By: Ahmed Nieves

Over the weekend the Jami Mosque on Genessee Street, Buffalo, NY held an event for all of the members of the community, both Muslims and non-Muslims.  The event was a garage sale except everything was given away for free.  Items were

generously donated from people who frequented the different mosques such Heim, Zakariyah, DarulSalaam, and Al-Huda mosque, and other mosques as well as several others within the community.  The tables holding the goods were provided by Universal School and the information on Islam was provide by The Dawah Center.

The event was held on Saturday April 18th from 2pm to 5pm in the beautiful spring weather . The items that were given away ranged from household goods, appliances, clothing, baby car seats and everything in between. The items donated were both new and used items. Initially everyone who came to the event got one free item. For the cost of $12 they could purchase a bag and fill it with as many items as they could fit in it. The 1-free item rule was loosely enforced and many members made out with multiple items for free.  At the event, a table was also set up at the entrance with free Quran’s and books teaching about Islam.  There were about 75-100 people of all ages that benefited from the “Free Giveaway.”

The purpose of the event was meant to be a service to the community provided by the mosque as a way of giving back to their neighbors. “Everyone loves free stuff and people feel like others don’t care, so we are doing this to show the community that we do care and we want to help” stated Brother Jaabir Harris. This event was to show just how easy it is to effectively change the larger community’s perception (and reception) of the Muslim community if we all work together to serve them the way Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و السلم would serve a community of oppressed people. This was the first event like this that the mosque has done but already additional events are in planning for later this year. The hopes are to make this an annual event hosted by the Jami Mosque to continue to provide a helping hand to the community.

Overall this event had an amazing turnout, it was very informative and a great service to the community.  Many people were able to leave with quality items for free and also resources to learn about Islam.  To learn more about Islam and/or the Jami Mosque, please click here.