| Support Us in this Blessed Month
Multiply your rewards by donating to CAIR-SFBA in Ramadan! Donations to CAIR-SFBA can be made online at the CAIR-CA website:
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| CAIR Team
Khaldoon Abugharbieh
Executive Committee President
kabugharbieh@cair.com
Safaa Ibrahim
Executive Committee Secretary
sibrahim@cair.com
Zahra Billoo
Programs and Outreach Director
zbilloo@cair.com
Sana Rydhan
Events & Office Manager
srydhan@cair.com |
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The Staff and the Executive Committee at
the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
wish the Bay Area Muslim Community
a Blessed Ramadan.
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Invite Your Friends & Neighbors to Share Iftar With CAIR & Your Local Mosque |
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Media Updates |
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Southern California date growers scramble to fill Ramadan orders
By Raja Abdulrahim, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2009
(Photo Credit: LA Times)
In June, the calls to Dennis Jensen's Riverside County date farm began to pick up. By July, he said, the calls took on a more urgent nature: "Send me some dates; save me!"
Wholesalers and grocers were rushing to put their orders in forRamadan, the Muslim holy month that begins Saturday. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, followed by evening meals that commence with at least one date, a practice believed followed by the prophet Muhammad.
Preferences for the fleshy fruit run from the drier deglet noor to the sweet Medina to the hard, yellow barhi. But the most sought-after dates -- especially among Middle Easterners -- are the soft, plump medjool.
Nearly all medjools in the United States come from the Coachella or Imperial valleys in Southern California. Growers here also sell dates to Europe, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and even some Middle East countries, where the local medjools are eclipsed by California's.
But this year, the calendar has thrown a wrinkle into the date business. It will be the first time in a decade that Ramadan starts before the harvest season in September. The holy month follows the lunar calendar and moves forward each year about 10 days.
This means that most dates will come from last year's crop, stored in freezers. Some fear a date shortage, or at least a scarcity of the most popular varieties.
"All the date-growers have known that Ramadan runs on a lunar calendar, so we've been watching this for several years," Jensen said. "Mother Nature has other games and doesn't care when Ramadan is."
Last year, the Coachella Valley produced 20,687 tons of dates with a market value of $32.1 million, according to the annual crop report. Jensen's farm produced about 480,000 pounds of dates, with roughly 70% going to fill orders for the Muslim observance.
By now, most of Jensen's 2008 crop has been sold, but the calls keep coming. For the last several weeks, all that have remained are the jumbo medjools, the most expensive grade of the most expensive date. But as Ramadannears, even this costly variety may become unavailable. ...
In Other News:
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Civil Rights Updates |
Passport Confiscated by Government Agency - 8/13/2009
CAIR-SFBA was contacted by a Muslim male claiming his passport was confiscated, without explanation, by a government agent. The Muslim male is a US Citizen and has been living in this country faithfully for decades. CAIR-SFBA has advised him to write to various elected officials. We are currently working on contacting his attorney, to strategize on how best to collaborate on the case. CAIR-SFBA will continue to monitor the situation closely and advises anyone with a similar situation to please come forward and contact the CAIR-SFBA office at 408-986-9874.
Housing Incident Blamed Entirely on Muslim Brother - 8/17/09 A Muslim male contacted CAIR-SFBA regarding a housing situation his relative was facing. The relative's apartment had an unexpected leak which caused a large amount of damage to the apartment. The manager was unhappy and blamed the entire incident on the relative living in the apartment without any formal investigation or questioning stepping as far as threatening the family. Due to their modest dressing in traditional Islamic attire, the family believes this is an act of discrimination. CAIR-SFBA is monitoring the situation and has referred the family to various organizations that have expertise on handling such claims.
If you, or anybody you know, feels they may have been the victim of discrimination based on your religion or nationality/ethnic background, call CAIR today at 408-986-9874.
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Upcoming Community Events |
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Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Presents
Understanding Islam Series - Fall 2009 Session
TIMES: Saturdays, 10:00 am ~ 12:00 pm
DATES: Aug 22 ~ Dec 12, 2009
LOCATION: Muslim Community Association (MCA)
Instructors include: Zaidoon Jawadi, Irfan Saadat, Ilyas Mohammed
The Seerah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) will be covered in three phases as follows:
Period 1 - The Prophet's Birth to Mi'raj: 8/22 ~ 9/19
Period 2 - Pledge of Al-'Aqaba to Badr: 10/3 ~ 10/31
Period 3 - Uhud to the Prophet's Death: 11/7 ~ 12/12
The Fast of the Woman
August 23rd at 1:30 PM Women's Prayer HallA two-part series for sisters on the nitty-gritty of fasting in Ramadan, particularly as it applies to women. Join us for practical guidelines to help you attain greater heights in your journey this blessed month. Speaker: Ustadha Rania Awaad Contact: Afroze@gmail.com
Ramadan Project Feed
Sunday, August 30th at 11:00am Join young professionals from all over the Bay Area in packaging and distributing lunches to SF's homeless population. For more information on donating or volunteering, please email zahra.billoo@gmail.com 6th Annual Human Dignity DayOrganized by Rahima Foundation WHEN: Saturday, September 5th WHERE: SBIA Downtown Center REQUEST: Please donate to help us serve hot meal, hygiene packs, T-Shirts, and other items to the Homeless and the Less Fortunate.
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