Prince George’s County Muslim Council Hosts First Annual Cookout

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Sandwiched between rainy days as a result of a tropical storm, Allah blessed Prince George’s County Muslim Council with a beautiful day on Sunday June 9, 2013 to host its First Annual Cookout.   The community event took place at Watkins Regional Park located in Upper Marlboro.

Having promoted the event with an offer of free meals for the first 200 arrivals, 200 meal tickets were presented within the first hour of food service.  Unofficial counts approximate nearly 500 attendees throughout the day. 

The day’s activities included three-on-three basketball for teens, face painting and water balloon fights for kids, and an archery demonstration for women and youth.  Food was supplied by Crown Fried Chicken and Kabob of Fort Washington, Sweet Tooth Café of Largo, and Pizza Roma of College Park.

One of the highlights of the day was a brief lecture by University of Medina Ph.D candidate Tahir Wyatt of Philadelphia. 

Brother Tahir spoke on the importance of Muslims appreciating the various strengths and contributions of different Muslims without condemning those whose strengths are different.

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Top, Jameel Aalim-Johnson (left) and other members of the PGCMC enjoy their time socializing at the picnic. Bottom, Aalim-Johnson addresses the attendees assembled for prayer. Photos courtesy of PGCMC.



An example he gave is the need for some individuals to address the policymakers for the benefit of the Muslim community.  During the question and answer period, an attendee inquired about the permissibility of Muslims backing a candidate who supports Muslim issues but also holds supportive positions on gambling and homosexual marriage.  Brother Tahir responded “perhaps it’s even worse than that, he believes in a trinity”.  He further explained that two individuals (non-Muslims) are running for a seat, one of them is going to win.  Why wouldn’t you support the one who supports the Muslims’ needs?

Prince George’s County Muslim Council (PGCMC) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote the political and civic participation of Muslims in the affairs of Prince George’s County.  Previous events have included community dawah programs with Islamic Research & Humanitarian Services of America and Masjid Ibn Taymiyyah, political candidates’ forums, town halls with public officials, and iftar dinners with the county council. 

To learn more about Prince George’s County Muslim Council go to www.pgcmc.org and like us on Facebook.

The writer is the president of the Prince George’s Muslim Council.


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