ASA held their third annual banquet on May 27th and held their first scholar-run religious workshop on May 28th.

 

The banquet began at 7:30 pm during the first day of Ramadan. ASA's president, Mina Shahinfar, gave the opening speech and the night was MC'ed by Salma Abubakar and Kazim Jafri. Children in the community recited a poem before speeches by Sheikh Mumtaz Ali and the keynote speaker, Sheikh Hadi Qazwini. Awards were presented to the board members of ASA for all of their hard work during the year. Iftaar was served, which was sponsored in part by Tandoori Grill and Jawaad Rattansi, and deserts were provided by ASA. The night ended with fundraising by Sister Shazia Sultana and Faalik Zahra, where ASA raised more than $7000 in pledges. 

 

The next morning, on May 28th, Sheikh Qazwini and Sheikh Mumtaz held a workshop on common problems faced by Muslim youth in the United States. The workshop was split into two sections. The first section was for ages 13+ and included topics like relevant issues in today's society, such as gay marriage and legalization of marijuana and gender relations and marriage. The second section was for ages 7+ and focused on aspects of Islamic belief, like hijab, salah, and Tawheed, and struggles at school. The workshop lasted an hour and a half and was comprised of a mix of prepared questions and questions from the audience.