Upon completing his religious studies in India, he has been serving as the Imam of one of the oldest masjids in the country, the Islamic Center of San Jose, since 2001. After teaching middle school at one of the oldest Muslim schools in the country for 7 years, he now sits on the board and teaches at the Averroes Institute, the Bay Area’s first Muslim high school. He also teaches Islamic Law at the renowned Zaytuna College, America’s first Muslim liberal arts college in Berkeley, Ca.

He has a passion for community service. He served on the Human Rights Commission for the City of San Jose for over 5 years, and the Human Relations Commission for the County of Santa Clara for one year. He also leads a group for Hajj each year, which has been covered by CNN twice.

Hajj 1433 – November 2012

Last updated on: April 8, 2012
Important Links: Hajj Visa Application | Hajj Registration Form

As many of you know, for the last 12 years we have been organizing to go for Hajj with El Madina Travel of New York. Once again this year, we are making arrangements to go with them, insha Allah. Due to our line-up of teachers joining us this year, we are anticipating to be sold out sooner than later. Many people from the Bay Area have joined them, and last year there were over 150 people from the Bay Area. Due to high demand, we have begun making our arrangements and reservations.

Regardless of your final choice, it is imperative that you investigate the group you plan to go with thoroughly and make your arrangements now, so that you can get the package and travel dates you need. I have written an article on what you need to look for in a Hajj tour operator, titled ‘Do you plan to go for Hajj?’ Please click here to read it.

If you have any questions about El Madina Travel, or just in general about the Hajj, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Accompanied By

Packages & Details

We have a total of 3 Deluxe and 2 Economy Packages. Please see our flier here to see all our packages.

Cost

The cost of each package is listed with the package. If you wish, you can purchase your own airline ticket, or use your miles, and as long as you are arriving and departing on the exact dates of the packages you’ve chosen, you can simply purchase the land package from us. Please note that all packages are priced from JFK, and there will be add-on charges from the city of your departure.

There are 3 methods of purchasing your airfare:

1. Royal Jordanian or Egypt Air from JFK. This airfare is included in the package price.
2. You purchase your ticket from any airport to Jeddah based on the dates of the package you’ve chosen and send us the itinerary with your passports.
3. Emirates from SFO or LAX to Dubai (non-stop), and Dubai to Jeddah. This airfare will be released in September of 2012 and will be around $2400.00 (which includes tax). – For this option, you will pay El Madina Travel for the land package, and purchase your ticket from Tri City Travel in Fremont. (Br. Zaki at TriCity Travel in Fremont. 510.494.9444, or tctravel@pacbell.net – Give him the reference for El Madina Travel, and he will book your tickets for you.)

If you are interested in joining us, here is what you need to do now:

• Fill out and send the Hajj form, one form per person
• Send a photocopy of your passport (first page) and a copy of your green card also, if you are not a citizen
• Send up 4 photos with white background – Write your name in the back (Costco is the cheapest place to get them)
• Send a deposit of $2000.00 per person. Check payable to El Madina Travel. This is fully refundable until the first of Ramadan.
• You can choose to register directly with El Madina Travel, but if I don’t have your email, you will not be able to receive the periodic updates that I personally send out. This not only helps with urgent matters, but also is great for us to communicate on a daily basis when the visas are issued (towards the end). Registering with me would make this possible, and I would be able to mail all checks, and forms to El Madina Travel.
• MAIL all of this to me at 732 Omega Ct. San Jose, CA 95127

What You Need To Do (in the meantime)

• Make sure your passports are valid for 6 months from travel begin date.
• Marriage Certificate – If you don’t have one, I can give you a letter saying you are married.
• Shahadah Certificate – If you are a new Muslim, and have a non Arabic name, a letter of Shahadah, which I can provide for you.
• Meningitis vaccination proof. You can get this now, as it is valid for 4 years.
• Fill out the Saudi Visa Application.
• Send us the second payment of $2000 by June 1^st and full payment with all documents by August 1^st, 2012

Hajj Workshops

There will be 2 workshops held by Imam Tahir Anwar before the Hajj in San Jose, and 1 Southern California. They are each a complete workshop and only one needs to be attended. Registrations will open after Ramadan, so please register yourself to receive notification e-mails at the bottom of the page. The workshops are open to all.

The tentative dates for the Northern California workshops are:

* Saturday, September 22, 2012 (10AM to 3PM)
* Sunday, September 30, 2012 (2PM to 7PM)

The tentative date for the Southern California workshop is:

* TBD

Preparations for Hajj

Please purchase your DVD and CD on the preparations for Hajj at falahproductions.com.