The Muakh’hah banquet is the brainchild of ICH youth group leader Fatin El-Hindi, who had the help and support of fellow youth group leader, Marwa Sallam.

"It was honestly Fatin’s idea," says Sallam modestly, "She thought it would be a good idea to bring together different youth groups and MSA’s in an atmosphere that was different from a lecture or a conference. We wanted to create a different kind of event that was exclusively for youth in which the youth can participate in if they wanted to."

In the end, it was clear who the winners were- the Islamic Center of Claremont’s youth group put on a stunning performance in a play about appreciation for one’s parents. They were met with thunderous applause as they came off the stage, and also received the $300 prize.

South Bay spoken word artists Manifest and Futeristic- representing the Islamic Center of Inland Empire- won second prize of $200.

The third place prize- $100 - was given to the Islamic Center of South Bay for a humorous skit on the problems people come across when they pray prayer in a large group.

In the middle of the festivities, attendees were handed papers with several columns, each one labeled with the name of a different city. They were challenged to find one person from each city and get their contact information. The first eight to find a person from each city won a gift bag. Later, attendees were advised to contact the people they received information from.

The highlight of the evening was when Baba Ali, the creator of Ummah Films, took the stage. Baba Ali’s one-man show left the audience repeating parts of his "speech" long after the banquet ended. He also debuted his latest video, "the Fisabilillah Discount", a hilarious critique of Muslim buyers and vendors who always expect and give discounts as opposed to charging an initial fair price.

El-Hindi said that the event would surely be repeated next year, with one major change – "a bigger banquet hall."