Saghir Aslam immigrated to the United
States from Pakistan in 1957 to further his studies at the California State University
at Sacramento. When he arrived in Sacramento, there were relatively few Muslims
in the area who had come from various parts of the world to study or settle. In
fact, at the time there were only two mosques in all of the United States. After
his schooling and early work experience as a Buyer/Manager at the Broadway department
store in Sacramento, in 1962 Mr. Aslam was recruited and promoted to the company’s
larger Orange County, Southern California market where he was manager buyer for
state of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. As a buyer every year he frequently
travaled to England, Italy, Holand, Germany, France, Spain, Austria and other European
countries. He also traveled to the Asia continent such as Hong Kong, Japan, Korea
and the Middle East. He traveled to these countries twice a year for over a decade
searching and buying the best and latest fashion for his customers. This earned
him awards from his company The Boardway. He was named as one of the best buyer
manager among the top five in the entire United States of America. This experience
motivated him even more to work for worldwide unity, love and respect for each other
and work for peace.
He returned to Pakistan to be married in 1969, and he and his wife Bushra settling
in Orange County, where following Mr. Aslam’s Broadway career they pursued various
entrepreneurial interests, including creating and operating a very successful chain
of fabric and home decorating stores. From South Coast Plaza, Laguna Hills, Santa
Monica and between in South Coast Plaza his wife Bushra Aslam earned three years
in a row annual award as the best displays and cleanest store in South Coast Plaza.
In Santa Monica they help decorate many movie star homes such as Lenin sisters,
Lou Gossett, Sher and others.
Saghir and Bushra quickly became part of the small but growing southern California
Muslim community. Soon the need for a mosque and Islamic center in the Orange County
area became apparent. Mr.Aslam helped mobilize support for this effort, and became
one of the founding members of the Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC), Over
many years, Mr. Aslam has tirelessly devoted his time and energy, in various capacities
including President,Treasurer, Secretary, Chairman of Orange Crescent School to
help make the ISOC the nucleus of a vibrant Muslim community in southern California.
Starting from a small building for worship activities, the ISOC has grown to become
one of the largest Islamic centers in the United States.
On a similar note, since his first days in the United States, Mr. Aslam felt that
the freedom and pluralism evident in American society was ideal for cultivating
positive interfaith relations and better understanding among Americans of different
religious backgrounds. During his time at Sacramento State, he started the school’s
first international, cosmopolitan, interfaith club and served as its first president.
Mr. Aslam helped coordinate the club’s annual fundraising event to help the poor
and needy. This was a precursor to a life-long commitment to interfaith cooperation.
Mr. Aslam helped make the ISOC an open and welcoming place for all visitors, and
has always supported Muslims’ efforts to work with other faith communities. The
Saba Trust and ASA Foundation both make interfaith work an important part of their
respective missions.
Mr. Aslam was also instrumental in establishment of the Orange Crescent School (OCS)
on the campus of the ISOC. He understood that the Muslim community was growing,
and that many parents would want to be able to send their children to a Muslim educational
institution where they could acquire a high quality education along with religious
instruction, fulfill their daily religious obligations in a nurturing environment,
and establish strong ties with fellow Muslim students. After much persistence, Mr.
Aslam was successful in convincing ISOC board members at the time to start a school
right then, rather than postponing the matter. The OCS was established the following
year in 1983. The school was one of the first private Muslim schools in North America,
and continues to grow and serve a large community today. Supporting educational
institutions and endeavors is a hallmark of the Aslams’ activism, evident in many
of the projects of the Saba Trust and the ASA Foundation.
Over the years, the Aslam family was blessed by God Almighty with prosperity to
match their generosity of spirit.Aside from their local efforts in southern California,
Saghir and Bushra Aslam became committed to addressing theneeds of the growing and
evolving American Muslim community. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and now
in the 2000s, they have supported many mosques, schools and organizations and have
donated to worthwhile and legitimate charitable causes. They were also instrumental
in helping to launch a number of national American Muslim organizations, including
the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), which was “born” at a meeting in their
home. They similarly facilitated the establishment of the Council on Islamic Education
(CIE) and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), ILM Foundation among many
organizations.
Keenly aware of the privileges and comforts granted to them by God Almighty, and
understanding the dire condition of fellow human beings in Pakistan and elsewhere,
Saghir and Bushra Aslam have always been simultaneously committed to helping the
underprivileged by supporting humanitarian, healthcare and educational efforts in
their country of origin.
Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Aslam have responded to numerous requests for assistance
from people of all walks of life from all over Pakistan, helping whenever and wherever
they could, at whatever level that was feasible at the time.
Unfortunately, the need is great everywhere and resources are limited. Saghir and
Bushra Aslam decided to utilize scarce resources more efficiently and in an organized
manner, and as a result created the Saba Aslam Trust. Through the Trust, decisions
can be made more professionally under established rules and regulations instead
of letting emotions or advice from friends or relatives drive the use of resources.
Furthermore, the establishment of a Trust was a way to institutionalize the effort
to render assistance to those in need, especially in Pakistan. Moreover, the Trust
serves as a nexus around which other concerned individuals can contribute funds
for projects, and it functions as a model that can be duplicated by like-minded
individuals and philanthropists.
Prior to the establishment of the Saba Trust, Saghir and Bushra Aslam experienced
a series of incidents that left deep and profound impressions on their personalities.
Realizing the many gifts and blessings they had been given by God The Almighty,
they decided to help their motherland in whatever small way they could so that those
less fortunate could experience life beyond despair and depression.
Pakistan’s social indicators (i.e. literacy rate, infant/child mortality rate, population
growth rate, access to water and sanitation, employment rate, etc.) are among the
worst in the world. Pakistan ranks 129 out of 174 nations. Poverty is on the rise.
The latest figures from the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2000-2001 show that 35%
of the 140 million Pakistanis live on less than $1.00 per day. One-third of the
children are suffering from malnutrition. The income gap between rich and poor is
growing. With these facts and figures it is hard to turn the other cheek. Three
incidents in the lives of Saghir and Bushra Aslam left a lasting impression on their
hearts and stirred them into humanitarian action.
They were assisted in their desire to improve conditions for Pakistanis by two brothers,
Majeeb Ahmad and Najib Ahmad, owners of a very respectable firm (Designmen) and
also by Br. Abdul Shakoor who is the founding Director of Wisdom House in Chanan,
a village where the school was started with only few girls in 1994. Today with Allah’s
blessing it’s unique instituition a degree college with one of the best results
from the unversity of Punjab. Br. Najib has also contributed supplies for various
projects. It has been through their tremendous efforts with Allah’s blessing that
the Saba Trust has achieved so much in such a short period of time. Their vision,
the abundance of their contacts, and their knowledge have helped establish SABA
Trust as a strong, viable and responsible institution. In addition, Br. Abdul Shakoor
has been a tremendous asset since the inception of the Saba Trust. His mission is
love for his fellow human beings. May Allah bless and reward all of these valuable
contributors and their families.
The First Incident
After living in America for a while Saghir was fortunate enough to perform Hajj.
During his stay in Makkah he became extremely ill due to over-exertion, heat and
dehydration. Following the Hajj, he traveled to Pakistan. When he landed in Pakistan
he had a fever over 103° and was coughing badly. His brother Mukhtar Ahmad Nusrat
took him to the local hospital for treatment. When Saghir got there he was happy
to receive excellent care and “royal” attention. However, he was also pained to
witness conditions in the hospital at large. He saw helpless young babies crying
endlessly, screams of pain and cries for help from young and old men and women.
Saghir began wondering why he was being treated so promptly and attentively, and
realized it was because he had come from America, and because his brother, being
a local chaudhry garnered tremendous respect and influence in the area.
Living in America had taught Saghir much about shared human values such as fairness,
opportunity and equal access. He questioned why he had been treated before a baby,
an old lady, or a really sick old man. Saghir recognized that we are all the same
as human beings and feel the same happiness or pain, and that the other people shouldn’t
have been left crying.
It was at that moment that a thought occurred to Saghir about some land he owned
near the local railway station.He told his brother that they should start a free
dispensary (medical clinic) there since the land was on a major roadclose to downtown.
The dispensary was started in the summer of 1965, marking an early effort by the
Aslams to provide valuable services to others in need. In this small clinic, for
example, an average of 250 patients are treated daily, and over the years dozens
of tuberculosis patients have been treated. Patients receive treatment for almost
all sicknesses, with the exception of surgical procedures.
The Second Incident
The second incident that touched the Aslam’s lives occurred when Bushra Aslam was
visiting Pakistan. She was shocked to observe widows thrown out of their homes,
divorced and abused wives, families without drinking water, couples with three or
more daughters having no money for a dowry to get them married, living in depression
and concerned about their daughters’ futures. After seeing such incidents Saghir’s
wife came to him with tears in her eyes and they decided to take action to ease
the suffering of as many destitute families as possible. The Aslam’s aim, objective
and goal is to help the poor and needy in the areas of health, education and alleviation
of poverty. Initially they took small steps—during visits to Pakistan, they learned
of the various needs of people and began marshalling the necessary financial and
material resources. Some of their actions at the time included:
- Buying
several sewing machines, and help provide training for ladies on the machines and
giving them Rs. 2,000 each for tailoring supplies (thread, buttons, etc.) Training
involved not just the technicalities of sewing but also basic business skills such
as basic accounting and customer service.
- Building
a home for a needy family and providing dowry money for their daughter’s marriage.
- Installing
water pumps in villages.
- Paying
tuition fees for kids whose parents did not have the means to send them to school.
Saghir and Bushra felt lucky and blessed
to be able to help 40 years ago. Yet, unknowingly, they later found out that they
were sowing the seeds for the creation of the Saba Aslam Trust. With each trip to
each village they did whatever they could and helped whomever they could, bringing
them nearer and nearer to creating the Saba Trust and meanwhile contributing to
the bank accounts of the Akhira, insha’Allah.
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