s Office, Sahar has been a fierce champion for marginalized communities including Muslims. She played a key role in opening the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs in Seattle, and served as OneAmerica Votes Board Chair when the OAV Muslim Council was launched. As co-founder of the Middle Eastern Legal Association of WA, she created its first legal clinic to serve, among others, those facing civil rights violations after 9/11. She volunteered at the airport after the Muslim travel ban, and has also advocated for Iranian-Americans including for those detained at the Blaine border. Recently, she mobilized the AG’s office to challenge the government’s failure to process humanitarian parole applications while taking over $19 million in fees from vulnerable Afghans.
4. Model Citizen – Sr. Adasha Turner: Adasha Turner is the founder & CEO of Modest Family Solutions, supporting BIPOC communities in the Pacific Northwest. They focus on a BIPOC supply chain, involving local community members in farming and logistics. Sister Adasha improves food justice, ensuring culturally relevant programs for vulnerable communities, including refugees. She provides technical assistance and consulting to local food initiatives for equitable and community-led food systems. With firsthand knowledge of BIPOC community health needs, she advocates for justice-oriented agricultural programs. She also leads MAPS-CDEI.

I pray to Allah SWT that He accepts our Udhiya/sacrifices and Ibadaat, that He answers our prayers, that He cleans our hearts, that He blesses our families, and that He forgive our sins.

Please accept our sincere wishes for a very joyful Eid.

Eid Mubarak and Assalamu Alaykum Wa-Rahmat-ullah.

Mohammad Vakil

MAPS President