Public testimony: Hakeem, former board member, supports community legacy
Hakeem, a former board member, testifies in support, describing his family's multi-generational involvement with the masjid. He recounts community gatherings, his father-in-law's store on the property, and the masjid's role as a moral and spiritual anchor. He calls the project essential for community life and development for future generations.
As-salamu alaykum.
This is Brother Hakeem.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
You may begin your testimony.
Thank you.
And that was just my wife that had the privilege of speaking, and I have the blessing to be able to follow her.
Yes, I was formerly a board member of the Masjid.
I served for many years.
I've seen so much growth and development through Masjid Khalifa.
As a father and a husband, I've had the blessing to see not only my father serve through the Nation of Islam, who's standing right next to me, but I've also had the blessing to watch my children grow up in this masjid after I got married in this masjid.
I've seen so much happen from events, from community gatherings, you know, people coming together.
My father-in-law, I used to have a store on the property that used to work with people, teach people, educate people, help people.
And so much of us as a community have had the blessing of being a part of Masjid Abdul-Muksi Khalifa, that it would be a shame and a crime not to see this legacy move forward,
given all of the changes that are happening in the surrounding area.
As a moral and spiritual anchor of the Islamic community in Bedford-Stuyvesant,
we have to uphold that anchor and continue to do whatever we can to see that the children that are to follow us can proceed with a legacy that will help them raise their children and move forward.
So I have watched this project in its incubating stages at those board meetings, and I'm just very thankful to see that the project is a
getting to a point now where we can start to see that light at the end of the tunnel.
And, you know, as Muslims, you know, we truly believe that God loves those who do things that are most beneficial for other people.
So this is not just about the people in this room or the people at the board, but we're collectively doing this for the benefit of community life.
That's the game.
That's what we're about, community life and community development.
And the new structure can only serve that mission by giving us something that we'll be able to, God willing, hold on to, to pass on to the next generations, and just to allow growth and development to persist.
Thank you very much for the time.
We appreciate it.
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