South Valley Islamic Community Blog

Objectives and Purposes of the South Valley Islamic Community, Inc.

The aims and purposes of SOUTH VALLEY ISLAMIC COMMUNITY, INC. shall be to serve as a center for Islamic teaching, learning and prayers and to serve Muslims in the Bay Area, so as to enable them to understand Islam as a complete way of life. Towards this end, it shall:

• Encourage and to enable Muslims to acquire the basic knowledge and competence in Islam in order to contribute individually and collectively towards meeting human needs in conformity with Islamic doctrines and belief.
• Create a feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood and to avoid practices forbidden by Islam.
• Support the establishment of Islamic religious, educational, cultural, charitable and other institutions;
• Promote unity and cooperation among Muslims and fellow Americans;
• Provide Islamic services and develop institutions to meet the needs of Muslim;
• Endeavor to make Islamic teachings available to those interested;
• Conduct religious, educational, social, cultural, and other activities in accordance with Islam.

The SVIC Board of Directors
There are nine members serving on the Board of Directors. Their positions include: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Social Director. Get to know your board members and let them know about your ideas and concerns.

Our Imam – Shaykh Ilyas Anwar

Shaykh Ilyas Anwar was born in London, England. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983. His initial studies of the Qur’an and the Arabic language were done by his father, also a scholar of the sciences of Shari’ah. He later on went to India to memorize the Qur’an, which he completed at the age of 16. His studies were primarily done at Darul Uloom Falah e Darain in Gujrat, India, where he completed his ‘Aalim course. During his period of study there, he studied various subjects. He has completed the six books of Hadith along with the Muwattas of Imam Malik and Imam Muhammad. He studied tajweed (Qira’ah of Imam Hafs) and got Ijazah. He also studied Arabic and Islamic Shari’ah for a number of years and got Ijazah. He has been serving the Bay Area community since 2000. He teaches Qur’an and Arabic classes at various locations in the Silicon Valley. He is also the teacher of a full-time Hifz Program (Memorization of the Qur’an) at the Islamic Center of Fremont. Currently, Shaykh Ilyas is the imam and religious director for the South Valley Islamic Community (www.svic.org), part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California.