Napa Muslim’s message to neighbors: Militants don’t speak for us
Omar Salem’s chosen method of reaching out is the simplest and most direct: to talk. And as a member of Napa’s small Muslim community, the 30-year-old police officer and son of Middle Eastern immigrants felt the time had come again to speak out for his faith – and against those who in recent months have killed in its name.
On Sunday, members of one local church invited Salem to lead the latest in its monthly dialogues on religion, with the memories of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks still fresh. Speaking to about three dozen audience members, Salem, a frequent spokesman for the estimated 150 to 220 Muslim families in Napa County, urged his listeners to separate the faith of a billion followers – one-seventh of humanity – from the militants he said hijack it for political gain.
“There’s a verse in the Quran that says if you kill a person, it’s as if you have killed all of humanity – and if you save one person, it’s as if you save all humanity,” said Salem, a Napa Police resource officer at Vintage High School, during the “Conversation with a Muslim” program at the Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists church. “And if you kill another Muslim, there is no pardon for that.”
The program was part of the monthly series “Thinking about Religion,” which the Unitarian church hosts at its Salvador Avenue sanctuary. And amid the fierce anti-Muslim blowback that has followed deadly terrorist acts by people identifying themselves with the Islamic State group – culminating in Donald Trump’s promise to block Muslim immigration into the U.S. if elected president – few such speeches had been as timely or as necessary, according to Jim Craig, a congregation member and the event’s moderator.
“It seemed to me that with all the recent news on anti-Muslim sentiment, it might be a good time to do something like this,” he said last week. “We’re concerned to know what, if any, negative expressions the local Muslim community has been experiencing.”
“When that happened, it was a moment of dread: ‘Here we go again,’” Salem said of the San Bernardino shootings. “Typically, I get called when there’s a crisis, whether in our country or abroad; when it’s not a crisis, it’s the off-season.”
Much of the modern battle over the Quran’s message, he told his audience, is a tug-of-war over the meaning of the Quranic passage that begins: “And fight for the sake of God those who fight you; but do not be brutal or commit aggression, for God does not love brutal aggressors.”
“If you want to know about Islam, don’t look at what the militants do; don’t look at what I do,” he told his listeners. “Read the books; really learn about the religion, not just the people of the religion.”
During a patient, hourlong dialogue with a sympathetic audience, Salem took on not only the battle against extremism but the other aspects of living as a Muslim in a secular world – the tasks of integrating faith and work; the outreach mission of Zaytuna College, the Muslim liberal arts school in Berkeley; the controversies over women wearing the hijab, the face veil whose public wearing the French government has banned along with other similar coverings.
“I’ve not read the Qur'an; I’m not well read in anything Islamic,” said Beth Bevington, a member of the Napa Unitarian church. “And that’s why I’m here, because I want to learn.”
Even as a church member, Bevington was weary of the conflicts inspired by those proclaiming their faiths. “Our religions have caused so much strife,” she said. “Every war has a religion behind it.”
For some Napans in the audience, the most forceful words may have come not from the California-raised Salem but his father – Louis Salem, a native of Iraq who came to the U.S. with his Afghanistan-born wife in the late 1970s.
In no uncertain terms, he denied the right of the self-styled caliphate that has seized swaths of both Syria and his former homeland to speak for him, his people or his religion.
“ISIS is the state of terrorists, not the state of Islam,” he said, drawing applause from his listeners. “We have to love and honor and respect every human being. We are not the only ones who will go to heaven.
“People ask me if I’m a Muslim, and when I say yes, they ask, ‘Are you a bad one or a good one?’ There’s no bad Muslim or good Muslim; there is a bad person or a good person.”
On Sunday, members of one local church invited Salem to lead the latest in its monthly dialogues on religion, with the memories of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks still fresh. Speaking to about three dozen audience members, Salem, a frequent spokesman for the estimated 150 to 220 Muslim families in Napa County, urged his listeners to separate the faith of a billion followers – one-seventh of humanity – from the militants he said hijack it for political gain.
“There’s a verse in the Quran that says if you kill a person, it’s as if you have killed all of humanity – and if you save one person, it’s as if you save all humanity,” said Salem, a Napa Police resource officer at Vintage High School, during the “Conversation with a Muslim” program at the Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists church. “And if you kill another Muslim, there is no pardon for that.”
The program was part of the monthly series “Thinking about Religion,” which the Unitarian church hosts at its Salvador Avenue sanctuary. And amid the fierce anti-Muslim blowback that has followed deadly terrorist acts by people identifying themselves with the Islamic State group – culminating in Donald Trump’s promise to block Muslim immigration into the U.S. if elected president – few such speeches had been as timely or as necessary, according to Jim Craig, a congregation member and the event’s moderator.
“It seemed to me that with all the recent news on anti-Muslim sentiment, it might be a good time to do something like this,” he said last week. “We’re concerned to know what, if any, negative expressions the local Muslim community has been experiencing.”
“When that happened, it was a moment of dread: ‘Here we go again,’” Salem said of the San Bernardino shootings. “Typically, I get called when there’s a crisis, whether in our country or abroad; when it’s not a crisis, it’s the off-season.”
Much of the modern battle over the Quran’s message, he told his audience, is a tug-of-war over the meaning of the Quranic passage that begins: “And fight for the sake of God those who fight you; but do not be brutal or commit aggression, for God does not love brutal aggressors.”
“If you want to know about Islam, don’t look at what the militants do; don’t look at what I do,” he told his listeners. “Read the books; really learn about the religion, not just the people of the religion.”
During a patient, hourlong dialogue with a sympathetic audience, Salem took on not only the battle against extremism but the other aspects of living as a Muslim in a secular world – the tasks of integrating faith and work; the outreach mission of Zaytuna College, the Muslim liberal arts school in Berkeley; the controversies over women wearing the hijab, the face veil whose public wearing the French government has banned along with other similar coverings.
“I’ve not read the Qur'an; I’m not well read in anything Islamic,” said Beth Bevington, a member of the Napa Unitarian church. “And that’s why I’m here, because I want to learn.”
Even as a church member, Bevington was weary of the conflicts inspired by those proclaiming their faiths. “Our religions have caused so much strife,” she said. “Every war has a religion behind it.”
For some Napans in the audience, the most forceful words may have come not from the California-raised Salem but his father – Louis Salem, a native of Iraq who came to the U.S. with his Afghanistan-born wife in the late 1970s.
In no uncertain terms, he denied the right of the self-styled caliphate that has seized swaths of both Syria and his former homeland to speak for him, his people or his religion.
“ISIS is the state of terrorists, not the state of Islam,” he said, drawing applause from his listeners. “We have to love and honor and respect every human being. We are not the only ones who will go to heaven.
“People ask me if I’m a Muslim, and when I say yes, they ask, ‘Are you a bad one or a good one?’ There’s no bad Muslim or good Muslim; there is a bad person or a good person.”
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
American Muslim Society (Napa, Napa County, CA)
Date Visited: August 8, 2012
Location: 3149 California Boulevard #B Napa, CA 94558
Tagteam taraweeh: No, but the congregants trade off on taraweeh duties Qirat: Good
Size of congregation: 8-10
Capacity of center: 15-20
Parking: There is lot parking, but it's cramped.
Mihrab: No
Minbar: No
Shoe shelves: Small one at the front
Building: A unit in a small warehouse complex
Friendliness towards women: There is a woman's section delineated by curtains behind the main section. However, there were no women there last night, and there's only one restroom. Additionally, the only sink in which to do wudu is on the wrong side of the bathroom door. It is nestled in a small passage, so there's probably enough privacy for a woman to do wudu, but hijabis, it may be best to do your voodoo before you come.
Friendliness of congregation: Extremely friendly. They were wondering what this big shot from Santa Clara was doing in their neck of the vineyards.
Small mosque, small post.
You best keep your eyes peeled when you're looking for this mosque. Fortunately, you'll have kept your eyes peeled as soon as you got off the freeway because the highways leading to Napa are very scenic. Sure, vineyards may be instruments of haram, but they sure are nice to look at. After the second coming of Christ and the world becomes Muslim, I'm sure he'll make this the largest juice-producing part of the state.
Actually, the first thing I noticed was how developed the city of Napa was. I don't think I'd ever been here, or if I had, I was too young and too bored to pay attention. The development and the fact that there's only a four-lane highway leading here (interstate's thataways, son) means it takes quite a while to get here despite being a relatively short distance from Richmond.
I should be thankful that it was so developed. At the podunk towns in California you're lucky if you can get anything to eat after 9 because small-towners need to go to bed or something ridiculous like that. No, I have the massive amounts of tourism to thank for that; all the visitors who come from all over the world have helped develop this town into quite the bustling city.
Ah yes, tourism is the lifeblood of this town, and it's the industry of choice for the Muslims here. There were a handful of Muslims in the masjid, but no less than two livery vehicles parked outside the masjid. If the Great Recession hit the South Bay hard, it hit these guys even harder.
The community seems to be doing fine, though. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming. Their facility is small, but they've done their best to transform this tiny warehouse into a comfortable place to pray. Pairsian carpets line the floor, somewhat blemished by the tape they've laid down to create prayer lines. Decorative ceramic pieces also hang on the walls; if you ignored the concrete blocks which compose of the walls, you'd think you were in someone's living room.
Ain't no hafizes here. The community takes turns leading taraweeh by using a Quran. Despite there being no huffaz in the area, they are still striving to finish the Quran at night by reading a juz or more a night. Much respect to them for trying to achieve this.
Courtesy: 30 Mosques in 30 Nights
Location: 3149 California Boulevard #B Napa, CA 94558
Tagteam taraweeh: No, but the congregants trade off on taraweeh duties Qirat: Good
Size of congregation: 8-10
Capacity of center: 15-20
Parking: There is lot parking, but it's cramped.
Mihrab: No
Minbar: No
Shoe shelves: Small one at the front
Building: A unit in a small warehouse complex
Friendliness towards women: There is a woman's section delineated by curtains behind the main section. However, there were no women there last night, and there's only one restroom. Additionally, the only sink in which to do wudu is on the wrong side of the bathroom door. It is nestled in a small passage, so there's probably enough privacy for a woman to do wudu, but hijabis, it may be best to do your voodoo before you come.
Friendliness of congregation: Extremely friendly. They were wondering what this big shot from Santa Clara was doing in their neck of the vineyards.
Small mosque, small post.
You best keep your eyes peeled when you're looking for this mosque. Fortunately, you'll have kept your eyes peeled as soon as you got off the freeway because the highways leading to Napa are very scenic. Sure, vineyards may be instruments of haram, but they sure are nice to look at. After the second coming of Christ and the world becomes Muslim, I'm sure he'll make this the largest juice-producing part of the state.
Actually, the first thing I noticed was how developed the city of Napa was. I don't think I'd ever been here, or if I had, I was too young and too bored to pay attention. The development and the fact that there's only a four-lane highway leading here (interstate's thataways, son) means it takes quite a while to get here despite being a relatively short distance from Richmond.
I should be thankful that it was so developed. At the podunk towns in California you're lucky if you can get anything to eat after 9 because small-towners need to go to bed or something ridiculous like that. No, I have the massive amounts of tourism to thank for that; all the visitors who come from all over the world have helped develop this town into quite the bustling city.
Ah yes, tourism is the lifeblood of this town, and it's the industry of choice for the Muslims here. There were a handful of Muslims in the masjid, but no less than two livery vehicles parked outside the masjid. If the Great Recession hit the South Bay hard, it hit these guys even harder.
The community seems to be doing fine, though. Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming. Their facility is small, but they've done their best to transform this tiny warehouse into a comfortable place to pray. Pairsian carpets line the floor, somewhat blemished by the tape they've laid down to create prayer lines. Decorative ceramic pieces also hang on the walls; if you ignored the concrete blocks which compose of the walls, you'd think you were in someone's living room.
Ain't no hafizes here. The community takes turns leading taraweeh by using a Quran. Despite there being no huffaz in the area, they are still striving to finish the Quran at night by reading a juz or more a night. Much respect to them for trying to achieve this.
Courtesy: 30 Mosques in 30 Nights
Napa’s Muslims faced scrutiny after 9/11
By JENNIFER HUFFMAN
Sep 11, 2011
Napa Valley Register
Sep 11, 2011
Napa Valley Register
On a recent Saturday night, a group of Muslims gathered in a nondescript warehouse on California Boulevard. Inside, a small number of Muslim men and women enjoyed a meal and some conversation.
The sign on the door reads “American Muslim Society,” but for this group, it’s known as a “Mu’sallah” or a prayer room. About 130 local Sunni Muslims, the majority from the Middle East, use the Mu’sallah regularly, said Bashar Elkhalil, one of four volunteers who helps run the spiritual home to Napa’s Muslims.
Elkhalil, originally from Jordan, has lived in the area for more than 30 years. For many years, he managed restaurants at Silverado Resort. With his wife, Hala Elkhalil, the couple have three children who attend local schools.
While many Americans are well-educated about religious diversity, after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Elkhalil said he faced more questions from people about Islam and being Muslim.
“I didn’t want people to think of us differently” after the attacks, he said. “There is a lot of misinterpretation of the Koran. We try to educate people.”
Elkhalil said he resents the fanatics who gave Islam a bad name. When people ask him about terrorists, “you feel like a lawyer defending your faith,” he said.
“Islam is not bin Laden,” Hala Elkhalil said.
Before Sept. 11, 2001, local Muslims used to meet in a space on Solano Avenue, but shortly afterwards the landlord of the building reportedly asked the group to move.
One of the leaseholders was leaving town, Elkhalil said. They didn’t fight the eviction.
“We understood,” he said. “We left peacefully.”
For some time after that, local Muslims met at Elkhalil’s or other homes. Later, they found the California Boulevard space.
Inside the Mu’sallah, a variety of carpets cover a concrete floor. A rack holds shoes at the front door. A curtain separates areas for men and women to pray separately, without distractions, Elkhalil said.
The center opens at specific times for prayer, social events or other gatherings. Each member contributes to the rent and outside speakers regularly come to address the group.
“We’ve had no problems in Napa,” Elkhalil was quick to emphasize. Yes, after Sept. 11, someone in Napa yelled at Hala Elkhalil about wearing her headscarf, but just as quickly a bystander came to her defense, he said.
Other incidents, which he declined to elaborate on, have been few and far between. “We thank the community for their support and kindness,” Bashar Elkhalil said.
“I think it’s important as Muslims to inform people of who we are,” Omar Salem said. “There is a fear. The media tends to portray us as the bogeyman.”
Salem, 25, said that his Muslim identity lead him to the public service career he has today.
“My religion instructs me to be a positive, productive and contributing person in this world,” Salem said. “It inspired me to become a police officer.”
People are curious about Islam and Muslims, said Salem, who regularly gets questions about his faith — everything from how he prays, what he eats and what god he believes in. He answers them all.
“I’m a Muslim,” he said. “This is who we are.” Just like any other police officer, firefighter or paramedics, “I’m here to help you.”
Louis Salem is Omar Salem’s father. Originally from Iraq, he and his family have lived in Napa for more than 20 years and own Furniture 4 Less on Silverado Trail.
He recalls that after Sept. 11, 2001, local law enforcement reached out to him.
“They asked me, ‘Is anyone giving you a hard time?’” The answer was ‘no,’ he said. “The community supported me. They know who I am,” Louis Salem said.
Unfortunately, many people don’t understand Islam, he said. “Peace and love and respect is what I want people to know about,” he said. “That is Islam to me.”
“There are 1.3 billion Muslims” in the world, he said. “Don’t lump 1.3 billion people in with the people behind Sept. 11.”
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
The sign on the door reads “American Muslim Society,” but for this group, it’s known as a “Mu’sallah” or a prayer room. About 130 local Sunni Muslims, the majority from the Middle East, use the Mu’sallah regularly, said Bashar Elkhalil, one of four volunteers who helps run the spiritual home to Napa’s Muslims.
Elkhalil, originally from Jordan, has lived in the area for more than 30 years. For many years, he managed restaurants at Silverado Resort. With his wife, Hala Elkhalil, the couple have three children who attend local schools.
While many Americans are well-educated about religious diversity, after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, Elkhalil said he faced more questions from people about Islam and being Muslim.
“I didn’t want people to think of us differently” after the attacks, he said. “There is a lot of misinterpretation of the Koran. We try to educate people.”
Elkhalil said he resents the fanatics who gave Islam a bad name. When people ask him about terrorists, “you feel like a lawyer defending your faith,” he said.
“Islam is not bin Laden,” Hala Elkhalil said.
Before Sept. 11, 2001, local Muslims used to meet in a space on Solano Avenue, but shortly afterwards the landlord of the building reportedly asked the group to move.
One of the leaseholders was leaving town, Elkhalil said. They didn’t fight the eviction.
“We understood,” he said. “We left peacefully.”
For some time after that, local Muslims met at Elkhalil’s or other homes. Later, they found the California Boulevard space.
Inside the Mu’sallah, a variety of carpets cover a concrete floor. A rack holds shoes at the front door. A curtain separates areas for men and women to pray separately, without distractions, Elkhalil said.
The center opens at specific times for prayer, social events or other gatherings. Each member contributes to the rent and outside speakers regularly come to address the group.
“We’ve had no problems in Napa,” Elkhalil was quick to emphasize. Yes, after Sept. 11, someone in Napa yelled at Hala Elkhalil about wearing her headscarf, but just as quickly a bystander came to her defense, he said.
Other incidents, which he declined to elaborate on, have been few and far between. “We thank the community for their support and kindness,” Bashar Elkhalil said.
“I think it’s important as Muslims to inform people of who we are,” Omar Salem said. “There is a fear. The media tends to portray us as the bogeyman.”
Salem, 25, said that his Muslim identity lead him to the public service career he has today.
“My religion instructs me to be a positive, productive and contributing person in this world,” Salem said. “It inspired me to become a police officer.”
People are curious about Islam and Muslims, said Salem, who regularly gets questions about his faith — everything from how he prays, what he eats and what god he believes in. He answers them all.
“I’m a Muslim,” he said. “This is who we are.” Just like any other police officer, firefighter or paramedics, “I’m here to help you.”
Louis Salem is Omar Salem’s father. Originally from Iraq, he and his family have lived in Napa for more than 20 years and own Furniture 4 Less on Silverado Trail.
He recalls that after Sept. 11, 2001, local law enforcement reached out to him.
“They asked me, ‘Is anyone giving you a hard time?’” The answer was ‘no,’ he said. “The community supported me. They know who I am,” Louis Salem said.
Unfortunately, many people don’t understand Islam, he said. “Peace and love and respect is what I want people to know about,” he said. “That is Islam to me.”
“There are 1.3 billion Muslims” in the world, he said. “Don’t lump 1.3 billion people in with the people behind Sept. 11.”
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Napa Policeman, 25, is Public Safety Officer of the Year
Omar Salem has been recognized by the Napa Chamber Foundation for his service in our community.
By Marsha Dorgan (Patch Poster) - May 16, 2011
Omar Salem might still be considered a rookie, compared to his colleagues with decades of experience in law enforcement.
But Salem, who’s been a Napa police officer for the past three and half of his 25 years, has been recognized by his peers and the public for his contributions to not only the department but the community as well, especially the younger set: Salem has been named public safety officer of the year by the , a non-profit charitable organization.
“As a police officer, I think it is very important to engage with the community. I want them to think of police officers in a positive way,” Salem said. “This is not to say as a group we don’t deal with negative situations almost daily.”
Although Salem is dedicated to everyone in the community he serves, he has a soft spot in his heart for Napa’s youth.
“Kids are so open minded. They are vibrant and have so much energy, and unfortunately sometimes that energy is directed in the wrong direction,” he said.
Salem believes his age gives him an edge when working with teenagers and young adults.
“I am only 25, not that much older than many of the youths I work with. I can relate to them, and they can relate to me,”he said. “I want to help shape and influence these kids in a positive way and let them know they have choices. I have dealt with some of the same challenges they are trying to cope with now.”
Salem practices what he preaches: He teaches the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program both in Spanish and English in Napa’s elementary and middle schools.
Salem also works with the Napa High School’s Leadership Academy and the LAYLA (Leadership Academy Youth Leaders in Action) group of Napa middle- and high-schoolers, many of whom have gotten to know him as a fellow community member as well as an enforcer of the law.
“We took some 11th and 12th-graders to the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance,” Salem said. “The students learned we all live in a world built of individuals, all with common goals.”
Salem also organizes an annual basketball game between the city’s police officers and firefighters.
The proceeds go to the city to promote youth programs geared to stopping youth violence, Salem said.
Lisa Batto, Napa Chamber Foundation secretary and chief executive officer of the Napa Chamber of Commerce, believes Salem fits the criteria required to be honored as public safety officer of the year.
“We are looking for an individual who demonstrates action on and off the job, someone who serves the community beyond the call of duty,” Batto said.
Batto said each public safety agency countywide submits its nominations for the award.
“It was a hard decision to make. But Omar came on top for his dedication to Napa’s youth. He puts an extra effort into the community. He most certainly is a role model for the kids,” she said.
Salem credits his success in handling tense and troublesome situations with his approach to those involved.
“When I go on a call, I know I have to be very calm. It’s all about listening and problem solving,” he said. ‘I don’t just want o arrest someone and be done with it. I want to peacefully end the situation.”
Salem said people seem responsive to his approach.
“The calls I respond to usually are quite emotional. I want to be able to give people chances. They either take or leave them. Sometime I have no choice but to take someone to jail,” he said.
Salem said as with all jobs, being a police officer can have its drawbacks.
“Shift work can be hard. It can also be a very long day when after getting off work, you have to change into a suit and show up in court for one of your cases,” he said, quickly adding, “That’s a small tradeoff for the rewards I get from job.”
He adamantly believes the big payoff for him is the influence he can have on the community.
“I once bumped into a man who in the past I had arrested him time and time again for public intoxication,” Salem said. “When I saw him some time later, he wasn’t the same guy. He told me it was because of me he quit drinking and turned his life around. That really made me proud of myself and him.”
Salem also credits his strong Muslim faith in tackling his sometimes very difficult job. “My faith makes me calm and strong,” he said.
Napa Police Capt. Jeff Troendly describes Salem as a conscientious, caring and dedicated officer.
“He really is involved in helping the youth. Omar wants to provide a safe environment for them and help them obtain what they want to get out of life,”Troendly said.
“He envisions the youth as positive young people who know what they want in the future, and he is going to help them obtain their goals and be successful in life,” Troendly said.
Salem was born in the East Bay and attended schools in Napa, graduating from New Tech High School in 2004.
His first ambition lead him to the FBI academy. When that didn’t pan out, he enrolled at the police academy at Napa Valley College. He graduated in 2008 and immediately joined the Napa Police force.
Salem, without question, recommends a law enforcement career.
“If you want to give to your community and influence lives in a positive way, this career will not let you down,” he said. “And there is a great camaraderie among all the officers,” he said.
Salem, along with other honorees countywide, will receive his award at the Napa Chamber Foundation banquet from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 24 at the in Napa.
The public is invited: Tickets cost $55 and may be purchased online at napachamberfoundation.com.
Courtesy: Napa Valley Patch
But Salem, who’s been a Napa police officer for the past three and half of his 25 years, has been recognized by his peers and the public for his contributions to not only the department but the community as well, especially the younger set: Salem has been named public safety officer of the year by the , a non-profit charitable organization.
“As a police officer, I think it is very important to engage with the community. I want them to think of police officers in a positive way,” Salem said. “This is not to say as a group we don’t deal with negative situations almost daily.”
Although Salem is dedicated to everyone in the community he serves, he has a soft spot in his heart for Napa’s youth.
“Kids are so open minded. They are vibrant and have so much energy, and unfortunately sometimes that energy is directed in the wrong direction,” he said.
Salem believes his age gives him an edge when working with teenagers and young adults.
“I am only 25, not that much older than many of the youths I work with. I can relate to them, and they can relate to me,”he said. “I want to help shape and influence these kids in a positive way and let them know they have choices. I have dealt with some of the same challenges they are trying to cope with now.”
Salem practices what he preaches: He teaches the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program both in Spanish and English in Napa’s elementary and middle schools.
Salem also works with the Napa High School’s Leadership Academy and the LAYLA (Leadership Academy Youth Leaders in Action) group of Napa middle- and high-schoolers, many of whom have gotten to know him as a fellow community member as well as an enforcer of the law.
“We took some 11th and 12th-graders to the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance,” Salem said. “The students learned we all live in a world built of individuals, all with common goals.”
Salem also organizes an annual basketball game between the city’s police officers and firefighters.
The proceeds go to the city to promote youth programs geared to stopping youth violence, Salem said.
Lisa Batto, Napa Chamber Foundation secretary and chief executive officer of the Napa Chamber of Commerce, believes Salem fits the criteria required to be honored as public safety officer of the year.
“We are looking for an individual who demonstrates action on and off the job, someone who serves the community beyond the call of duty,” Batto said.
Batto said each public safety agency countywide submits its nominations for the award.
“It was a hard decision to make. But Omar came on top for his dedication to Napa’s youth. He puts an extra effort into the community. He most certainly is a role model for the kids,” she said.
Salem credits his success in handling tense and troublesome situations with his approach to those involved.
“When I go on a call, I know I have to be very calm. It’s all about listening and problem solving,” he said. ‘I don’t just want o arrest someone and be done with it. I want to peacefully end the situation.”
Salem said people seem responsive to his approach.
“The calls I respond to usually are quite emotional. I want to be able to give people chances. They either take or leave them. Sometime I have no choice but to take someone to jail,” he said.
Salem said as with all jobs, being a police officer can have its drawbacks.
“Shift work can be hard. It can also be a very long day when after getting off work, you have to change into a suit and show up in court for one of your cases,” he said, quickly adding, “That’s a small tradeoff for the rewards I get from job.”
He adamantly believes the big payoff for him is the influence he can have on the community.
“I once bumped into a man who in the past I had arrested him time and time again for public intoxication,” Salem said. “When I saw him some time later, he wasn’t the same guy. He told me it was because of me he quit drinking and turned his life around. That really made me proud of myself and him.”
Salem also credits his strong Muslim faith in tackling his sometimes very difficult job. “My faith makes me calm and strong,” he said.
Napa Police Capt. Jeff Troendly describes Salem as a conscientious, caring and dedicated officer.
“He really is involved in helping the youth. Omar wants to provide a safe environment for them and help them obtain what they want to get out of life,”Troendly said.
“He envisions the youth as positive young people who know what they want in the future, and he is going to help them obtain their goals and be successful in life,” Troendly said.
Salem was born in the East Bay and attended schools in Napa, graduating from New Tech High School in 2004.
His first ambition lead him to the FBI academy. When that didn’t pan out, he enrolled at the police academy at Napa Valley College. He graduated in 2008 and immediately joined the Napa Police force.
Salem, without question, recommends a law enforcement career.
“If you want to give to your community and influence lives in a positive way, this career will not let you down,” he said. “And there is a great camaraderie among all the officers,” he said.
Salem, along with other honorees countywide, will receive his award at the Napa Chamber Foundation banquet from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 24 at the in Napa.
The public is invited: Tickets cost $55 and may be purchased online at napachamberfoundation.com.
Courtesy: Napa Valley Patch
Muslim in Napa
Local mosque draws a diverse group of followers
By DAVID RYAN, Register Staff Writer Jan 21, 2007
In a brightly lit room at a Napa office complex one recent Sunday night, a group of men and women from different cultures, countries of origin and walks of life came together to pray as members of the American Muslim Society, Napa's only mosque.
One man led the others in prayer with a low melodious song, and the group — just a handful that night — alternately stood, bowed and then prostrated on the ground facing east.
It was an act at once of Islam, which translates to "submission to God," and of unity of the belief in that submission, but the group's actions also mark it as different in a community dominated by Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Outside the mosque, its members are culinary workers, researchers, taxi drivers, students and businesspeople. Outside the mosque, strangers sometimes miscast the members as all Arabs or harbor negative images of Muslims.
"It's not hard being Muslim or anything like that here," said Maya Shweiky. "(But) people look at you different. People think we are all the same. They don't really know anything about us."
Freedom, peace and happiness
Louis Salem traded life as a Baghdad-area crop duster for life as an American businessman more than 26 years ago.
He's lived in the Napa Valley for more than 18 years. He met his wife when she walked into his furniture store as a customer. His son, Omar, works as a chaplain at Napa State Hospital and often gives lectures on Islam to the faithful at the Napa mosque.
"Freedom, peace and happiness," Salem said, counting on his hand the things America has given him.
Salem owns the Furniture 4 Less store on Silverado Trail, where he boasts of a base of return customers and isn't afraid of cutting some prices on the spot to beat out the competition.
A few times a day, though, he retreats to a back room and shuts the door. He says it is so the customers won't be spooked by what he's about to do. Devout Muslims must pray five times a day in the direction of the holy city of Mecca, and Salem does what he considers his duty as a Muslim, prostrating himself in submission to God.
He said many Americans have misconceptions about Muslims' supposed intolerance toward other religions.
"All the religions to me are a reach for God, for peace," he said.
Salem says God even left heaven open for those who were not part of an organized religion, provided they live their lives as good people, and believe in one God and Judgment Day.
"Then you are safe," he said.
Life as a Muslim has become more frustrating for Salem since Sept. 11, 2001, but not because local residents have harassed him. It's the television that vexes him the most.
Terrorism has hijacked the Western media's conception of Muslims, Salem said, bringing about the linkage of the words Muslim and terrorist. To him the term is an oxymoron: True Muslims, he said, do not blow themselves up and kill other people.
"There's not a media that speaks the truth about Islam," he said.
Islam is now political
Omar Salem sat on the rugs of the American Muslim Society on a recent Sunday, giving his lecture on the importance of being honest before God.
"The thing that has value and the thing that needs clothing, raising and protecting is the heart," he said, giving an example of a preacher coming before God on Judgment Day, but being rebuked because God could see in his heart he did it to impress other people with his knowledge.
Omar Salem's lecture is more like a talk, really, where the listener can respond with questions or comments — except those of a political nature.
The mosque forbids political talk, partly because its membership is such a diverse group that its leaders worry political comments could cause division. It's easy to see why.
In a frank discussion after prayers, Omar Salem said he is frustrated by what's happened in the media and the world since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Every Muslim I know understands that day was wrong," he said, adding jihad is defined in the Koran as simply "struggle," not a mandate to kill. "… We've lost the whole religious aspect. Islam is now political."
That political thrust makes mosque members like Andrew Pinelli uneasy.
"What sucks is we're known now by one date (Sept. 11)," he said.
Angel Lopez, another member, said cultural misconceptions trail Muslims into daily life. Lopez said he is married to a church-going Christian woman. Her friends warned her against marrying him.
"The first thing they told her is 'He's going to have seven wives' or 'He's going to beat you,'" he said.
Omar Salem said members complain of being cast as Arabs when many of them are from non-Arab regions, like Pakistan or Iran. Pinelli is a mixed-race convert from California.
"People think that if you're a Muslim, then you're an Arab," Omar Salem said, adding cultural practices in the Arab world are separate from what many American Muslims consider Islamic.
All in all, though, Lopez said, life has been easy in Napa. Still, Pinelli added, it's hard to hear the news coming out of the Middle East.
"If Jews really followed Moses and Christians really followed Christ and Muslims really followed the prophet (Mohammed), we wouldn't have the problems we have," Pinelli said.
Neighborhood complaints
The American Muslim Society may have a place of its own now, but its early existence in mid-1980s Napa was more tenuous.
Bashar Elkhalil, a Jordanian native who is one of the founding members of the mosque, remembers the early days when friends' garages served as places of prayer.
"We went from garage to garage," he said. "We would find a garage and the neighborhood would complain and we would leave. We would find another garage and the neighborhood complained and we left after that."
For a time many area Muslims went to a mosque in Vallejo. That was arduous for Napa Valley Muslims because mandated prayers happen every Friday — during the day, during the lunch hour. In Muslim areas of the world, the faithful often have places to worship nearby.
"In America we have to have something close by here where we can just run out quickly and be able to come back to work," said Elkhalil, a manager of restaurants at Silverado Resort.
In recent years, area Muslims found several members willing to contribute to a fund to rent office space in Napa. For the past three years, the American Muslim Society has been able to call a California Boulevard office home. Omar said during Friday prayers 30-40 Muslims come to pray, and on popular religious holidays twice as many people show up.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, representatives from the FBI invited mosque leaders to a meeting in San Francisco, but not to interrogate them. Elkhalil said one member who went said the FBI wanted area Muslims to know it was there if they encountered any problems.
Outside of early complaints during the garage days, Elkhalil said life in Napa for him has been good.
"People were very helpful and very sympathetic about what took place on Sept. 11," he said. "People were really very kind, to be honest. If someone sees me on the street with a beard and says 'f— Muslim,' that is just one person who does not represent everybody else."
Then there is that pesky television.
"Isn't that the truth for everything in the world?" Elkhalil said. "The media — the media does damage to a lot of things."
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
One man led the others in prayer with a low melodious song, and the group — just a handful that night — alternately stood, bowed and then prostrated on the ground facing east.
It was an act at once of Islam, which translates to "submission to God," and of unity of the belief in that submission, but the group's actions also mark it as different in a community dominated by Judeo-Christian beliefs.
Outside the mosque, its members are culinary workers, researchers, taxi drivers, students and businesspeople. Outside the mosque, strangers sometimes miscast the members as all Arabs or harbor negative images of Muslims.
"It's not hard being Muslim or anything like that here," said Maya Shweiky. "(But) people look at you different. People think we are all the same. They don't really know anything about us."
Freedom, peace and happiness
Louis Salem traded life as a Baghdad-area crop duster for life as an American businessman more than 26 years ago.
He's lived in the Napa Valley for more than 18 years. He met his wife when she walked into his furniture store as a customer. His son, Omar, works as a chaplain at Napa State Hospital and often gives lectures on Islam to the faithful at the Napa mosque.
"Freedom, peace and happiness," Salem said, counting on his hand the things America has given him.
Salem owns the Furniture 4 Less store on Silverado Trail, where he boasts of a base of return customers and isn't afraid of cutting some prices on the spot to beat out the competition.
A few times a day, though, he retreats to a back room and shuts the door. He says it is so the customers won't be spooked by what he's about to do. Devout Muslims must pray five times a day in the direction of the holy city of Mecca, and Salem does what he considers his duty as a Muslim, prostrating himself in submission to God.
He said many Americans have misconceptions about Muslims' supposed intolerance toward other religions.
"All the religions to me are a reach for God, for peace," he said.
Salem says God even left heaven open for those who were not part of an organized religion, provided they live their lives as good people, and believe in one God and Judgment Day.
"Then you are safe," he said.
Life as a Muslim has become more frustrating for Salem since Sept. 11, 2001, but not because local residents have harassed him. It's the television that vexes him the most.
Terrorism has hijacked the Western media's conception of Muslims, Salem said, bringing about the linkage of the words Muslim and terrorist. To him the term is an oxymoron: True Muslims, he said, do not blow themselves up and kill other people.
"There's not a media that speaks the truth about Islam," he said.
Islam is now political
Omar Salem sat on the rugs of the American Muslim Society on a recent Sunday, giving his lecture on the importance of being honest before God.
"The thing that has value and the thing that needs clothing, raising and protecting is the heart," he said, giving an example of a preacher coming before God on Judgment Day, but being rebuked because God could see in his heart he did it to impress other people with his knowledge.
Omar Salem's lecture is more like a talk, really, where the listener can respond with questions or comments — except those of a political nature.
The mosque forbids political talk, partly because its membership is such a diverse group that its leaders worry political comments could cause division. It's easy to see why.
In a frank discussion after prayers, Omar Salem said he is frustrated by what's happened in the media and the world since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Every Muslim I know understands that day was wrong," he said, adding jihad is defined in the Koran as simply "struggle," not a mandate to kill. "… We've lost the whole religious aspect. Islam is now political."
That political thrust makes mosque members like Andrew Pinelli uneasy.
"What sucks is we're known now by one date (Sept. 11)," he said.
Angel Lopez, another member, said cultural misconceptions trail Muslims into daily life. Lopez said he is married to a church-going Christian woman. Her friends warned her against marrying him.
"The first thing they told her is 'He's going to have seven wives' or 'He's going to beat you,'" he said.
Omar Salem said members complain of being cast as Arabs when many of them are from non-Arab regions, like Pakistan or Iran. Pinelli is a mixed-race convert from California.
"People think that if you're a Muslim, then you're an Arab," Omar Salem said, adding cultural practices in the Arab world are separate from what many American Muslims consider Islamic.
All in all, though, Lopez said, life has been easy in Napa. Still, Pinelli added, it's hard to hear the news coming out of the Middle East.
"If Jews really followed Moses and Christians really followed Christ and Muslims really followed the prophet (Mohammed), we wouldn't have the problems we have," Pinelli said.
Neighborhood complaints
The American Muslim Society may have a place of its own now, but its early existence in mid-1980s Napa was more tenuous.
Bashar Elkhalil, a Jordanian native who is one of the founding members of the mosque, remembers the early days when friends' garages served as places of prayer.
"We went from garage to garage," he said. "We would find a garage and the neighborhood would complain and we would leave. We would find another garage and the neighborhood complained and we left after that."
For a time many area Muslims went to a mosque in Vallejo. That was arduous for Napa Valley Muslims because mandated prayers happen every Friday — during the day, during the lunch hour. In Muslim areas of the world, the faithful often have places to worship nearby.
"In America we have to have something close by here where we can just run out quickly and be able to come back to work," said Elkhalil, a manager of restaurants at Silverado Resort.
In recent years, area Muslims found several members willing to contribute to a fund to rent office space in Napa. For the past three years, the American Muslim Society has been able to call a California Boulevard office home. Omar said during Friday prayers 30-40 Muslims come to pray, and on popular religious holidays twice as many people show up.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, representatives from the FBI invited mosque leaders to a meeting in San Francisco, but not to interrogate them. Elkhalil said one member who went said the FBI wanted area Muslims to know it was there if they encountered any problems.
Outside of early complaints during the garage days, Elkhalil said life in Napa for him has been good.
"People were very helpful and very sympathetic about what took place on Sept. 11," he said. "People were really very kind, to be honest. If someone sees me on the street with a beard and says 'f— Muslim,' that is just one person who does not represent everybody else."
Then there is that pesky television.
"Isn't that the truth for everything in the world?" Elkhalil said. "The media — the media does damage to a lot of things."
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Mixed effects in Napa's Muslim community
By VIVI STENBERG-WILLIAMS | Register Staff Writer Sep 11, 2002
Some of Napa's Arab and Muslim residents have had their lives changed over the past year.
But for others, very little is different.
"Sept. 11 is just a regular day," said Assaad Barazi, owner of River City Restaurant and Bar on Lincoln Avenue in Napa. "To re-act it over and over again is just depressing. It is a sad thing to begin with and we need to move on."
Barazi came to the United States from Syria in 1974. In 1985, he bought River City and settled in Napa.
Although Barazi estimated that business is down 15 percent from last year, he faults the general downturn in the economy, not a personal backlash toward him as an Arab business owner.
"Having been in business for 17 years, I have a lot of regulars," Barazi said. "I didn't lose any of them … (After Sept. 11), they were even extra supportive."
Hate crime led to more community support
Although several incidents of verbal threats against people of Middle Eastern descent were reported in Napa, florist Salama Chammas was the sole victim of a hate crime that was prosecuted by the county.
Last week at Floral Expressions on Jefferson Street, Chammas gestured energetically while making plans to donate flowers for a large American flag that will adorn one of Napa's fire trucks.
Two days after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, Chammas, who also sells flowers from a truck on the corner of Imola Avenue and Jefferson Street, was attacked by a neighbor.
Police reports stated Felix Camelion Paz put Chammas into a headlock at the flower truck and forced the florist to recite "America is good" and "America is the best," then returned the next day to chase Chammas around his truck.
In January, Paz was sentenced to three years probation and 30 days in county jail for felony false imprisonment.
"(Chammas') case was the only one in its category," Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein said. "It hasn't been a real significant issue for us here in Napa, and we hope it can stay that way."
For Chammas, who is of Palestinian descent by way of a war-torn Lebanon, the incidents scared him, and he closed his truck for three straight days.
But despite the traumatic experience, Chammas is convinced things happen for a reason.
"The response of the community (after the assault) was overwhelming," Chammas said. "People came to the flower truck with cards. Napa High School students had signed a big heart-shaped card. I got 40 cards from Vintage High students and teachers. The fire department sent me cards and the (California Highway Patrol) stopped and said 'I hope you feel safe,'" Chammas recalled.
But what probably touched Chammas the most was a visit to the flower truck by a 92-year-old Jewish woman.
"This Holocaust survivor told me, 'We support you,'" Chammas said. "I swear to you I cried."
As for today's anniversary, Chammas felt apprehensive but determined.
"I will be in the truck, and I'll make sure I have five big American flags," Chammas said, adding that he will hand out a free rose to everyone who comes by his truck.
"Yes, it did change my life," Chammas said. "I've always tried to volunteer. But since then, I've done more volunteer work and donated more."
On Saturday mornings, Chammas now hosts "Agree to Disagree" at the local public-access station. His aim is to encourage dialogue between people who normally wouldn't sit down together and talk.
Chammas, who said most people don't believe him when he says he is a Christian Arab, also hopes the program can dispel some myths and misconceptions about the region he is from.
Sufi shaykh reaches out to community
Outreach has also been increasingly important during the last 12 months to Shaykh Taner Ansari of the Muslim Sufi order.
"9/11 has drawn a course for me," said Ansari, who was born in Turkey, educated in Michigan and has lived in Napa for the last 10 years.
"It has shown me the most dangerous thing — the biggest enemy — is ignorance. That's what has motivated me to work harder so we can move toward peace, because unless we understand each other, we cannot make peace."
To combat the ignorance, Ansari has initiated a live Internet question-and-answer sessions every Saturday evening on his order's Web site.
Sufism is a branch of Islam, which is considered more liberal than the more common Shia and Sunni traditions. In Ansari's native Turkey, practicing Sufism is illegal.
The vast majority of Turkey's population are Sunni Muslims.
Ansari, who runs American Canyon Pizzeria with his wife, Anne Vargonen Ansari, is one of 12 Sufi shaykhs who teach worldwide followers. He heads the Qadiri Rifai Tariqa order of the Americas and claims to be able to trace his blood lineage back to the prophet Muhammad.
Although he holds weekly prayer meetings in an outbuilding behind his north Napa home and guides a handful of local followers, Ansari does most of his religious work outside of Napa and beyond the American border.
"Here, I am just the pizza guy," Ansari said laughing.
Ansari and his wife said they didn't know quite what to expect from the community after seeing the horrors of Sept. 11 unfold.
"All of sudden we had to go in defense," Ansari said.
But, one year later, the couple has praise for their community.
"We personally, in Napa, we have seen only support and not a single criticism or any negativity," Ansari said.
"And neither have our kids," Anne Ansari added.
"Our neighbors were calling saying, 'If anything happens, just come over to our house.' Both parents and kids have been so supportive, it made me want to cry."
Islamic Society finds a new home
And for members of the Islamic Society of Napa, life and worship are slowly coming together again.
Four months after the terrorist attacks, the Society, founded by Muhammad Anwar in 1997, was forced to find a new locale for its mosque.
After having spent four years in a Solano Avenue storefront, the society's landlords, David Perez and Kim Perez, wanted to use the space for expansion of the former's electricity business and terminated the lease.
The Islamic group is now in its third week in a new space on Redwood Road, which members share with an anti-violence group.
Since January, the Muslims had prayed and worshipped in a basement.
But the society has faced a dwindling number of worshipers. At the most, Anwar said about 50 people would attend prayers before last Sept. 11. Last Friday, about 10 men faced Mecca in the sparsely decorated room in the Napa strip mall.
The Society is in the process of raising money to establish a mosque of their own.
"It's tough," said Anwar, who is originally from Pakistan. "Especially right now. But we hope to be in a new place before Ramadan starts." The month-long observance of fasting and prayers usually starts early December, depending on when the new moon appears.
Anwar participated in several of the interfaith services and rallies that followed in the wake of last September's events, but said there were no plans to mark the day at the mosque apart from holding regular prayer sessions.
"Life goes on," he said.
Which isn't to say that the year passed has not made a mark on the members of the mosque. Although he is hesitant to admit it, Anwar said that he and his peers are more careful than before.
"Before, it was like home," Anwar said, adding that now he prefers to go out in groups. "We want to play it safe," he said.
People shouting "Bin Laden" and waving middle fingers, "that's normal," he said.
Fouad ElKadi, one of the attendees at an afternoon prayer last week blamed such behavior on ignorance.
"Intelligent and open-minded people understand that not all Muslims are terrorists," said ElKadi, a resort room service manager who has lived in Napa for 22 years. ElKadi is originally from Lebanon.
"Ignorant people, they throw words around. I've passed by people who have called me things. I just thank God that my family and I have not been attacked."
Overall, ElKadi said, people in Napa have been very supportive. But he acknowledged that it is hard for anyone to grasp the events of Sept. 11.
"What those people did, deviates from Islam. It is not true to Islam. The word 'Islam' means total submission to one God — peacefully," ElKadi said, putting emphasis on the last word.
Vivi Stenberg-Williams can be reached at 256-2216 or [email protected]
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
But for others, very little is different.
"Sept. 11 is just a regular day," said Assaad Barazi, owner of River City Restaurant and Bar on Lincoln Avenue in Napa. "To re-act it over and over again is just depressing. It is a sad thing to begin with and we need to move on."
Barazi came to the United States from Syria in 1974. In 1985, he bought River City and settled in Napa.
Although Barazi estimated that business is down 15 percent from last year, he faults the general downturn in the economy, not a personal backlash toward him as an Arab business owner.
"Having been in business for 17 years, I have a lot of regulars," Barazi said. "I didn't lose any of them … (After Sept. 11), they were even extra supportive."
Hate crime led to more community support
Although several incidents of verbal threats against people of Middle Eastern descent were reported in Napa, florist Salama Chammas was the sole victim of a hate crime that was prosecuted by the county.
Last week at Floral Expressions on Jefferson Street, Chammas gestured energetically while making plans to donate flowers for a large American flag that will adorn one of Napa's fire trucks.
Two days after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, Chammas, who also sells flowers from a truck on the corner of Imola Avenue and Jefferson Street, was attacked by a neighbor.
Police reports stated Felix Camelion Paz put Chammas into a headlock at the flower truck and forced the florist to recite "America is good" and "America is the best," then returned the next day to chase Chammas around his truck.
In January, Paz was sentenced to three years probation and 30 days in county jail for felony false imprisonment.
"(Chammas') case was the only one in its category," Napa County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein said. "It hasn't been a real significant issue for us here in Napa, and we hope it can stay that way."
For Chammas, who is of Palestinian descent by way of a war-torn Lebanon, the incidents scared him, and he closed his truck for three straight days.
But despite the traumatic experience, Chammas is convinced things happen for a reason.
"The response of the community (after the assault) was overwhelming," Chammas said. "People came to the flower truck with cards. Napa High School students had signed a big heart-shaped card. I got 40 cards from Vintage High students and teachers. The fire department sent me cards and the (California Highway Patrol) stopped and said 'I hope you feel safe,'" Chammas recalled.
But what probably touched Chammas the most was a visit to the flower truck by a 92-year-old Jewish woman.
"This Holocaust survivor told me, 'We support you,'" Chammas said. "I swear to you I cried."
As for today's anniversary, Chammas felt apprehensive but determined.
"I will be in the truck, and I'll make sure I have five big American flags," Chammas said, adding that he will hand out a free rose to everyone who comes by his truck.
"Yes, it did change my life," Chammas said. "I've always tried to volunteer. But since then, I've done more volunteer work and donated more."
On Saturday mornings, Chammas now hosts "Agree to Disagree" at the local public-access station. His aim is to encourage dialogue between people who normally wouldn't sit down together and talk.
Chammas, who said most people don't believe him when he says he is a Christian Arab, also hopes the program can dispel some myths and misconceptions about the region he is from.
Sufi shaykh reaches out to community
Outreach has also been increasingly important during the last 12 months to Shaykh Taner Ansari of the Muslim Sufi order.
"9/11 has drawn a course for me," said Ansari, who was born in Turkey, educated in Michigan and has lived in Napa for the last 10 years.
"It has shown me the most dangerous thing — the biggest enemy — is ignorance. That's what has motivated me to work harder so we can move toward peace, because unless we understand each other, we cannot make peace."
To combat the ignorance, Ansari has initiated a live Internet question-and-answer sessions every Saturday evening on his order's Web site.
Sufism is a branch of Islam, which is considered more liberal than the more common Shia and Sunni traditions. In Ansari's native Turkey, practicing Sufism is illegal.
The vast majority of Turkey's population are Sunni Muslims.
Ansari, who runs American Canyon Pizzeria with his wife, Anne Vargonen Ansari, is one of 12 Sufi shaykhs who teach worldwide followers. He heads the Qadiri Rifai Tariqa order of the Americas and claims to be able to trace his blood lineage back to the prophet Muhammad.
Although he holds weekly prayer meetings in an outbuilding behind his north Napa home and guides a handful of local followers, Ansari does most of his religious work outside of Napa and beyond the American border.
"Here, I am just the pizza guy," Ansari said laughing.
Ansari and his wife said they didn't know quite what to expect from the community after seeing the horrors of Sept. 11 unfold.
"All of sudden we had to go in defense," Ansari said.
But, one year later, the couple has praise for their community.
"We personally, in Napa, we have seen only support and not a single criticism or any negativity," Ansari said.
"And neither have our kids," Anne Ansari added.
"Our neighbors were calling saying, 'If anything happens, just come over to our house.' Both parents and kids have been so supportive, it made me want to cry."
Islamic Society finds a new home
And for members of the Islamic Society of Napa, life and worship are slowly coming together again.
Four months after the terrorist attacks, the Society, founded by Muhammad Anwar in 1997, was forced to find a new locale for its mosque.
After having spent four years in a Solano Avenue storefront, the society's landlords, David Perez and Kim Perez, wanted to use the space for expansion of the former's electricity business and terminated the lease.
The Islamic group is now in its third week in a new space on Redwood Road, which members share with an anti-violence group.
Since January, the Muslims had prayed and worshipped in a basement.
But the society has faced a dwindling number of worshipers. At the most, Anwar said about 50 people would attend prayers before last Sept. 11. Last Friday, about 10 men faced Mecca in the sparsely decorated room in the Napa strip mall.
The Society is in the process of raising money to establish a mosque of their own.
"It's tough," said Anwar, who is originally from Pakistan. "Especially right now. But we hope to be in a new place before Ramadan starts." The month-long observance of fasting and prayers usually starts early December, depending on when the new moon appears.
Anwar participated in several of the interfaith services and rallies that followed in the wake of last September's events, but said there were no plans to mark the day at the mosque apart from holding regular prayer sessions.
"Life goes on," he said.
Which isn't to say that the year passed has not made a mark on the members of the mosque. Although he is hesitant to admit it, Anwar said that he and his peers are more careful than before.
"Before, it was like home," Anwar said, adding that now he prefers to go out in groups. "We want to play it safe," he said.
People shouting "Bin Laden" and waving middle fingers, "that's normal," he said.
Fouad ElKadi, one of the attendees at an afternoon prayer last week blamed such behavior on ignorance.
"Intelligent and open-minded people understand that not all Muslims are terrorists," said ElKadi, a resort room service manager who has lived in Napa for 22 years. ElKadi is originally from Lebanon.
"Ignorant people, they throw words around. I've passed by people who have called me things. I just thank God that my family and I have not been attacked."
Overall, ElKadi said, people in Napa have been very supportive. But he acknowledged that it is hard for anyone to grasp the events of Sept. 11.
"What those people did, deviates from Islam. It is not true to Islam. The word 'Islam' means total submission to one God — peacefully," ElKadi said, putting emphasis on the last word.
Vivi Stenberg-Williams can be reached at 256-2216 or [email protected]
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Is Napa Valley ignoring local Islamics?
Did you hear the one about the man wearing a New York Yankees hat and an American flag T-shirt who walked into a peace rally and heckled an Islamic religious leader?
It's no joke. That actually happened. In Napa.
The religious leader, Muhammad Anwar of the Islamic Society of Napa Valley, had just finished his opening prayer for peace.
"Don't forget the damage you've done to America!" the heckler shouted.
To his credit, Anwar dismissed the outburst as inconsequential. He said he was immune to such displays.
In the true spirit of his faith, he pledged to "educate more people about peace."
In essence, that's what Anwar tries to do during religious services in Napa and in public speaking engagements.
He denounced the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 almost immediately, in a speech before the Kiwanis Club of Napa.
He paraphrased the Islamic quotation, "He is not of us who sides with his tribe in injustice and he is not of us who summons others to aid him in aggression, and he is not of us who dies while assisting his tribe in tyranny."
Still, Anwar and his flock have been forced underground, literally.
A few months ago his congregation lost its house of worship when their landlord took possession of the mosque site on Soscol Avenue. Now he conducts services in a basement.
At the Peace Table event, while listening to speakers, Anwar spoke about the mosque predicament without bitterness or scorn. He sat with his children and listened to the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi speak to 1,150 Napans about the power of nonviolence.
Arun Gandhi spoke about the time he lied to his father, and how his father responded by walking six miles to think about the mistakes he made raising his son. The impact was so profound that Arun never again lied to anyone.
It's wrong to criticize the wonderful Napa community for the ignorance of one heckler at a peace rally.
But how long can Napa Valley ignore the fact that one of its religious congregations is virtually homeless?
Are local Islamics being silently heckled?
Do we need to walk six miles?
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
It's no joke. That actually happened. In Napa.
The religious leader, Muhammad Anwar of the Islamic Society of Napa Valley, had just finished his opening prayer for peace.
"Don't forget the damage you've done to America!" the heckler shouted.
To his credit, Anwar dismissed the outburst as inconsequential. He said he was immune to such displays.
In the true spirit of his faith, he pledged to "educate more people about peace."
In essence, that's what Anwar tries to do during religious services in Napa and in public speaking engagements.
He denounced the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 almost immediately, in a speech before the Kiwanis Club of Napa.
He paraphrased the Islamic quotation, "He is not of us who sides with his tribe in injustice and he is not of us who summons others to aid him in aggression, and he is not of us who dies while assisting his tribe in tyranny."
Still, Anwar and his flock have been forced underground, literally.
A few months ago his congregation lost its house of worship when their landlord took possession of the mosque site on Soscol Avenue. Now he conducts services in a basement.
At the Peace Table event, while listening to speakers, Anwar spoke about the mosque predicament without bitterness or scorn. He sat with his children and listened to the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi speak to 1,150 Napans about the power of nonviolence.
Arun Gandhi spoke about the time he lied to his father, and how his father responded by walking six miles to think about the mistakes he made raising his son. The impact was so profound that Arun never again lied to anyone.
It's wrong to criticize the wonderful Napa community for the ignorance of one heckler at a peace rally.
But how long can Napa Valley ignore the fact that one of its religious congregations is virtually homeless?
Are local Islamics being silently heckled?
Do we need to walk six miles?
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Napa Muslims seek new house of worship
By LOUISA HUFSTADER | Register Staff Writer Jan 22, 2002
The Islamic Society of Napa Valley, a congregation of local Muslims whose original house of prayer was a Napa garage, must vacate the Solano Avenue storefront it has used as a mosque since early 1998.
The mosque's landlords, David Perez of St. Helena and Kim Perez of Napa, notified the Islamic Society in early December that they needed the property.
"In Ramadan (Islam's holy month of fasting), the owner sent a letter," said Muhammad Anwar, the society's founder.
"It was like a shock to us, you know. We did think we were established here."
But without a lease, there was "really not much we could say," Anwar said. "We are saddened by it."
David Perez said the society has been a good tenant, but he and his son Kim need the space to expand their electrical business, DKB Electrical Inc. They initially asked the society to move Jan. 10, but granted an extension to the end of this month so Anwar could try to find a new location for the mosque.
"We're trying very hard," Anwar said. "We're looking in the paper; we've even talked to a real estate agent. Most of the stuff out there is way beyond our reach."
The society can afford only about $1 a foot for an 800- to 1,000-square-foot rental space where 30 to 50 Sunni Muslims can gather for prayer five times a day, seven days a week.
"When we started, we were praying in my garage," Anwar said. "We got kind of complained out of there; the neighbors didn't like it," because worshippers parked their cars in the neighborhood.
The nearest mosque besides Anwar's is in Vallejo, which Anwar said is too distant for most Napa County Muslims to attend regularly.
"We want our own place"
Anwar has been gathering Napa's Muslims for prayer since 1989 and founded the Islamic Society in 1997. Its worshippers were born in many countries, including Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt and the United States. The society has no formal membership and no dues; worshippers contribute what they can afford, Anwar said.
After sunset prayers on Thursday, Mohammad Kamal Hossain joined Anwar for mint tea, brewed with fresh leaves from a plant growing outside the mosque's door, and a plate of sweet Medjool dates from California.
Hossain, a gas-station manager who proudly calls himself Napa's only Bangladeshi, arrived in Napa from Sacramento six years ago. Anwar is originally from Pakistan.
"Is there any mosque? was the first thing I wanted to know," he said. Before long, he was joining Anwar and the others to pray — not in a mosque, but in a garage.
"Finally, we decided we want(ed) our own place, " Hossain said.
The current mosque is essentially one large room, its floor covered with fringed carpets and prayer rugs. Its scanty furnishings include two bookcases holding a few copies of the Quran and commentaries on the holy book, and framed photographs of the holy sites Mecca and Medina.
A section of the room is partitioned off: When women attend the mosque, they enter behind a curtain and pray separately from the men. The partitioned area also serves as a classroom for children studying the Quran.
A small kitchen area holds a refrigerator, microwave and hot plates. The congregation holds feasts in the mosque on special occasions, such as after the birth of a child or to break the day-long fasts observed during Ramadan.
Muslims from as far afield as Pope Valley and Sonoma come regularly to the mosque to pray, Anwar said. The Solano Avenue location, with its prominent sign visible from Highway 29, also attracts visiting Muslims and people of other faiths who wish to learn more about Islam, he added.
Ramadan is the mosque's busiest season. "It was packed," Anwar said. "We had a great time," said Hossain. This month, attendance is down somewhat, although Friday afternoon prayers usually attract a large group, Anwar said.
The Islamic society has started a fund to buy its own property and is seeking tax-deductible donations. But in the short term, if the society can't find a new location by the end of the month, worshippers may have to go back to praying in a garage.
"If there is no room, we must," said Hossain.
"The prayers must go on," Anwar said.
The Islamic Society of Napa Valley can be reached at 259-0979, [email protected] or P.O. Box 2253, Napa 94558.
Louisa Hufstader can be reached at 256-2265 or at [email protected].
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
The mosque's landlords, David Perez of St. Helena and Kim Perez of Napa, notified the Islamic Society in early December that they needed the property.
"In Ramadan (Islam's holy month of fasting), the owner sent a letter," said Muhammad Anwar, the society's founder.
"It was like a shock to us, you know. We did think we were established here."
But without a lease, there was "really not much we could say," Anwar said. "We are saddened by it."
David Perez said the society has been a good tenant, but he and his son Kim need the space to expand their electrical business, DKB Electrical Inc. They initially asked the society to move Jan. 10, but granted an extension to the end of this month so Anwar could try to find a new location for the mosque.
"We're trying very hard," Anwar said. "We're looking in the paper; we've even talked to a real estate agent. Most of the stuff out there is way beyond our reach."
The society can afford only about $1 a foot for an 800- to 1,000-square-foot rental space where 30 to 50 Sunni Muslims can gather for prayer five times a day, seven days a week.
"When we started, we were praying in my garage," Anwar said. "We got kind of complained out of there; the neighbors didn't like it," because worshippers parked their cars in the neighborhood.
The nearest mosque besides Anwar's is in Vallejo, which Anwar said is too distant for most Napa County Muslims to attend regularly.
"We want our own place"
Anwar has been gathering Napa's Muslims for prayer since 1989 and founded the Islamic Society in 1997. Its worshippers were born in many countries, including Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt and the United States. The society has no formal membership and no dues; worshippers contribute what they can afford, Anwar said.
After sunset prayers on Thursday, Mohammad Kamal Hossain joined Anwar for mint tea, brewed with fresh leaves from a plant growing outside the mosque's door, and a plate of sweet Medjool dates from California.
Hossain, a gas-station manager who proudly calls himself Napa's only Bangladeshi, arrived in Napa from Sacramento six years ago. Anwar is originally from Pakistan.
"Is there any mosque? was the first thing I wanted to know," he said. Before long, he was joining Anwar and the others to pray — not in a mosque, but in a garage.
"Finally, we decided we want(ed) our own place, " Hossain said.
The current mosque is essentially one large room, its floor covered with fringed carpets and prayer rugs. Its scanty furnishings include two bookcases holding a few copies of the Quran and commentaries on the holy book, and framed photographs of the holy sites Mecca and Medina.
A section of the room is partitioned off: When women attend the mosque, they enter behind a curtain and pray separately from the men. The partitioned area also serves as a classroom for children studying the Quran.
A small kitchen area holds a refrigerator, microwave and hot plates. The congregation holds feasts in the mosque on special occasions, such as after the birth of a child or to break the day-long fasts observed during Ramadan.
Muslims from as far afield as Pope Valley and Sonoma come regularly to the mosque to pray, Anwar said. The Solano Avenue location, with its prominent sign visible from Highway 29, also attracts visiting Muslims and people of other faiths who wish to learn more about Islam, he added.
Ramadan is the mosque's busiest season. "It was packed," Anwar said. "We had a great time," said Hossain. This month, attendance is down somewhat, although Friday afternoon prayers usually attract a large group, Anwar said.
The Islamic society has started a fund to buy its own property and is seeking tax-deductible donations. But in the short term, if the society can't find a new location by the end of the month, worshippers may have to go back to praying in a garage.
"If there is no room, we must," said Hossain.
"The prayers must go on," Anwar said.
The Islamic Society of Napa Valley can be reached at 259-0979, [email protected] or P.O. Box 2253, Napa 94558.
Louisa Hufstader can be reached at 256-2265 or at [email protected].
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
St. Helena Christians befriend Napa Muslims
Jan 22, 2002
By VAN MOLLER
By VAN MOLLER
Subsequent to the events of Sept. 11, a small group of men of which I am a member embarked on a discussion of "What really happened and what might we do about it, if anything at all."
Knowing full well that those responsible for the Sept. 11 events were not true Muslims, we felt we wanted to reach out to the local Islamic community. My group consists of six men from Grace Episcopal Church in St. Helena who meet weekly for bible study, prayer and a discussion of issues revolving around our lives.
Thinking that we really didn't know much if anything about Islam — an issue not exclusively ours — we decided to search for a nearby mosque where we could find a group of Muslims who meet as we do and with whom we might get together for an exchange of ideas so all could learn something of the "other" fellow.
This idea took me to the Yellow Pages under mosque. After finding no entry, I went to the white pages and found The Islamic Society of the Napa Valley. I decided to make a personal visit, and finding no one at the mosque, I called the number in the phone book and was soon in touch with a person named Muhammad Aswar. He indicated to me that the Napa Muslim community was quite small and that their mosque membership might be considered a small group similar to ours.
Muhammad and I decided to get together for a cup of coffee to discuss the details of a possible meeting. We met on a Friday afternoon in December a week or so prior to Ramadan. Muhammad greeted me very warmly, and we had a wonderful hour getting to know each other. We agreed that he and several of his Muslim brothers would join our group for discussion the following Monday morning at our normal meeting hour.
Sunday afternoon I received a call from Muhammad, who told me that a few of his brothers were concerned about security. I told him that I understood and that we could meet in a more public place if they preferred and that he need not be concerned about security as all my friends were true loving men with no agenda other than to meet and learn.
At the appointed hour Muhammad and just one of his Muslim brothers arrived at my home, and we had a wonderful 90 minutes together exchanging ideas and each learning something about the other. Frankly, it was we who asked most of the questions. Beyond our knowing that we all (Christians, Jews and Muslims) came from Abraham, our knowledge of Islam was sorely lacking and, indeed, we learned a great deal more.
It was exciting to learn how much more our religions had in common and that they look upon the person of Jesus Christ (as well as Moses, Elijah and others) as one of their principal prophets.
At the end of our meetings it is traditional for us to pray together and we asked our guests if they would join us. They did and, after our leader offered a short prayer, Muhammad offered a prayer as well. His prayer was beautiful and very meaningful and was as applicable to my life as I'm sure it was to him. A unique event.
During our discussion we asked about the mosque and the services. We were told that they are held Friday afternoons at 1 p.m., and we were invited to attend. It did not work out for us to go in December as Ramadan was about to begin and they indicated that, if we came at that time, they would be unable to offer us coffee or tea in that they fast during that time.
So on Jan. 7 we decided to give Muhammad a call and ask if we could attend their service on Friday, Jan. 11. The answer was yes and we went. The Islamic service consisted of prayer, a sermon in English and a sermon in Arabic, all followed by more prayers at the end. Our presence was announced by Muhammad to the other attendees, and he asked them to stay for a few minutes after the service to greet us. This indeed happened, and we were greeted very warmly. Everyone came up to us and introduced himself. All of our hosts were very loving men and made it very apparent that we were most welcome and that our presence and interest in learning about Islam was appreciated.
Before we knew it, Muhammad had laid out for us a lunch of chicken, rice, salad and other refreshments. We carried on for another half-hour during which time we enjoyed great fellowship, learned more and had a most enjoyable time.
Several of the Muslims expressed interest in coming to one of our Monday morning meetings to talk and learn and participate in the fellowship of Christian men. I'm sure this will happen.
These events were all too exceptional and too wonderful not to share with others.
At the end of our meeting it was discovered that this Muslim congregation has been asked to vacate their leased premises as the landlord needs the building for his own purposes. Our friends will be without a place to worship at the end of January. Their needs are 1,500 square feet or so at a modest rent. If you have any ideas, call me at 944-2727.
(Van Moller lives in Rutherford).
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Knowing full well that those responsible for the Sept. 11 events were not true Muslims, we felt we wanted to reach out to the local Islamic community. My group consists of six men from Grace Episcopal Church in St. Helena who meet weekly for bible study, prayer and a discussion of issues revolving around our lives.
Thinking that we really didn't know much if anything about Islam — an issue not exclusively ours — we decided to search for a nearby mosque where we could find a group of Muslims who meet as we do and with whom we might get together for an exchange of ideas so all could learn something of the "other" fellow.
This idea took me to the Yellow Pages under mosque. After finding no entry, I went to the white pages and found The Islamic Society of the Napa Valley. I decided to make a personal visit, and finding no one at the mosque, I called the number in the phone book and was soon in touch with a person named Muhammad Aswar. He indicated to me that the Napa Muslim community was quite small and that their mosque membership might be considered a small group similar to ours.
Muhammad and I decided to get together for a cup of coffee to discuss the details of a possible meeting. We met on a Friday afternoon in December a week or so prior to Ramadan. Muhammad greeted me very warmly, and we had a wonderful hour getting to know each other. We agreed that he and several of his Muslim brothers would join our group for discussion the following Monday morning at our normal meeting hour.
Sunday afternoon I received a call from Muhammad, who told me that a few of his brothers were concerned about security. I told him that I understood and that we could meet in a more public place if they preferred and that he need not be concerned about security as all my friends were true loving men with no agenda other than to meet and learn.
At the appointed hour Muhammad and just one of his Muslim brothers arrived at my home, and we had a wonderful 90 minutes together exchanging ideas and each learning something about the other. Frankly, it was we who asked most of the questions. Beyond our knowing that we all (Christians, Jews and Muslims) came from Abraham, our knowledge of Islam was sorely lacking and, indeed, we learned a great deal more.
It was exciting to learn how much more our religions had in common and that they look upon the person of Jesus Christ (as well as Moses, Elijah and others) as one of their principal prophets.
At the end of our meetings it is traditional for us to pray together and we asked our guests if they would join us. They did and, after our leader offered a short prayer, Muhammad offered a prayer as well. His prayer was beautiful and very meaningful and was as applicable to my life as I'm sure it was to him. A unique event.
During our discussion we asked about the mosque and the services. We were told that they are held Friday afternoons at 1 p.m., and we were invited to attend. It did not work out for us to go in December as Ramadan was about to begin and they indicated that, if we came at that time, they would be unable to offer us coffee or tea in that they fast during that time.
So on Jan. 7 we decided to give Muhammad a call and ask if we could attend their service on Friday, Jan. 11. The answer was yes and we went. The Islamic service consisted of prayer, a sermon in English and a sermon in Arabic, all followed by more prayers at the end. Our presence was announced by Muhammad to the other attendees, and he asked them to stay for a few minutes after the service to greet us. This indeed happened, and we were greeted very warmly. Everyone came up to us and introduced himself. All of our hosts were very loving men and made it very apparent that we were most welcome and that our presence and interest in learning about Islam was appreciated.
Before we knew it, Muhammad had laid out for us a lunch of chicken, rice, salad and other refreshments. We carried on for another half-hour during which time we enjoyed great fellowship, learned more and had a most enjoyable time.
Several of the Muslims expressed interest in coming to one of our Monday morning meetings to talk and learn and participate in the fellowship of Christian men. I'm sure this will happen.
These events were all too exceptional and too wonderful not to share with others.
At the end of our meeting it was discovered that this Muslim congregation has been asked to vacate their leased premises as the landlord needs the building for his own purposes. Our friends will be without a place to worship at the end of January. Their needs are 1,500 square feet or so at a modest rent. If you have any ideas, call me at 944-2727.
(Van Moller lives in Rutherford).
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Napans can show love, help mosque
Jan 22, 2002
It's difficult for a small community like Napa Valley to make a difference on a national or worldwide scale, yet opportunities exist here to set positive examples for other communities. In this way, positive change can occur, one community at a time.
After Sept. 11, many Americans set their sights on extremist fanatics who killed innocent civilians in the name of religion. For a while there were reports throughout the nation of violent acts against American Muslims, and others of Middle Eastern origin.
Although there were a few examples of this happening in Napa, our community responded properly, by not tolerating racial or religious bias.
Things have calmed quite a bit since those emotional days, yet some American Muslims still live in fear that they might be blamed and targeted.
In Napa, Muslims fear they may soon be without a house of worship.
Today's front-page story by Louisa Hufstader reports that the local Islamic mosque will have to move because the current landlord has other plans for the building.
A photographer sent to shoot a prayer service recently was asked to don traditional clothing. Her fear soon gave way to enchantment, and she was genuinely impressed with the hospitality and openness shown by her hosts.
When the mosque's leader, Mohammed Anwar, speaks about the people of Napa to our journalists, to service clubs, or at various community gatherings he is gracious and complimentary, referring to Napans as warm and compassionate.
He's right.
There is no doubt that Napa can find a new home for the Islamic mosque, if we all just look around. The congregation needs only about 1,000 square feet of space and can afford to pay about $1,000 a month.
The mosque has an excellent reputation for being tidy and paying rent on time, and there might even be tax benefits for landlords renting to a house of worship.
Napa can't be all things to all people, but it can extend a helping hand of friendship to a religious community that is neither extreme nor fanatic. Rather, they are part of the Napa Valley fabric.
By embracing local Muslims, Napans can show they know the difference between religion and extremism, between peace and war and between love and hate.
At least it's a start for one community.
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
It's difficult for a small community like Napa Valley to make a difference on a national or worldwide scale, yet opportunities exist here to set positive examples for other communities. In this way, positive change can occur, one community at a time.
After Sept. 11, many Americans set their sights on extremist fanatics who killed innocent civilians in the name of religion. For a while there were reports throughout the nation of violent acts against American Muslims, and others of Middle Eastern origin.
Although there were a few examples of this happening in Napa, our community responded properly, by not tolerating racial or religious bias.
Things have calmed quite a bit since those emotional days, yet some American Muslims still live in fear that they might be blamed and targeted.
In Napa, Muslims fear they may soon be without a house of worship.
Today's front-page story by Louisa Hufstader reports that the local Islamic mosque will have to move because the current landlord has other plans for the building.
A photographer sent to shoot a prayer service recently was asked to don traditional clothing. Her fear soon gave way to enchantment, and she was genuinely impressed with the hospitality and openness shown by her hosts.
When the mosque's leader, Mohammed Anwar, speaks about the people of Napa to our journalists, to service clubs, or at various community gatherings he is gracious and complimentary, referring to Napans as warm and compassionate.
He's right.
There is no doubt that Napa can find a new home for the Islamic mosque, if we all just look around. The congregation needs only about 1,000 square feet of space and can afford to pay about $1,000 a month.
The mosque has an excellent reputation for being tidy and paying rent on time, and there might even be tax benefits for landlords renting to a house of worship.
Napa can't be all things to all people, but it can extend a helping hand of friendship to a religious community that is neither extreme nor fanatic. Rather, they are part of the Napa Valley fabric.
By embracing local Muslims, Napans can show they know the difference between religion and extremism, between peace and war and between love and hate.
At least it's a start for one community.
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Islamic Society thanks Napa
SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 12:00 AM
Dear Editor,
The Islamic community of Napa Valley would like to express our deep thanks to the people of Napa for the love and concern they have shown us in the recent days.
Along with the horror and sadness we all felt while witnessing the tragedy of Sept. 11, an added layer of anxiety began to develop among the Muslims of Napa.
As expectation of a backlash and news of sporadic violence against American Muslims began to surface we braced for the worst. Some stayed home completely.
We were debating whether or not to take down the sign above our mosque. Then flowers and cards began to appear on the doorstep of the mosque.
Also, messages were left on the answering machine all expressing hope that we were safe and their concern for us as part of the community. These notes and flowers were from Jews, Christians and other faiths alike.
It speaks to the intelligence of Napa that instead of hate we have received love. And it speaks to the compassion of Napa that in the midst of such a tragedy, people would concern themselves with the well-being of others.
We are grateful and humbled that Napa stands as an example to America and the world for that matter, of tolerance and love.
We pray for the souls of all those who died on Sept. 11 and for their families. May Allah grant them peace. Amen.
Omar Abdul Salam
Islamic Society of Napa Valley
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
The Islamic community of Napa Valley would like to express our deep thanks to the people of Napa for the love and concern they have shown us in the recent days.
Along with the horror and sadness we all felt while witnessing the tragedy of Sept. 11, an added layer of anxiety began to develop among the Muslims of Napa.
As expectation of a backlash and news of sporadic violence against American Muslims began to surface we braced for the worst. Some stayed home completely.
We were debating whether or not to take down the sign above our mosque. Then flowers and cards began to appear on the doorstep of the mosque.
Also, messages were left on the answering machine all expressing hope that we were safe and their concern for us as part of the community. These notes and flowers were from Jews, Christians and other faiths alike.
It speaks to the intelligence of Napa that instead of hate we have received love. And it speaks to the compassion of Napa that in the midst of such a tragedy, people would concern themselves with the well-being of others.
We are grateful and humbled that Napa stands as an example to America and the world for that matter, of tolerance and love.
We pray for the souls of all those who died on Sept. 11 and for their families. May Allah grant them peace. Amen.
Omar Abdul Salam
Islamic Society of Napa Valley
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Muslim teach-in takes place at Napa Valley College
Sep 22, 2001
By SCOTT HANKINS
Register Correspondent
By SCOTT HANKINS
Register Correspondent
Since the events of Sept. 11, there has been talk of Holy War, Jihad and Islamic Fundamentalism.
In an attempt to avoid the type of violence toward those perceived to be of Middle-Eastern descent seen in other parts of the country, Napa Valley College asked Muhammand Anwar of the Islamic Society of the Napa Valley to give three one-hour presentations over two days, explaining Islam to a packed room of about 60 people each time.
Dressed in white robes and a turban and sporting the traditional Islamic beard, Anwar gave a short presentation Friday followed by a very long question and answer period.
"The word 'Islam' comes from the word solam, which means 'peace' in Arabic," he said, trying to dispel the notion that Islam is a violent religion. "Islam is based on peace."
"We have the luxury of being in an academic setting, were we can discuss these issues and fill in the pieces of the puzzle," humanities professor Doug Dibble said.
Napa Valley College President Diane Carey Woodruff pointed at anti-hatred posters placed all over campus that say, "Not In Our College."
"We can use this tragedy for learning," she said. "Our college is a hate-free place."
Anwar started his presentation by giving a brief overview of the Islamic religion.
"If you really sit down and think about it, Christianity, Judaism and Islam amount to the same thing," he said.
"Whatever happened last Tuesday, Islam condemns it," he said. "The (Islamic) nations have condemned it and in no way support it."
Anwar interrupted his presentation for and asked that everyone give a moment of prayer for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
He was concerned that many Americans equate Islam with terrorism.
"Islam is the opposite of terrorism," he said. "Look at what Islam stands for, instead of what Muslims are doing."
Anwar said that Napa's Islamic Society has received a lot of calls from the community. He said few, if any, were threatening and most were supportive in some way. Many were apologetic of what some Americans have done to Muslims in other parts of the country.
"We were very horrified when it happened and most of us stay very close to home now," he said. He also said attendance at his mosque is down.
Students asked Anwar a variety of questions about Muslims, Islam and the Koran, which he answered, sometimes not quite directly.
One student asked if Muslims in other countries resent Americans.
"Islam teaches everything that Christianity does. Muslims in other countries don't have the knowledge of American Muslims," he said.
"The only image they get is what they see on TV, and that's very negative toward Islam."
Anwar was also asked his assessment of Osama bin Laden.
"He's definitely not making a good picture of Islam," he answered.
Sarah Jackson, 21, who attended the presentation said, "I wanted to see the other side," and said Anwar changed her mind about some things.
"My first impression was that everyone in that religion is for the terrorists," she said. "But now I think there could be some good ones."
Beverly Thomas, 59, took the class because she was assigned it.
Although Thomas said her opinions about Muslims hadn't changed after attending the meeting, she admitted, "He did enlighten me, though."
As he ended his presentation, Anwar wanted to leave everyone with one message: "Islam is peace and the message of Islam is peace," he said.
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
In an attempt to avoid the type of violence toward those perceived to be of Middle-Eastern descent seen in other parts of the country, Napa Valley College asked Muhammand Anwar of the Islamic Society of the Napa Valley to give three one-hour presentations over two days, explaining Islam to a packed room of about 60 people each time.
Dressed in white robes and a turban and sporting the traditional Islamic beard, Anwar gave a short presentation Friday followed by a very long question and answer period.
"The word 'Islam' comes from the word solam, which means 'peace' in Arabic," he said, trying to dispel the notion that Islam is a violent religion. "Islam is based on peace."
"We have the luxury of being in an academic setting, were we can discuss these issues and fill in the pieces of the puzzle," humanities professor Doug Dibble said.
Napa Valley College President Diane Carey Woodruff pointed at anti-hatred posters placed all over campus that say, "Not In Our College."
"We can use this tragedy for learning," she said. "Our college is a hate-free place."
Anwar started his presentation by giving a brief overview of the Islamic religion.
"If you really sit down and think about it, Christianity, Judaism and Islam amount to the same thing," he said.
"Whatever happened last Tuesday, Islam condemns it," he said. "The (Islamic) nations have condemned it and in no way support it."
Anwar interrupted his presentation for and asked that everyone give a moment of prayer for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
He was concerned that many Americans equate Islam with terrorism.
"Islam is the opposite of terrorism," he said. "Look at what Islam stands for, instead of what Muslims are doing."
Anwar said that Napa's Islamic Society has received a lot of calls from the community. He said few, if any, were threatening and most were supportive in some way. Many were apologetic of what some Americans have done to Muslims in other parts of the country.
"We were very horrified when it happened and most of us stay very close to home now," he said. He also said attendance at his mosque is down.
Students asked Anwar a variety of questions about Muslims, Islam and the Koran, which he answered, sometimes not quite directly.
One student asked if Muslims in other countries resent Americans.
"Islam teaches everything that Christianity does. Muslims in other countries don't have the knowledge of American Muslims," he said.
"The only image they get is what they see on TV, and that's very negative toward Islam."
Anwar was also asked his assessment of Osama bin Laden.
"He's definitely not making a good picture of Islam," he answered.
Sarah Jackson, 21, who attended the presentation said, "I wanted to see the other side," and said Anwar changed her mind about some things.
"My first impression was that everyone in that religion is for the terrorists," she said. "But now I think there could be some good ones."
Beverly Thomas, 59, took the class because she was assigned it.
Although Thomas said her opinions about Muslims hadn't changed after attending the meeting, she admitted, "He did enlighten me, though."
As he ended his presentation, Anwar wanted to leave everyone with one message: "Islam is peace and the message of Islam is peace," he said.
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
Napans gather for peace
Sep 20, 2001
By LOUISA HUFSTADER
Register Staff Writer
By LOUISA HUFSTADER
Register Staff Writer
A plan by Napa High School students to help teen-agers cope with their feelings about last week's terrorist attacks grew into a community-wide event Wednesday night, as more than 1,000 Napans of all ages came together for a "Peace and Unity Ceremony and Candlelight Walk."
At a time when calls for revenge are echoing like drumbeats across the United States, Napa's teens spoke and sang for peace and a measured response to the tragedy. Their program was dedicated "in remembrance of those who lost their lives, and in support of those who hold their memories."
American flags both large and small bloomed throughout Napa Valley Exposition's Chardonnay Hall as Napans from many backgrounds and faiths listened quietly to the students' words, often breaking in with applause.
Sixteen-year-old Napa High senior Jillian Jones of American Canyon, one of the event's key organizers, was the first of the young people to speak.
Taking "strength" as her theme, Jones said "How little (the terrorists) know about history and the strength of the American people.
"We are strong because we feel the pain, but we rise above it," Jones continued. "We are strong because we are diverse and united; we are strong because we are passionate and compassionate."
Applause erupted as she concluded with a quote from Helen Keller: "The world is full of suffering; it is also full of the overcoming of it."
Pleas for restraint
Organizer Emma Lipp, 16, a Napa High junior, delivered an emotional plea for restraint, contrasting the "overwhelming sense of unity" that Americans have felt in recent days with "acts of violence in the United States … and harsh political statements."
Urging against revenge, Lipp drew applause when she said "whole communities and races do not need to pay for the ignorance and cruelty of others."
"We must not bring pain to others in avenging ourselves," she said, choking back tears. "It takes more courage to confront peace than it does to knock down the tallest building in New York.
"It is time for peace and for our nation to rise up and face the world with true courage," Lipp concluded, as the crowd rose with cheers and whistles in a standing ovation.
Seventeen-year-old Steven Straughn, Napa High's student body president and drum major for the school's band, also counseled peace, saying "We must be the bigger people" and avoid retaliation.
Straughn asked Napans to "face this tragedy with love and peace" and to "act from this day on in the spirit of unity.
"We are the United States of America, but more importantly, we must be the united people of America," Straughn said.
Students from Vintage, Temescal and New Technology high schools joined the Napa High organizers on stage, while students from the Oxbow School distributed — and, in one case, wore — signs reading "Our Community is a Hate-Free Zone."
The 106-member Napa High School band opened the event with the national anthem, and choirs from both Napa and Vintage Highs sang sacred music.
Rabbi, Islamic teachers embrace
Many adults also spoke, from Mayor Ed Henderson — who appeared twice, the second time to present the teens with an American flag — to representatives of the Red Cross and the Napa Valley Peace Table.
Representing the Napa Interfaith Council, Rev. Jack Isbell of Hospice Napa Valley introduced Rabbi David White of Congregation Beth Shalom, Shaykh Taner Ansari of the Islamic Sufi Order of Qadiri Rifai Tariqa and Rashid Elahi, one of several members of the Napa Mosque who attended the ceremony.
Ansari presented flowers to White as a "peace offering," and the two men embraced. White and Elahi each then addressed the crowd.
"Remember, the ground upon which we stand is holy because of the united people we bring together and the way we respect our differences," White said. "We are blessed here in Napa with a loving community that understands what this really means."
Elahi, a physician who has practiced in Napa for the past two years, extended "condolences from the Muslim community to the victims and the families of the victims" of last Tuesday's attacks. He also prayed in Arabic, asking Allah to bless the souls of the perished and grant strength to their families.
Reciting and translating verses from the Quran, Elahi explained that "Allah, our Lord, invites you toward peace. That is the meaning of Islam.
"No religion in the world ever has preached hate or the killing of innocent people," Elahi said. "Those who are responsible (for the attacks) should be punished."
Elahi also praised the young people who had spoken before him, saying, "This is the future. We have to be a big nation, as they said."
Napans applauded when he said that of all the messages the mosque has received since the attacks, there was "not a single negative letter."
"May Allah save us … from future tragedies and calamities like (last week's), and keep us on the straight path," Elahi concluded.
'We need to do something'
The idea for a rally first came to Jones and Lipp Sept. 11, as the grim news reports continued to roll in from New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.
The two girls, both members of the high school's leadership class, called leadership teacher Jennifer Kohl that night.
"They said, 'We need to do something,'" recalled Kohl, Napa High's dean of activities. "That's really how it started."
Working with Kohl, advisor Cathy Dickey and the high school's Rotary-sponsored Interact Club, the leadership class developed the idea of a "unity ceremony" that would bring students from all of Napa's public and private high schools together for a candlelight rally in the Napa High quadrangle.
"It had to be done … Somebody had to do it," Lipp said.
Word of the students' plan traveled quickly through the community after they presented their idea to an early-morning Rotary meeting last Thursday. It soon became clear that, as Dickey put it, "we've outgrown Napa High for this."
After Kohl received a call from Dorothy Lind from the Napa Valley Peace Table, the students decided to join forces with the Peace Table and other groups to create an event that would be open to the community.
Napa High School's Interact Club and Leadership Class, Napa Sunrise Rotary, Leadership Napa Valley and the Napa Chamber of Commerce, along with the Expo staff, also joined in to stage the ceremony, which Dickey estimated drew more than 1,600 people.
To conclude the evening, the teen-agers — many joined by their families — led the throng in a candlelight walk to the end of the Expo grounds, where two American flags hung illuminated from Napa Fire Department engines.
Ernie Rochester, a carpenter from Napa, joined the walk, carrying a full-size American flag on a staff over his shoulder. His 9-year-old son Tyler carried two candles.
A former volunteer firefighter in Napa, Rochester called the ceremony "a good way to bring the community together. Unfortunately, it takes a tragic event for people to come together.
"
Surveying the many young people walking quietly with their candles, Rochester said, "It brings a tear to your eye, because the kids did this. They got together as a group and put on an awesome show.
"It's just what we need."
Louisa Hufstader can be reached at 256-2265 or at [email protected]
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register
At a time when calls for revenge are echoing like drumbeats across the United States, Napa's teens spoke and sang for peace and a measured response to the tragedy. Their program was dedicated "in remembrance of those who lost their lives, and in support of those who hold their memories."
American flags both large and small bloomed throughout Napa Valley Exposition's Chardonnay Hall as Napans from many backgrounds and faiths listened quietly to the students' words, often breaking in with applause.
Sixteen-year-old Napa High senior Jillian Jones of American Canyon, one of the event's key organizers, was the first of the young people to speak.
Taking "strength" as her theme, Jones said "How little (the terrorists) know about history and the strength of the American people.
"We are strong because we feel the pain, but we rise above it," Jones continued. "We are strong because we are diverse and united; we are strong because we are passionate and compassionate."
Applause erupted as she concluded with a quote from Helen Keller: "The world is full of suffering; it is also full of the overcoming of it."
Pleas for restraint
Organizer Emma Lipp, 16, a Napa High junior, delivered an emotional plea for restraint, contrasting the "overwhelming sense of unity" that Americans have felt in recent days with "acts of violence in the United States … and harsh political statements."
Urging against revenge, Lipp drew applause when she said "whole communities and races do not need to pay for the ignorance and cruelty of others."
"We must not bring pain to others in avenging ourselves," she said, choking back tears. "It takes more courage to confront peace than it does to knock down the tallest building in New York.
"It is time for peace and for our nation to rise up and face the world with true courage," Lipp concluded, as the crowd rose with cheers and whistles in a standing ovation.
Seventeen-year-old Steven Straughn, Napa High's student body president and drum major for the school's band, also counseled peace, saying "We must be the bigger people" and avoid retaliation.
Straughn asked Napans to "face this tragedy with love and peace" and to "act from this day on in the spirit of unity.
"We are the United States of America, but more importantly, we must be the united people of America," Straughn said.
Students from Vintage, Temescal and New Technology high schools joined the Napa High organizers on stage, while students from the Oxbow School distributed — and, in one case, wore — signs reading "Our Community is a Hate-Free Zone."
The 106-member Napa High School band opened the event with the national anthem, and choirs from both Napa and Vintage Highs sang sacred music.
Rabbi, Islamic teachers embrace
Many adults also spoke, from Mayor Ed Henderson — who appeared twice, the second time to present the teens with an American flag — to representatives of the Red Cross and the Napa Valley Peace Table.
Representing the Napa Interfaith Council, Rev. Jack Isbell of Hospice Napa Valley introduced Rabbi David White of Congregation Beth Shalom, Shaykh Taner Ansari of the Islamic Sufi Order of Qadiri Rifai Tariqa and Rashid Elahi, one of several members of the Napa Mosque who attended the ceremony.
Ansari presented flowers to White as a "peace offering," and the two men embraced. White and Elahi each then addressed the crowd.
"Remember, the ground upon which we stand is holy because of the united people we bring together and the way we respect our differences," White said. "We are blessed here in Napa with a loving community that understands what this really means."
Elahi, a physician who has practiced in Napa for the past two years, extended "condolences from the Muslim community to the victims and the families of the victims" of last Tuesday's attacks. He also prayed in Arabic, asking Allah to bless the souls of the perished and grant strength to their families.
Reciting and translating verses from the Quran, Elahi explained that "Allah, our Lord, invites you toward peace. That is the meaning of Islam.
"No religion in the world ever has preached hate or the killing of innocent people," Elahi said. "Those who are responsible (for the attacks) should be punished."
Elahi also praised the young people who had spoken before him, saying, "This is the future. We have to be a big nation, as they said."
Napans applauded when he said that of all the messages the mosque has received since the attacks, there was "not a single negative letter."
"May Allah save us … from future tragedies and calamities like (last week's), and keep us on the straight path," Elahi concluded.
'We need to do something'
The idea for a rally first came to Jones and Lipp Sept. 11, as the grim news reports continued to roll in from New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.
The two girls, both members of the high school's leadership class, called leadership teacher Jennifer Kohl that night.
"They said, 'We need to do something,'" recalled Kohl, Napa High's dean of activities. "That's really how it started."
Working with Kohl, advisor Cathy Dickey and the high school's Rotary-sponsored Interact Club, the leadership class developed the idea of a "unity ceremony" that would bring students from all of Napa's public and private high schools together for a candlelight rally in the Napa High quadrangle.
"It had to be done … Somebody had to do it," Lipp said.
Word of the students' plan traveled quickly through the community after they presented their idea to an early-morning Rotary meeting last Thursday. It soon became clear that, as Dickey put it, "we've outgrown Napa High for this."
After Kohl received a call from Dorothy Lind from the Napa Valley Peace Table, the students decided to join forces with the Peace Table and other groups to create an event that would be open to the community.
Napa High School's Interact Club and Leadership Class, Napa Sunrise Rotary, Leadership Napa Valley and the Napa Chamber of Commerce, along with the Expo staff, also joined in to stage the ceremony, which Dickey estimated drew more than 1,600 people.
To conclude the evening, the teen-agers — many joined by their families — led the throng in a candlelight walk to the end of the Expo grounds, where two American flags hung illuminated from Napa Fire Department engines.
Ernie Rochester, a carpenter from Napa, joined the walk, carrying a full-size American flag on a staff over his shoulder. His 9-year-old son Tyler carried two candles.
A former volunteer firefighter in Napa, Rochester called the ceremony "a good way to bring the community together. Unfortunately, it takes a tragic event for people to come together.
"
Surveying the many young people walking quietly with their candles, Rochester said, "It brings a tear to your eye, because the kids did this. They got together as a group and put on an awesome show.
"It's just what we need."
Louisa Hufstader can be reached at 256-2265 or at [email protected]
Courtesy: Napa Valley Register