“The community Excellence in Diversity Award was presented to Marywood University student Salma Ahmed, who works as an interfaith youth core officer, as well as an international ambassador and public relations officer for the Deen Community Center in Scranton.

Ahmed has been an active participant and organizer for interfaith and multicultural events in the community and is the leader of the Better Together program at Marywood, which aims to provide students the platform to learn about the perspectives and opinions of different cultures, as well as share their own.

She also works to welcome and prepare for refugees entering the Scranton community, and her charismatic personality and experience as a civic volunteer allow her to effectively help refugees and Scranton residents of different races, economic classes, and religions to accept and appreciate each other as vital pieces of a broader cultural mosaic.

Ahmed is also a board member of the Islamic Center of Scranton and volunteers for Marywood University’s Thanksgiving Adopt-A-Family and Kids Stuff programs. In addition, she works with Hilltop Manor and the Weinberg Food Bank on a summer lunch program to provide meals for underprivileged children in the community.”

[Pictured: Salma Ahmed Scranton High School graduate)

SCRANTON — Scranton High School evacuated the building for a lesson on renewable energy Thursday.

Students — who raised money and promoted the benefits of wind turbines — are big fans.

The school's 1,800 students gathered around the new wind turbine at Memorial Stadium to learn more about the project, which will generate energy and money for future plans.

"Just to see it up here, it's awesome," said senior Aidan Drouse, who helped lead the efforts. "I'm so proud to actually have this happen."

Environmental science teacher Kevin Kays and former students had hoped to install the wind turbine four years ago, but district funding fell through. Last year, students told Kays they wanted to have the blades spinning before graduation this month.

“The only thing is that I want my sister to come,” said Abdul, referring to his eldest sister whose husband went missing in Syria several years ago. She has three children and lives in Jordan but is unable to secure a visa to join her family in Scranton.

“[Trump] is the reason she can’t come,” said Salma Ahmed, referring to the Trump Administration travel ban, which suspended the entry of Syrian refugees. In 2016, 15,479 Syrian refugees were resettled in the US – in 2018, 29 were admitted.

Apr. 21—SCRANTON — For the past month, Tania Ahmed's colorful porch highlighted Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.

As she had done for the past two Ramadans, Ahmed again adorned the porch at her Meade Avenue home with banners, bunting, ribbons, posters and signs. She also decorated her home's interior.

The decorations stand out on her street of 10 houses overlooking the fields of the Weston Field House park. Neighbors and passersby take notice of the display — that's the point of it, she said.

"People wonder, 'What is it? Why is it?,' and that's why I did it," she said. "Imagine how many people coming (to the Weston Field House park) and they look at my house and wonder what is going on. A lot of people still don't know."

On Friday, Ahmed and other Muslims in the Scranton area marked the conclusion of the monthlong dawn-to-dusk fasting of Ramadan with celebrations called Eid al-Fitr.

The Islamic Center of Scranton celebrated Eid al-Fitr at the center's mosque on West Pass Avenue in Scranton and at the Wyoming Valley Sports Dome in Plains Twp.

Throughout Ramadan, Muslims fast daily from sunrise to sunset and break their fasts each night with meals known as iftars. The Islamic Center of Scranton held community iftars every Friday night during Ramadan that welcomed both Muslims and non-Muslims.

The ninth month on the Islamic calendar, Ramadan and its fasting provides an opportunity for spiritual rejuvenation by reflecting on the Holy Quran and one's relationship with God, asking for forgiveness and preparing for another year.

"In Ramadan, you're sacrificing your hunger, you're sacrificing your food for the sake of God," said Salma Ahmed, who is Tania's daughter