| Written by Kenneth Miller, (Managing Editor), on 11-27-2008 00:00 |
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Murad Muhammad provides uplifting keynote Longtime Muslim and community advocate Naim Shah Sr. hailed his brother Khalid Shah as his hero in accepting his award as honoree at the 25th annual Testimonial to Leadership Banquet on Nov. 22 at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Shah Sr., who accepted his teachings from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1964, served as Squad Leader, Second Lt., First Lt. and West Coast regional Captain until 1975. In 1975 he became regional consultant for the Blight Arrest and Pioneer Patrol Program under the leadership of Imam W. Dee Mohammad. He has also performed Dawah and community outreach. Shah Sr. is also director of Neighborhood Center During Civil Rights Movement, has worked with NAACP, Stop the Violence Increase the Peace Foundation and Brotherhood Crusade for which his brother Khalid is director. The event held before a crowd of more than 200 was a fundraiser to benefit Bilal Learning Center Foundation of South Los Angeles, which has been providing quality education to multi-religious and ethnic groups. Imam W. Deen Mohammed also taught the evening's keynote speaker Murad Muhammad, a veteran boxing promoter who has work with such all-time greats as Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones Jr. Muhammad delivered a stirring sermon on the principals of faith in God and the unlimited gifts that children possess. "Somewhere in a hospital in the womb of a mother a baby was born that we knew nothing about. Today that baby turns out to become the first Black President of the United States in the name of Barrack Obama," Muhammad told the audience. "Each and every day God is protecting our precious children in comfort of their mother's womb and once they are delivered into a complex world it becomes our responsibility as parents and teachers to nurture them and guide them for we know not what limits they may be able to achieve." Dr. Dafer Dakhil performed another impact speech challenging the entire education community to provide the children with the resources and set the bar high for academic excellence. "We have a responsibility to our children. It works when the parents, the teachers and students are all on the same page working together and the results are exceptional," Dr. Dakhil elaborated. As director of Masjid Omar ibn Al-Khattab in Los Angeles which is located near USC campus, he emphatically stated," I have seen it and I know the possibilities." Many students, faculty and board members from his school were in attendance for the event which also honored Angelina Ramirez Stockwell for her countless contributions as a leader in the educational community and Green Dot Public Schools founder Steve Barr for his works in public schools and as overseeing Americorps after school project which aided single mothers in South Central and East Los Angeles. The banquet was sponsored by the Staples Center Foundation and the Bilal Learning Center Foundation & Testimonial to Leadership Committee. Imam Abdul Karim Hasan is the director of the organization and presented the awards to all of the deserving participants.
Last update: 11-27-2008 13:23
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