Dear Community Members and Friends,
As Salaamu Alaikum,
After three years of online events throughout the pandemic, we were so honored to host our community in-person and celebrate all of the ways you make our work possible.
Over 1,000 community members, partners, religious leaders, elected officials, and supporters attended CAIR-SFBA’s 28th Anniversary Gala!
We are grateful to our sponsors, donors, volunteers, and every single one of you who made this celebration possible!
The evening, which was emceed by Dr. Noor Bilbeisi, featured remarks from prominent members of the American Muslim community including State Senator Elect Aisha Wahab, in her first community event since becoming the first-ever Muslim elected to the California State Legislature, Sheikh Ahmed Billoo, and Alia Sharrief.
We were humbled to be joined by Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from South Africa who discussed how we can learn from his community’s struggles towards justice. He advised the audience that no laws “should be made about us, without us.” Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian American-Muslim and award-winning racial justice activist and community organizer, delivered the keynote address for the event. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of our unity as a community as we work to combat discrimination, Islamophobia, and hate in all its forms.
We had the privilege of recognizing several partner organizations that have served our community members alongside us during the past few years. Through the Empowering American Muslims Award we honored Maristan and Khalil Center’s service toward building resilience and empowering communities. Additionally, through the Promoting Justice Award, we commended Milpitas Musallah, Support Life Foundation, and Mu’eed for their efforts in advancing food and economic justice locally and abroad.
Thank you to our sponsors for their ongoing support, as well as all of you who continue to make the work of CAIR-SFBA possible.
We want to hear your feedback. Please let us know what you thought by completing our Gala survey.
We are truly blessed to have raised $360,815 at this year’s event. However, our goal for the event was $450,000.
That leaves us $89,185 short.
Thank you for your duas and generosity, always.
Sincerely,
Zahra Billoo
Executive Director