Halal Fun, Food and Games: 20Thousand Attend Annual Dallas Muslim Festival After Two-Year Hiatus

From morning until late evening, a steady stream of thousands of visitors entered through the imposing metal pavilions of Southfork Ranch in Parker, to enjoy a jam-packed day of activities, food and fun for all ages, earlier this month.

The masses descended on food trucks and craft booths as well as visited dozens of businesses and non-profits collecting donations for their worthy causes. The festival, which is free, scheduled performances from clowns, animals and magicians and ended with a big bang; a firework show. 

The Dallas Muslim Festival (DMF), back after a break due to the pandemic, hosted approx. 20,000 Muslims who were able to enjoy halal food, including pizza, chicken sandwiches, shawarma and BBQ. There were also several dessert options such as ice cream, cotton candy and boba bubble tea. Most of the producers were local. 

This is the fifth year DMF has been hosted by Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) with support from several Muslim-based organizations. Director of ICNA Relief branch, Hala Halabi says the Muslim community appreciates the festival as a way to build relationships.

“The community will know each other, they will have fun, they will gather and the businesses will be able to market their products,” said Halabi. “We’re helping the whole community get together to have fun, do business and educate them about the role of ICNA Relief.” 

ICNA provides women’s shelters, refugee assistance and disaster relief as well as a host of other services in 35 states across the nation. Halabi says it is their mission to educate the community on the importance of giving back. 

ICNA has set up food pantries to help address hunger prevention and transitional housing for the displaced - practical programs to alleviate suffering and provide compassionate care for vulnerable community members in need. 

“We are planting the seeds for the kids in this country to grow because we want them to be proud Muslims, to give back and do good things for others,” said Halabi. 

ICNA Dallas main organizer, Shahzad Khan, says its part of the nonprofit’s mission to strengthen communities by offering aid to underprivileged families and individuals. He adds the organization invites other nonprofits to engage people in the Islamic principle of charity. Khan also gives special praise to the main organizers of DMF, Safa Mohammed, Talha Iqbal and event leader Nabil Rehman. 

Left photo: mid. Shahzad Khan, Nabil Rehman; Right: Talha Iqbal

  “The Dallas Muslim Festival showcases what ICNA does on a daily and regular basis,” said Khan. “We bring all Muslims together so that they are able to see what ICNA does for the community and inspire them to join and volunteer in any of the departments that interest them.”

As vendors from local businesses fill the indoor area to sell clothing, home décor, jewelry and food products, with midterm elections just around the corner, a voter registration booth was set up at the entrance to ensure Muslims have a voice at the ballot box.

Community leader, Saif Islam, who is part of Good Citizens, a grassroots political advocacy group that supports community activism, commended ICNA’s work, including its support for civic engagement.  He says the venue was an ideal place for voter registration.

“This event brings a huge crowd, people are excited to be here they have been coming in all day and I don’t see it slowing down any time soon,” said Islam who encouraged people to engage in the electoral process. 

D-FW resident and civil engineer, Ali Yacoub, attended the event with his wife and two daughters. He was pleased there were different rides for kids, such as the Ferris wheel, spinning swings and multiple inflatable bouncy arenas.

“It’s bringing together the Muslim community because there hasn’t been a lot of events like this, they’ve been scattered all over the place, and especially with COVID there was a break in events,” said Yacoub. “It’s important for the youth especially because it gets them excited about Islam because we have two holidays and that’s it, so it’s nice to put in little events like this that actually get them engaged and excited about the religion.” 

Volunteer Shahzad Khan said organizers were overwhelmed with the success of the event and the positive feedback from community members. He reinforced that one of their key aims was to offer an outlet for young people from all age groups.

 “This festival is really important as it brings all Muslims from D-FW together to have a halal fun-filled family day and it strengthens the bonds of Muslim brotherhood which is also our mission,” said Khan. 

Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Speechify