On June 7, the second evening of Eid al-Adha, the Syrian American Social Club hosted a feast at the Second Church in Newton, bringing together Arab Americans and honored guests from diverse backgrounds to celebrate the Islamic holiday.
Eid al-Adha is a holy celebration that honors the Prophet Abraham and his sacrifice of his son to God, to which God provided a lamb instead. The event also marks the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Laid out across several tables, the potluck featured many beloved dishes in Syrian cuisine, such as manakeesh, kibbeh, and tabbouleh.
Syrian American Social Club
The Syrian American Social Club is a non-denominational group that aims to bring the diverse tapestry of Syrians together for events, holidays, and celebrations. Participants of this event came from diverse backgrounds of Syrian descent as well as guests of Armenian, Iraqi, Lebanese, Liberian, Polish, and Singalian identity.
Founders of the Syrian American Social Club – Leena AlBasha, Amira Alamri, and Shahla Almasri – began hosting events in Newton two years ago for the local Syrian community, and the success in attendance and positive feedback for the events led to the creation of the club. “We’re so proud that we have a little Syria,” said AlBasha.
“After the regime changed in Syria, we started thinking of, ‘How can we make the Syrian American community more united, more together?’ And that’s why we started the Syrian American Social Club,” said Alamri. In December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed after 14 years of devastating civil war in Syria. Despite the many challenges that lay ahead in Syria, Syrian-Americans like this group are organizing to build a stronger community. “We know there’s a lot of division outside in the world, within the Syrian community, and within [the] Newton community, and our goal is to always bring people together,” said Alamri.
The social club has been a resource for young Syrian and Arab Americans who seek community in the United States, “It’s been great for connecting to new people,” said Angelina Kekhia, a 20-year-old University of Massachusetts student and research assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital, who attended the event with her family. “I think [that] it’s very hard to find other Arabs around, specifically Syrians […] if you don’t know where to look. So it’s just really nice having a group where it’s like your people,” she said.
Diversity and community
Mohamed Aljundi, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate, attended the evening festivities with his family, “Syria is a very diverse place. We have a lot of very diverse beliefs and stuff. […] Syrian people doing something together and helping out [a] community, having that is really great,” said Aljundi. “To me, that’s what our culture is. It’s just like sharing the happiness and the celebration with everybody that you know, no matter who they are,” he said.
“Something like this is very important to me. This is my first time here, and I’ll be back for as long as I’m invited,” said Aljundi.
Last-minute changes due to Saturday’s heavy rainfall brought the festivities indoors with the help of Second Church’s Reverend Corey Sanderson, president of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Massachusetts, who offered the church as a space. Sanderson said he was grateful to participate in Eid, “[I’m] enjoying the food, obviously, the conversations, making new friends, being appreciative for all that we have here, which people in Syria still are struggling, and the awareness and recognition of how far they still have to go after the Syrian war [of] 13 years,” he said.
In addition to hosting events, the Syrian American Social Club also aims to do service within Newton. On June 14, the club will be collecting nonperishable goods to deliver to the Newton Food Pantry. “Syrians received lots of help from the Americans when they first resettled. And now I think it’s our time for us to pay [it forward] to the American community,” said Alamri.
