In the name of Allah, the Compassionate,
the Merciful
MISSION STATEMENT:
Hejrat Foundation – a religious, educational, and charitable
organization - was established in Southern California in the year 2000
as a non-profit organization. Our mission is to educate and aid people:
to educate Muslims and non-Muslims about Islam and issues that affect
their lives and the world in which they live; to encourage positive
social progress; to build unity between all people; and to fill the
needs of Muslims and non-Muslims in Southern California in order to
improve their standard of living and assist in their economic
advancement - beginning locally and spreading nationally and
internationally.
Our goals include the establishment of masjids (mosques),
Islamic seminaries (hawza), full-time Islamic
schools, weekend schools, libraries, Islamic banks, Islamic cemeteries,
homeless shelters, free medical clinics, orphanages, domestic violence
shelters, food banks, and other organizations and services to meet the
needs of the growing Muslim population, and our non-Muslim neighbors.
We aim to additionally reach out to the local, national, and
international community through TV and radio studios, as well as by
publishing books and other literature aimed at educating people and
improving their lives.
Hejrat Foundation was established under The Hejrat Educational
Center, and currently administrates several organizations. Masjid
Al-Nabi is our mosque in West Covina, California. There, we hold
regular programs to educate the community in religious, cultural,
humanitarian, legal, national, and international issues. We invite a
wide range of speakers from many different backgrounds to speak on the
various topics of interest and need. We regularly include question and
answer periods so that we can maximize learning
opportunities.
In Adelanto, California, we direct another mosque, which is
also called Masjid Al-Nabi. There, we also have a cemetery and burial
facilities, which we administrate under the organization name “United
Islamic Youth Organization.” In June of 2005, arsonists set fire to the
masjid and burial facilities, destroying them. Plans have been
completed, and we expect to begin rebuilding soon. The cemetery in
Adelanto serves the needs of all of Southern California, and beyond. It
is the first, and the largest, cemetery in the United States that is in
total accordance with Islamic law. It serves all Muslims, both Shia and
Sunni. There are over 600 Muslims buried there, and another 1,000 plots
have already been reserved.
We are in the process of opening a TV studio, and have already
registered it as Enlight Broadcasting Corporation, doing business as
Enlight TV. This satellite TV station will be broadcasting, in English,
24 hours a day. Our goals are for educating, enlightening, and
informing both Muslims and Non-Muslims, both nationally and
internationally. Enlight TV’s programming will focus on education and
news. Educationally, our programming will address many aspects of life:
We will teach about Islam so that Muslims will learn more about their
religion in order to become better human beings, and so that
non-Muslims will grow in their understanding that Islam is a religion
of peace and a religion that aims for people to reach their perfection
in morals and humanity. We will have programming about Islamic culture
as well as programming that features the dialogue between religions and
between cultures in order to bring about a better perception of world
diversity, and to encourage understanding, unity, and peace between all
people. We will address humanitarian issues so that people will be made
aware of the needs of their world neighbors. Also, human rights issues
will be discussed because it is important for people to know what is
happening to their fellow humans so that they can act to correct wrongs
in the world. We will include legal, national, and international issues
in order to further educate our viewers. The aim of Enlight TV’s news
department is to broaden people’s views and increase their world
perspective; we want to inform our viewers of the struggles and
accomplishments of people in communities all over the world.
Because the internet is such a valuable tool in reaching
people, we are in the process of updating and expanding our website,
http://hejrat.info. Our
aim is for it to be a valuable online source for knowledge and
learning, to further fill the needs of our community, and beyond.
Hejrat.info notifies the community about our activities, services, and
plans for the future. We offer books for sale, as well as an
ever-growing list of online book links. We offer a business directory,
and other service and information links. Our “news” section, which we
are in the process of revising, will include national and worldwide
news affecting our audience, as well as our own news of the community.
Hejrat Foundation is currently working on organizing a
Hawza, an Islamic Seminary school. The Hawza is a
place where students can learn, in depth, about Islamic topics. The
plans for the Hawza call for it to be certified by the state of
California for university credits, and to be certified by the Hawzas in
Najaf and Qum. We are working with some prominent Islamic Scholars, in
the United States and abroad, to bring this plan to fruition.
We have established a weekend school in order to better reach
our goals for teaching basic Islamic education to children from various
ethnic groups and backgrounds in an environment where they come
together and find their common ground, preparing them for a future of
unity and cooperation. In addition, we expect to begin classes for
adults: both those who want to learn about Islam at a basic level, and
those who wish to pursue more advanced levels.
At Hejrat Foundation, we have a commitment to education and
learning. People require sources in order to be able to expand their
knowledge, so we have begun work on the establishment of a multi-media
Islamic library to aid people in their quest for that knowledge.
Strong healthy family units are what build a safe and sane
world. For this reason, we offer many services aimed at the family
unit, and plan to add many more. We plan to introduce matrimonial
services in the near future, to help people find a suitable spouse. In
addition, we offer pre-marriage counseling to assist people in reaching
their goal of a solid and lasting marriage and family. We also offer
youth, family, and marriage counseling. Since our senior citizens are
the respected parents of the community, we are working on the
establishment of Senior Citizen Services. Also, in view of the fact
that the youth are the future of the community, we will be adding
tutoring to our list of services as well in order to help them succeed
in their studies. To further strengthen the community, we also offer
immigration and citizenship services.
There are many upcoming projects that we feel are extremely
important for the health and welfare of the people most in need. Many
people find themselves and their families without adequate food, so we
are working to establish food banks. Another urgent need that we see is
for homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters, especially for
women and children. Children who have lost their parents often found
themselves thrown into unfortunate situations of foster care, and we
wish to institute loving orphanage homes to nurture them into their
adulthood. We also plan to establish free medical clinics for the needy
who may not otherwise obtain the medical attention that they require.
This, as with all our projects, we begin close to home in our own
community, and then work towards expanding world-wide, especially to
work with those in need in Third World countries, because we feel that
everyone in the world is our neighbor – it is just that some are
farther away than others.
Hejrat Foundation has begun a department dedicated to the
research and publication of information concerning the vital topic of
women’s rights. Worldwide, in all cultures, women are misunderstood and
misused. Our objective is to eradicate the prevalent ignorance and
misconceptions about women and their inherent rights. Our plan is to
educate, for only through the dissemination of correct information
about women’s rights will women be treated with the respect they
deserve.
We currently offer small, interest-free loans for people in
the community who are experiencing an emergency situation. Life often
presents problems, but we believe that, through cooperation, all
problems can be solved. For this reason, we plan to institute an
Islamic bank, which will offer savings and loan programs based on
Islamic principles. Our loans, therefore, will be interest-free.
Our aims are high. We aim to create positive change in our
community, our nation, and our world. And, with the help of Allah,
InshaAllah, we will succeed.
Hejrat Foundation is based on donations, khums, and sols (the
1/3 inheritance allotment). It has official authority from most Islamic
Scholars (marajah) for the collection of khums. Donations are tax
deductible.
