Assalaamu ‘alaykum & Ramadan Mubarak John!

I pray this message finds you and your family in the best of health and Iman during these first blessed days of Ramadan. This month looks very different from years past, but it is a gift we welcome with open arms and yearning souls all the same.

Last Ramadan was a very special one for me, marking 30 years since I had first accepted Islam. It was in the musallahs of mosques, gatherings at homes, and events in community centers that I was welcomed into this beautiful faith and found my life’s purpose.

This Ramadan is especially hard in some ways. I look forward to Ramadan every year for many reasons, one of which is the opportunity to visit nearly 30 mosques in 30 days as a fundraiser for MLFA, along with my team who does the same. Although it is tiring work and takes me away from my family and the comforts of home, I have the privilege of praying with communities all across America, who embrace me as if I were a member of their own families. Indeed, in Ramadan, my family grows a thousand-fold.

I get to witness firsthand the beautiful ummah that has flourished in America, fasting in unison by day, breaking fast together at sunset, and coming out in droves to attend the taraweeh prayers into the late hours of the night. We practice our faith proudly, visibly, ardently, and fully in this most blessed time of year.

The diversity and solidarity of our ummah leaves an impression on me every time. I am overtaken with gratitude, awe, and humility. Every Ramadan is a reminder of who I am today, why I do what I do, and what I hope to achieve in the future.

It is for this ummah and for these communities in America that I fight for. It is for the right to practice as we do, believe as we believe, and be who we are in an America that promised to be that home for its citizens.

For the most part, it is. But I have also seen firsthand what can happen when this promise is broken.

I have seen innocent men taken away in handcuffs. I have seen offices raided. I have been among communities that were surveilled. I have heard from individuals who were interrogated. I’ve followed the stories, pored over the court documents, consulted the attorneys, and consoled the families.

The good news is that MLFA is here for all of us. It is an organization that goes beyond defending those who are unjustly targeted and persecuted. We do that with the best team on our side, and with a goal to dismantle policies and programs that target Muslims and others simply for who they are or who they know.

The unique situation we are all in this year with the COVID-19 pandemic is allowing us to re-evaluate our priorities and re-assess what kind of world we want to live in after the immediate crisis passes.

Although I am sad I will not be able to visit the mosques I had my heart set on this Ramadan, I am eager to reap the blessings of this month. I trust in His Plan, and rely on His Bounty.

Historically, MLFA raises 50% of its annual funds in Ramadan during Friday prayers, taraweehs, and iftars. We hope that with your support, we can still reach our goal, which is scaled back in order to sustain our current cases until the crisis ends.

Although our ummah is not physically in the mosques, I know that we are together in spirit, and can still make a difference together from the safety of our homes and the unison of our efforts.

I trust you believe in MLFA’s vision of an America with freedom, liberty, and justice for all. That is the America I dream of, and a promise I vow to uphold.

Please keep MLFA in your du’a and in your zakat this month, and pray for all those whose difficulties, anxieties, and sorrows are worsened by this crisis. May there be relief, healing, and ease in these difficult times, and may we all emerge stronger from our tests, in shaa Allah.

In faith and for justice,