Photo by Chris Sykes Imam W. Deen Shareef, fifth from right, and Embrace Relief Vice President Osman Dulgeroglu, seventh from right, stand with volunteers from Masjid Warith uhd Deen, Embrace Relief, Edep Academy in Wayne and the Friends of Irvington Park on Saturday, Sept. 9, during the charity meat giveaway at the D. Bilal Beasley Community Center in Irvington Park that is the post Eid al Adha event organized by Shareef, FOIP and the Embrace Relief non-profit organization.
Imam W. Deen Shareef, fifth from right, and Embrace Relief Vice President Osman Dulgeroglu, seventh from right, stand with volunteers from Masjid Warith uhd Deen, Embrace Relief, Edep Academy in Wayne and the Friends of Irvington Park on Saturday, Sept. 9, during the charity meat giveaway at the D. Bilal Beasley Community Center in Irvington Park that is the post Eid al Adha event organized by Shareef, FOIP and the Embrace Relief non-profit organization.
IRVINGTON, NJ — Omar Bilal and the Friends of Irvington Park joined forces with Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef of the Warith-uhd Deen mosque in Newark, the Embrace Relief nonprofit organization and volunteers from the Edep Academy Home School and After School Program to host a food giveaway at the D. Bilal Community Center in Irvington Park on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The event was held as part of celebration of Eid al-Adha, an important Islamic holiday. Boxes filled with halal beef, lamb and chicken that was prepared according to Islamic law.
According to Shareef, the Prophet Muhammad said charity is one of the Five Pillars of Islam; the other pillars are: Shahada, or faith; Salat, or prayer; Sawm, or fasting; and Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
“We’ve partnered to give away the packages that are in celebration of our recent celebration of Eid al-Adha, which is the celebration of sacrifice,” said Shareef on Saturday, Sept. 9. “Eid means ‘recurring happiness.’ So those that are participating in the festivities want to share in the happiness of the joy that comes not only with making Hajj but also from coming together as a community and as a family.”
Shareef was referring to his extended family of Muslim brothers and sisters in the United States and around the world that united in celebrating Eid al Adha on Friday, Sept. 1.
Shereef was accompanied at the event in Irvington by members of his mosque; Osman Dulgeroglu, vice president for Embrace Relief; and Serhat Sen, director of Edep Academy, along with some student volunteers.
“Each year, in the time of Eid al Adha, we are distributing around 200,000 pounds of beef meat here in the United States and also 40 other countries around the world in Asia, Africa and South America,” said Dulgeroglu on Saturday, Sept. 9.
Dulgeroglu is a former biology teacher from Turkey who came to the United States in 2002, switching careers shortly thereafter to enter the nonprofit world. But he said education is still near and dear to his heart, adding, “Education and Islam are both about helping.”
He and Shareef said education falls under charity as one of Five Pillars of Islam, so it was right to have young people volunteering at the food giveaway.
“Education is also charity and that’s another big part of Islam and the Eid al-Adha celebration,” said Deen on Sept. 9. “The Eid al-Adha celebration is not only to feed the people the food, but also to feed them knowledge. It’s important, because Eid al-Adha is ‘the brighter Eid,’ which means that it’s a celebration not only of sacrifice, but it’s a celebration also of the enlightenment of the human intellect. So it’s about education, as well as charity.”
According to Sen, the timing of the food giveaway was fortuitous.
“School has started. It’s like a month since we started our school,” he said. “With our students, we always are working with Embrace Relief, not just learning but giving back to the community. We came here today with 10 to 15 students. We have some of our graduates and current students. We’re willing to work with this community for coming years.”
That was good news to Edwin Bowles, 18, a student at Essex County College who is a member of the Newark mosque. He came to the Irvington event for a practical lesson in charity and giving back, along with Saldet Kaskin, 14, who attends Wayne Hills High School, and Seni Niaks, a high school senior who wants to be an architect.
“I think it’s very helpful for us to feed the homeless and actually build relationships. I think it’s very helpful toward the community,” said Bowles on Saturday, Sept. 9. “We all come from nothing. Basically, we’re just trying to help each other out, so that we (can) be better people.”
Kaskin, who said she plans to be a medical doctor, appreciates Islam’s holistic approach to helping people.
“I feel like it’s going to help out everyone,” said Kaskin on Saturday, Sept. 9. “I feel like it’s going to bring peace to everyone.”
Niaks also said she was glad she came to Irvington for the food giveaway.
“It was my first time in this community,” said Niaks on Saturday, Sept. 9. “It’s nice meeting everyone and hopefully we’ll continue this again.”
Deen agreed, saying, “We are the peacemakers and the peacekeepers. Islam is about bringing human beings together to work for the greater good.”
“This is about making relationships with people and also providing charity to people that need the support for their families and their children.”
South Ward Councilwoman Sandy Jones, one of the Friends of Irvington Park, said helping families and children is what it’s all about.
“It was a great idea to service the people in the community,” said Jones on Monday, Sept. 11. “You always do well when you give out food. It’s a combination of religions. Everybody does well, when we work together.”
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