In the Life of SALAM

 (1987-2007)

By

Dr. Metwalli B. Amer

Co-Founder & Spiritual Leader of SALAM

Dear Muslims and Friends

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatu-Allahi Wabarakatuh

            The 2007 is a special year in the short life of SALAM since its 20^th anniversary is celebrated this year (1987-2007).

In the first letter dated April 2, 1987 to declare the formation of SALAM, I raised the following questions to describe the state of the Muslim community as I saw it at that time:

“Let us reflect on us Muslims to see the extent of our involvements in religious activities. How often have we seen our Islamic Holidays pass by, without even noticing? How reluctant are we sometimes to announce to our American friends that we are even Muslims, with values and traditions to respect and to be proud of? How often did we try to preserve our Muslim identity? Have we tried to achieve a balance between our professional success in life here, and our duty toward our Islamic practice and heritage? What have we done to establish effective communication with the non-Muslims in our community who are interested to know the truth about Islam? Many questions can be raised; but positive answers will be hard to find!” 

I concluded the letter with this statement: “All what SALAM needs to function effectively is the dedication of a small group of Sacramento residents who are motivated by a sense of responsibility, discipline, moderation, and team work; and who are willing to devote time, effort, and money to aggressively convey the activities of SALAM to the greatest number of people in the community.”

I strongly feel that the questions raised 20 years ago have been positively addressed through the pivotal role that SALAM has played. I also feel that the condition laid for SALAM to function effectively has been the mover behind how SALAM has performed its historical task for Islam and Muslims in our region. It is expected that with the same dedication and involvement of motivated individuals, Phase III will be constructed and that SALAM Islamic Center will open its doors to serve as a beacon for reflection and solace for generations to come.

Brief Review of SALAM history since its inception 20 years ago

            On this occasion, it is gratifying to reflect on the last 20 years of the continuous efforts to develop this organization constructionally and operationally.  With such reflection, many happy memories of working with various individuals and groups who put their marks on the strength of this organization come to mind. Since it is impossible to remember all of them to give each the proper gratitude, I decided to refrain from giving recognition to anyone or express, by name, my deepest appreciation to all the brothers, sisters, and youth who have supported this organization by all the means available to them since its inception.  First, I probably will forget some names. Second, I know the rewards from their Creator are better and everlasting more than any thanks from a brother and a friend.

Introduction: Why Did I Leave my Native Country?

Summer 1967 was a turning point in my life in Egypt.  I was an Assistant Professor at Cairo University.  My wife Rosalie was the university library administrator at the American University in Cairo.  Both were happy in our positions until the 1967 defeat in the Egyptian-Israeli war which changed my outlook to living in Egypt.   In summer 1969, I decided to immigrate to the U.S.A., where I accepted the offer from California State University in Sacramento as Associate Professor effective September 1969.

A Mosque in Town!

I was very happy when I knew that Sacramento had a mosque downtown (V Street).  It was the only mosque in Sacramento in 1969.  I planned my teaching schedule to be free for the Friday prayer although the Khutbah was given in Urdu in those days. My relation continued with the V street Mosque for a good many years.  My daughter used to go to Sunday school after the construction of the new school facility.  Together with many Arab-American friends, we went many afternoons to help in the landscaping of the new school. 

In November 1984, a small house was purchased to be Masjid Annur at 14th Ave.  I supported it and helped in getting its property tax-exempt status.  I started going to it for prayers because it was closer to my home and the university.

My Vision of the Needs of the Muslim Community:

            The Sacramento area has been expanding significantly and the Muslim community has been corresponding to this expansion in greater proportion.  Muslims reside throughout the Sacramento County and it was getting difficult for some to come to the existing two mosques.  In addition, while Islam transcends ethnic boundaries, the two local mosques were ethnically oriented, and generally reached Muslims of the same ethnicity.  I also felt that not much effort was done to reach out to the community at large to project Islam and Muslims in a friendly and favorable light to the media and to fellow Americans of other faiths.  Creating a dialogue among members of other faiths was needed.

In summer of 1986, I pondered about the above issues and local Muslims’ affairs at that time.  I felt deeply that the community needed a religious organization, run by a group of professional Muslims who transcended ethnic boundaries. This would ideally present Islam in its true image of moderation and acceptance. I spent some times in prayers, seeking the guidance of Allah in this endeavor, and all my feelings were to go ahead. To be incorporated legally, the requirements of the State of California and the Internal Revenue Service were strictly observed. That was easy for me to do being a CPA and a professor of Accounting.

How the Name of SALAM Came into Being:

At the end of that summer, my wife Rosalie and I were driving to visit one of her relatives in Napa Valley.  She shared with me her interest in correcting the negative stereotype about Islam and Muslims in this country and believed a course of action should be planned. In turn, I shared with her the plan to establish a Muslim organization to promote Islamic teaching, understanding and unity among all Muslims in our community regardless of their ethnicities. Such an organization should reach out to everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and cooperate with peoples of other faiths in our community.  This will reflect the Islamic message, enhance our standing in the community, and thus enable us to exert influence in the society in which we live.  We started thinking about a spiritual and catchy name, as an acronym. We thought of many names until we came up with SALAM which is one of the Arabic roots of Islam and it is mentioned 42 times in the Qur'an. We then started searching for words to stand for SALAM and came up with "Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims" as the legal name of the organization.

Establishing SALAM:

I spent the fall of 1986 reading materials at the State Library on how to establish a religious organization.  I wrote the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws in a way to avoid crisis situations that happened in some mosques and Islamic centers. In writing those documents, I observed the requirements of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (pbuh).  I did my best in drafting those documents to also minimize any possibility for conflicts in managing the organization.  The management of SALAM is selected according to the Islamic principle of consultation from among those Muslims who have shown serious support to the organization and are willing to work as a team. In addition, the Articles of Incorporation are very broad to allow for establishing a variety of tax-exempt entities and projects under SALAM’s umbrella to meet future community needs. Each entity and project can have its own independent management and separate bank account without any further need to establish a new organization. Since SALAM, as a likely parent organization, is tax-exempt, its separate entities and projects will automatically be tax-exempt.

On December 22, 1986 I filed the proper papers with the California State Department of Corporations and the Franchise Tax Board.  On February 23, 1987 I received a letter of determination from the Franchise Tax Board that SALAM has been established as a religious, tax-exempt organization.  I also filed the necessary papers with the Internal Revenue Service and received similar letter of determination.  Now that SALAM was legally established, it was time to announce it to the Muslim community.

The First Correspondence to the Community about SALAM:

On April 2, 1987 I mailed a four-page letter to the Muslim community informing them of the new organization.  I wish to quote several paragraphs from that letter to share with you what was going on my mind in 1987 concerning the state of affairs of the Muslims in our community.  The letter went on to say:

“We need an organized effort to mobilize our energies to work toward a united front to convey with pride the teachings, values, and heritage of Islam to ourselves, our families, and friends.  We need to reach out to the greater Sacramento area to get every Muslim involved in such mobilization.  We need to join hands as one block, in this age of communication technology, to put Islam in its proper place in our community.....  Here comes the need for a strong and organized effort to achieve such goal.  In the meantime, such a goal needs a strong community; and the strength of the community requires the devotion of each and every Muslim in it.  It also requires the effective coordination of the activities of the various mosques to achieve unity, strength, and brotherhood.”

“SALAM is not a membership organization. It is open for the participation and involvements of every Muslim in the community regardless of national origin.  There are no fees to participate in the activities of SALAM.  Non-Muslims are also welcome to attend its activities in order to know the correct message of Islam.”

“The management of SALAM, as stated in its Bylaws, consists of:

1. An Advisory Council whose function is to give advice to the Board of Trustees in making decisions.
2. A Board of Trustees whose function is for making the decisions to run the organization.
3. An Executive Director to oversee the execution of the decisions made by the Board of Trustees.
4. Various functional committees to help in the implementation of the activities of SALAM.”

The Dream that Occupied my Mind Then and Now:

I concluded the letter by putting my great hopes for our Muslim community in a dream! 

“I dream to see the day that all Muslims in this community capitalize on the many things they have in common, and ignore the minor differences that may divide them.  I dream to see the day that the leaders of the various Mosques in our community will join hands to coordinate the celebration of their religious holidays together, and will be able to agree jointly to have one start and one end for the month of Ramadan.  I dream to see the day, when we perform the Eid’ prayers that all Muslims in this community will stand in one place as one block, at the same moment, and in one loud voice shouting Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.  Only then can we draw the attention of the people around us who will recognize our unity, strength, and existence.  Once those dreams become true, then the claim can be made that we are practicing Islam as it should be practiced according to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (pbuh).  The Qur'an says: ‘And hold you fast to Allah's bond, together, and do not disunite’ (3:103).  Also Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), in his Farewell Khutbah, stated: “O mankind, listen well to my words; learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.”

Before signing the letter, I said the following prayer:

“I pray to Allah to guide all of us to work unselfishly hard to achieve the above goals, and to bring the hearts and minds of all Muslims in this community closer together.”

Early Contributions of SALAM:

The reaction was favorable from the community in general.  The first Advisory Council and Board of Trustees were multi-ethnic and their members were chosen from those who supported the new organization.  The first Board of Trustees included: Dr. Atif Wardany, President, Br. Talib Madyun, Secretary and Dr. Arif Seyal, Chief Financial Officer.  The first issue of SALAM’s Newsletter was published on April 24, 1987 and continued without interruption, until brother Rafat Alafranji started with SALAM’s Magazine in July 1996. The Newsletter has also been issuing but is limited to inform the community with SALAM news, projects, and activities

SALAM activities were modest in nature since it did not have any place from which it can operate.  We brought Muslim scholars to speak to the Muslim community.  We established a dialogue with peoples of other faiths. We established good relations with the media and conducted interviews with TV stations and wrote a number of Islamic articles in The Sacramento Bee.  We celebrated Eid’s holidays, catering to the children and youth to really make them feel the Eid occasion. In May, 1989 SALAM started a weekly TV Program called “Islam in Focus” on Sacramento Cable TV, the Religious Channel. In October 6^th, 1989 Dr. Atif Wardany started SALAM’s Friday Family Night Program at the Interfaith Service Bureau building on Folsom Blvd. The program has been going on since then under different coordinators.

We brought the leaders of the local Mosques together to establish one criterion to unify our Islamic events and holidays. The Muslim community managed to work together and performed Eid prayers and celebrations at one place and at the same time for four consecutive Eids, starting with Eid-ul Fitr on Sunday, March 13, 1994. The Monday, March 14, 1994 issue of The Sacramento Bee wrote this headline on the cover page of the Metro Section, “Capital’s Muslims pray together”. Bill Lindelof, Bee Religion writer then, started the article by saying: “Muslims from Sacramento-area mosques met under the same roof for the first time Sunday as they celebrated one of the most important and joyous days on the Islamic calendar.” What brought up the Muslim community to perform Eid prayers and celebrations together for those four consecutive Eids was the agreement among the leaders of the mosques at that time to follow ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) in its scientific approach to determine the Eid’s day. It was based on the calculation of the possible sighting of the moon in North America. What a wonderful and short experience we had during those two years, 1994 and 1995 of praying and celebrating the Eid together.

 For the first time in the history of Sacramento, sisters participated actively in SALAM activities and made presentations to the Friday Family Night Program audience.  Both men and women were dressed modestly and sat in the same hall with two sides, each group occupied one side. All activities of SALAM have been financed by individual contributions.  The financial statements of SALAM have been audited by an independent CPA every year since its inception in 1987.

Bright Spots in the life of SALAM:

The Year 1990

            In October 1990 my wife Rosalie and I contributed $ 100,000 and pledged to contribute another $ 100,000 to SALAM, as seed money toward acquiring an Islamic Center for SALAM.  I thought a number of families would follow suit in their contribution so we could establish the Center in short time.  During 1991/92, $ 25,000 was contributed toward the Center.  Some members in SALAM’s management wanted to purchase anything, even a warehouse, with the funds available to start religious activities. Others, including myself, wanted to start from scratch to build an Islamically-designed Center in a nice area and to function as a true Islamic Center that all Muslims would be proud of.  My criterion for the quality of anything we buy was that “the House of Allah must be better than the house of anyone of us.”  Thus we had to wait until Allah so Wills.

The Year 1993 and 1994

            Early in 1993, the Board of Trustees wanted to test the Muslim community concerning their feeling toward establishing SALAM’s Islamic Center.  On April 30, we held the first fund-raising dinner at one of the best hotels in town.  I was apprehensive about how much contribution would be made that evening. To my pleasant surprise, contributions reached $ 35,000 and Br. Asghar Aboobaker came to my table and whispered in my ear saying: “I'll match this evening’s contribution, dollar for dollar”  That matching of funds made the total contributions to SALAM’s Islamic Center $ 70,000, the biggest contribution to an Islamic cause in one event in the Sacramento history.   The management of SALAM was pleasantly touched because of this community response.  On the following day, I ran across Br. Asghar and I asked him what motivated him to make such a donation.  He answered: “I have been pleased by the professional way SALAM is managed. Furthermore, SALAM has been the only Islamic organization in Sacramento that had consistently been conducting independent audits of its financial statements by a CPA every year.”

In May 1993, SALAM had $ 300,000 in contributions and pledges.  Elation was the proper word to describe our feeling.  We believed that we had the support of the community for the Islamic Center project. We started immediately looking for a piece of real estate property as a good site.  On June 18, 1993, we closed the escrow on the purchase of a 2 1/2 acre piece of property with 2 houses on it for $325,000 for the SALAM Islamic Center. It was a miracle; the price was excellent and the location was ideal because it is located in front of the biggest and best community college in Sacramento, American River College, in the North of Sacramento, far away from the locations of the existing two local Mosques, the V street Mosque in downtown, and Masjid Annur in the south east of Sacramento.

We did not lose any time.   In October 1993, we started the new SALAM Weekend School, Adult Education, and the Friday Family Night program at the newly acquired property. We also started the tedious process of obtaining the “Use Permit” from the County of Sacramento to establish an Islamic Center with places for Islamic education and a Masjid.  Many Muslims volunteered to work on the detailed plans required by the Sacramento County for the Use Permit. We spent the remaining of the 1993 and 1994 working diligently with the County agencies to plan and implement what was needed.  The plans were designed by Br. Rafat Alafranji, an Arab American architect.  They were made to be implemented in three phases to go along with the availability of funds.  Late in 1994 we started planning for the hearing to be held by the County’s five members’ “Project Planning Commission” whose charge is to grant or deny use permits.  We knew in advance that some neighbors were against the project.  We had to plan for the hearings very carefully to counter any objections against granting us the Use Permit.

The Year 1995

            On January 9, 1995, the “Project Planning Commission” unanimously granted SALAM the Use Permit.  This was done in spite of a number of neighbors spoke against the project.  What a beautiful hearing it was!  It was about diligent Muslim teamwork carefully planned under the guidance and blessing of Allah. Three well known religious leaders spoke on behalf of Muslims and SALAM; an orthodox Jew, a Catholic priest, and a Lutheran minister spoke convincingly in our favor.  They were members on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Service Bureau of which I have also been a member, trying to reach out to work with members of the community at large to make them feel of the presence of Muslims and Islam. American spouses of Muslims spoke eloquently about how their children should have the same opportunity to learn about their religion as those from other faiths.  Some neighbors articulated very well the rights of Muslims to have their own place of worship.  We established good working relations with the American River College and one of its officials spoke on our behalf during the meeting. I was so happy to listen and to see Muslims plan and organize their efforts, and get things done by following the Qur’anic verse which states:  “And Say; Work, and Allah will surely see your work, and His Messenger, and the believers...” (9:105)

The Year 1996

            The beauty of being involved in this type of Islamic project is that there is no end in sight.  You finish one stage to find another one in the waiting, and you are very anxious to proceed.  This is the true feeling of every Muslim on the SALAM management team.  We did not spare much time to enjoy the granting of the Use Permit.  We started right away to get the necessary building permits for constructing Phase I.  It is another lengthy process to meet all the requirements for construction.  That process took the whole year of 1995.  Again, many Muslims volunteered with time, money, and effort for the project.

The work on Phase I started in June 1996 and was completed at the end of summer. The cost of this phase exceeded $ 250,000. We were $ 40,000 short, but two supporting families loaned the amount to SALAM.  We had an open house on September 8^th to show the Muslim community the new look of SALAM property with the new parking facilities, landscaping, green iron fence with two gates, and the new basketball field.  A new sophisticated library and a new media center are also established and will be used by Muslims and the public.  What a blessing from Allah that the completion of Phase I coincided with the 10th Anniversary of SALAM.

The Years 1997-2002 (Planning and Construction of Phase II)

            No time was spared to start planning for the construction of Phase II. This Phase of SALAM Islamic Center is a multi-purpose building to be used for Islamic education for our children and for religious and social meetings to accommodate for the needs of our community. It also included all the parking places built around the new building. The efforts for fundraising started right away through the annual dinner banquets in October of every year. By the end of the year 1999, SALAM has raised over a $ 1,000,000. Based on the availability of such an amount, the decision was made to get in touch with contractors, architects, and civil engineers for designing the detailed construction plans.

The Project Team for the construction of Phase II consisted of M. Asghar Aboobaker as Project Manager and Rafat Alafranji as the Architect for the Building and the Master Plan Design. The Interior Design Team was M. Asghar & Nasreen Aboobaker, Rafat Alafranji, Lisa Bates, Suzana Malik. The Project Committee included M. Asghar Aboobaker, Metwalli B. Amer and Mahmoud Eltorai.

The Board of Trustees selected the construction team. The contractor was Buntain Construction, Inc. The architect was Gordon Rogers & Company, Inc. The civil engineering was JTS Engineering Consultants, Inc. The plans for construction started early in 2000 and it took almost a year to get the detailed construction plans approved by the County of Sacramento.

The actual construction of the Phase II building and parking started in April 2001 and was completed in early 2002. During the construction, SALAM Weekend School moved to Davies Hall at the American River College. It was memorable to see the construction of Phase II on a daily basis after we perform Fajr prayer at the temporary Masjid.

The first function in the new Islamic Center was the prayer and celebration of Eid-ul Adha on Saturday, February 23, 2002. That was the DAY for the dedication of the Center. It was a graceful feeling to use this new elegant building for the first time for one of the two holiest days in the Muslim Calendar, Eid-ul Adha. I had deep appreciation to Allah and a great feeling of internal happiness to lead the Eid prayer and to deliver the Eid Khutbah. 

The size of the building is more than 15,000 square feet with two stories and a multipurpose hall, conference room and classrooms in the two stories for Islamic education. The architecture plan of the building is a tasteful combination of East and West. It borrows the Renaissance's window rhythm of arched and square windows on the first and second floor respectively and banded with exterior colored stripes reminiscent of the Middle Eastern Islamic architecture of the Mumlook Dynasty era.  The building is topped with metal green roof representing the popular Islamic color and yet projecting contemporary California architectural style.  The interior style including skylight and color scheme is from present era California buildings.

The building is utilized for SALAM’s Weekend School. It has seven large classrooms, which are divided to make up to 13 smaller classrooms. There is a large conference room to be used for Friday night programs and meetings. It has a room to temporarily house SALAM library until its permanent place is built with Phase III, the Masjid (Mosque) and other surrounding educational and research facilities.

The building has a 3,500 sq ft. hall with state of the art conferencing and presentation facilities for more than 450 people and dining capacity of more than 280. SALAM has purchased beautiful round dining tables and comfortably padded chairs for the hall various uses. The facilities are available for religious and social events with a full commercial kitchen. They are available for educational conferences and seminars with breakout conference rooms available.

The cost of the building, parking and landscaping reached $ 2,500,000. This amount was made available by private contributions except $ 700,000 was obtained through interest free loans from few generous members of our community. These loans were paid back during 2002-2005. Several Muslim families contributed the cost of classrooms as Perpetual Charity (Sadaqah Jariah).

We did not waste any time after the building became in a usable condition. The Weekend School moved to the new Islamic Center on March 17^th, 2002. Surely, it was nice to come back home again to SALAM new facilities after almost one year of renting the facilities at the American River College. The Afternoon Islamic School, teaching our children Qur’anic reading, Arabic language and Islamic studies, started on April 16^th, Monday through Thursday, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The Afternoon School stopped by the end of August 2003 because it was hard on students to come from their public schools, during the school year, to resume religious studies while they have to work on their daily homework.

SALAM appointed an Administrative Assistant who worked at SALAM every day in the afternoon. The Assistant was handling the facilities, office work, and other responsibilities. If you need information about using the new facilities, please call (916) 979-1933 or fax your questions to (916) 979-1002. SALAM has also a modest bookstore. If you need a specific book on Islam, please call the same number.

By opening the new Phase II, the people at SALAM are contributing to the Islamic education and the social well being of the Muslim community. 

I wish to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Management of SALAM, to express my deepest appreciation, with sincerity in my heart, thoughtfulness in my mind, and a strong feeling of God’s presence in our work, to all those who have supported this new Islamic landmark, the new SALAM Center.

Broadening the Management of SALAM

            When SALAM was founded in 1987, there was a crisis in the management of the two mosques in Sacramento at that time. To avoid similar crisis and to secure continuity in the administration of SALAM, the management followed the model of non-profit, tax-exempt organizations in this country. The Executive Director had a wide range of duties and responsibilities, similar to those of the Chief Executive Officer of a company. In the absence of the Board of Trustees, he was given the authority in the Bylaws to act in its capacity. This authority secured the continuity of running the organization effectively during a conflict between the Board and the Executive Director. This happened once when the Board resigned in August 1998 due to personal frictions. The Executive Director assumed the responsibility of managing SALAM until March 1999 when a new Board was installed. In addition, the Executive Director had much say in the slate of the Board of Trustees to be submitted to the Advisory Council for approval each two years. As you can see, the Executive Director was much protective of this young organization on the expense of broader and more consultative management. That proved to be a wise decision during those early years of building up the organization and securing its continuity. 

Now SALAM is a stronger and more viable organization. It does not depend on one person. It has many stakeholders who are heavily involved in its activities and well-being. It is time for SALAM to broaden its management and develop a large base of supporters.

During the second half of 2002, the Board of Trustees and the Executive Director spent considerable time in serious consultation on how to open up SALAM for broader management and broader base. We reviewed some bylaws of other organizations with long experience in running bigger Islamic centers. After careful review, the Board of Trustees adopted new bylaws on October 28, 2002. This action has achieved such an opening up in management and in opening up for those who wish to be closely associated and actively involved with the organization. 

The Advisory Council met for the last time on Saturday, November 2, 2002. The Board of Trustees and the Executive Director updated the Advisory Council on SALAM activities and finances. The new bylaws were distributed during the meeting to the members of the Advisory Council who were encouraged to be active members in the new management.

The new bylaws require the expansion of the Board of Trustees into nine elected members. It opened its doors to three types of members. Active members have the right to vote in General Membership meetings. Associate members have the right to vote after one year from their admission to membership. Life Time Members are those who contributed $5000 to SALAM. Honorary members are selected by the Board of Trustees because of their support and services to SALAM, but they do not vote and they do not have to be Muslims. A nominating committee nominated 15 Muslims to the General Membership to vote for 9 Muslims to serve on the first expanded Board of Trustees. 10 members can nominate an active member to be added to the slate of nominees for voting as long as they meet the qualifications of Trustees.

Under the new bylaws there are provisions for the appointment of an Executive Director who runs the daily affairs of SALAM and a Director of Religious and Social Services to take care of the religious and the social affairs of SALAM.

The new bylaws became effective on February 8, 2003 and the new system of management became effective on Sunday, the 9^th of February 2003 when the General Membership met for the first time. During that meeting, 9 members were elected to constitute the first Board of Trustees under the new management structure. On Monday, February 17, 2003, the old and new Boards met for an orientation meeting and to elect the new officers, the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, and the Secretary.

The new Board has made history by being the first to be elected by the people of SALAM and for the People of SALAM. Allah and the stakeholders of SALAM have entrusted the new trustees with this organization. The eyes of many must be watching them during this first critical year of the new Board.

The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and the Executive Director

With the election of the new Board of Trustees with new duties and responsibilities including those assigned to the Executive Director and the President of the former Board, the job of the Executive Director and the President are eliminated. Instead, the new By-Laws assigned those duties and responsibilities to the Chairperson of the Board and the newly elected Board of Trustees.  The Board elected Dr. Metwalli Amer to be the first Chairperson of the Board.

The Year 2004:

Friday, March 5^th, we started praying Friday prayers at the hall of the new Islamic Center. The trailer became small to house all Muslims coming to pray. Search for a Director of Religious and Social Services started by placing ads in the Islamic Horizon and the Minaret Magazines in May and June of 2004

The Year 2005 & 2006:

The Appointment of the First Director of Religious and Social Services for SALAM:

            On June 16, 2005, Imam Mohammad AbdelAzeez, joined SALAM as its Director of Religious and Social Services. His appointment culminated a one-year national search which brought to SALAM six applicants for interview out of 10 applied for the position from various states. Imam Azeez philosophy and that of SALAM in serving Islam and Muslims are very compatible. He and SALAM is a perfect match. He has an office in SALAM Islamic Center with a phone number (916) 979-1935.

I would like to share with you the last paragraph I wrote him in the letter of the 1^st six month- review of his performance. It summarizes what we think and expect of him.

“Imam Azeez: Your association with SALAM poses a dual challenge. 1) You are not a traditional Imam. In this role, you are a role model for a new breed of Imams setting new standards in this society; and this is a great challenge. 2) I do not consider you as an employee of SALAM. You are an active participant in building this viable center as a role model for how an Islamic Center should be in this society, and this is also a great challenge. I have great confidence that you shall meet both challenges with flying colors.”

SALAM Elementary School and Pre-School (916) 979-1973:

            SALAM Elementary School started on September 6, 2005. On November 7, SALAM Pre-School started. Information about the Schools is listed on other sections of this website.

Phase III of the Islamic Center:

“SALAM Masjid & Center for Higher Islamic Learning”

Phase III is the Islamically-designed and functionally focused Masjid and education campus with about 21,000 square feet. Its Development Committee was established by the Board of Trustees early in 2006 to develop the project, to envision its prospective functions and to design the floor plans accordingly. To design the functional floor plans, the Committee started with exploring the functions and activities of an optimal Islamic Center to meet the various needs of Islamic worship, learning and social services for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. From such an exploration to various needs, the Committee has drafted the two floor plans with the second floor for the Prayer Halls. The first floor houses the various spaces to meet various functions and activities for such an optimal Islamic Center. Phase III will complete SALAM Islamic Center, a Center that could be a role model for others to follow in the American society we live in.

The Charter of Phase III Development Committee was written by the Committee and was approved by the Board of Trustees on April 3^rd, 2006. The Committee selected Br. Muthana Ibrahim to be the Architect of the Project on April 4^th, 2006. Here is the Charter of the Committee:

SALAM Phase-III Building Development Committee

A.        Charter: Manage all aspects of phase-III building development through its completion in an independent and timely manner and in full consultation with the community and the SALAM BOT. 

B.        Membership: The committee consists of four members: Br Javed Iqbal (Chair), Dr. Metwalli Amer, Imam Mohammad AbdelAzeez and Br. Farrukh Saeed. The Committee membership can be expanded and/or sub-committees spawned as needed, at the discretion of the committee.

C.        Responsibilities:

1. Generate the “program”: define functions, space allocation, space organization to strike highest level of physical space efficiency, best cost of utilization and maintenance and optimal balance with the cost of construction, interior or exterior esthetics. 
2. Perform “due diligence” on all prospective architects, engineers (civil, mechanical, electrical and structural…et al), building contractors or persons prior to signing any contracts or agreements.
3. Generate a time line of work authorization and/or signing of contracts in relation to the funds in the bank for a smooth “waste free” and “conflict free” work flow.
4. Generate “Spending Budgets” for various construction phases for BOT approval
5. Manage and over-see all activities throughout the construction phase and resolve day to day issues in an efficient and timely manner.
6. Spawn sub-committees for various interior design activities (color schemes, Islamic architecture, etc) for the finish phase of the building.
7. Provide support for fund-raising activities.
8. Conduct statistical surveys to keep the community informed and participatory with the workings of the committee 
9. Keep the BOT updated as needed

D.        Authorizations:

            The committee has full authorization to:

1. Sign all contracts on behalf of SALAM to hire any person, organization or entity deemed necessary for the construction of the Phase-III building.
2. Make all day to day decisions as necessary as pertained to Phase-III
3. Make decisions regarding the existing structures on the site.
4. Make day to day payments through signing checks up to the limit of approved budget as per item C-4 above.

E.         Tenure

1.     The committee will disband itself after the opening ceremony of the building.

On July 2006, Phase III Committee was appointed by the Board of Trustees to be the Fundraising Committee since its members are the most knowledgeable to explain the project to prospective donors.   

The “SALAM Masjid and Center for Higher Islamic Learning” will be open to all Muslims and to all people of other faiths to meet their needs for worship, for learning and for various activities. If you see and examine the floor plans, you will find out that they are the most beautiful and sophisticated plans in many places, with a dome on the top. 

SALAM has launched the drive to solicit contributions for the construction of Phase III starting with the Spring Fundraising banquet of June 2005 through November 3, 2007 (six banquets in total, 2 each year). During those six banquets, close to $ 3,500,000 were raised. The last banquet held on November 3, 2007, the end of the year of SALAM 20^th anniversary, the amount of contributions and pledges raised reached $ 1,554,000, the largest sum ever raised in the life of SALAM.

(The Year 2007)

Celebrating the 20^th Anniversary of SALAM

(20 years of dedicated charitable work for the cause of Allah, 1987-2007)

The year 2007 coincides with the 20^th anniversary of SALAM. It also coincides with the completion of the architect work and detailed floor plans for Phase III, “SALAM Masjid & Center For Higher Islamic Learning”. The architect plans are ready to be submitted to the county for approval by December 15, 2007. They are ready to be submitted to contractors for bids. The groundbreaking is expected to take place by March 2008. The expected day for the grand opening of the new Masjid is to hold the prayer and celebration of Eid-ul Fitr of the year 2009 (1430 Hijri) in its Grand Prayer Hall on the second floor, expected on Sunday, September 20, 2009.

“SALAM  Masjid and Center For Higher Islamic Learning” is a place for spiritually uplifting, in a user friendly and energy efficient environment. It is intended to be a source for nurturing the mind, the soul, and the body. It is an open place for everyone seeking serenity and internal peace.

Landmark Culmination of SALAM 20^th Anniversary:

We concluded our celebrations of SALAM 20^th anniversary by the fall fundraising banquet, held on Saturday, November 3, 2007. It was a miracle. We raised $ 1,554,000, the largest amount ever raised. I was pleasantly thankful to Allah and humbly serene while reflecting on what happened during the fundraising evening. I went home trying to get some sleep, but I could not. So, I got up and wrote this heart-felt letter and mailed it to the donors and supporters of SALAM. Here is my reflections:

Sunday, November 04, 2007 (2:00 am)

To all those who contributed last night to build the “Masjid & Center For Higher Islamic Learning” at SALAM Islamic Center:

Assalamu Alaikum                                               

  السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Last night was not an ordinary night. Last night, the a