Reading in Ramadan Part 1
(Falls Church, VA., 03/08/10) -- Through the invitation of Adam Ebbin, delegate from the 49th District to the Virginia House of Delegates, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik will deliver the opening prayer to the General Assembly on Thursday, March 11th, 2010. The invitation is co-sponsored by freshman Delegate Kaye Kory. She has worked closely with the mosque during her tenure on the Fairfax County school board and with the mosque's sponsorship of the "Student's on Suspension (SOS)" program with the Fairfax Partnership for Youth.
Dar Al-Hijrah hosts a number of social services programs in partnership with government, faith-based and community organizations including Supervisor Penny Gross's "Kaleidoscope" dialogue, Emergency Overnight Hypothermia sheltering, weekly food-bank, regular health clinics and citizenship education forums.
Under Imam Johari's leadership the mosque is active in interfaith dialogues, partners with the UPF 20,000 Dialogues project, the annual Culmore Community Clean-up project, Habitat for Humanity NOVA and plays a central role in Virginia's Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE).
Imam Johari said, "After 911 everything changed, there was fear and mistrust from some of our neighbors. My job is to lead my community to build bridges of faith through understanding and service".
The scriptures teach us, 'You have been created into tribes and nations to know each other. Verily, the best among you in the sight of God are those who are the most (Taqwa) aware and in relationship with God".
Dar Al-Hijrah and our community are honored by this opportunity to help forge relations in order to build a new dominion of progress and peace in the Old Dominion.
