A Spiritual Sanctuary for Homeless Muslims

Inside a one-story converted medical building on Brookhurst Street, the aroma of pungent Middle Eastern and Indian spices hangs in the air. The atmosphere is hushed. A veiled woman quickly pulls back behind a door to avoid visitors, and the men murmur the Islamic greeting “A salaam aleikum,” Peace unto you, when they meet.

The brown building has no name or distinguishing sign, but it is the county’s only homeless shelter for Muslims. It has room for 23 people, and currently one woman and eight men are residents.

There are shelters throughout the county to house single men, families and battered women and their children, and several have a Christian bent. But until the shelter opened in August, none had been specifically for Muslims--many of whom are reluctant for religious reasons to go to shelters where alcoholism and drug addiction may exist.

But more unusual than the shelter is the story of how it came to be.

The shelter is the project of Haitham Bundakji, 49, the chairman of the Islamic Society of Orange County and a well-to-do real estate investor. A Fountain Valley resident who is married with seven children, Bundakji is originally from Jordan. God has blessed him abundantly, he said, and he wants to share his wealth.

He bought the building for $240,000 last summer and says he expects to spend another $100,000 in renovations. Bundakji said he will not take a tax write-off because any reward will come from “the Almighty.”

City officials, homeless advocates, community leaders and police praise Bundakji’s work.

“It’s terrific that he should be so supportive, because we certainly need more shelter beds,” said Dolores Barrett, director of social services for the Orange County Salvation Army. “It seems like such a high level of generosity. . . . It’s a very welcome example to show how once you make money you can give it back.”

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Bundakji’s journey to helping the homeless began 2 1/2 years ago, when the Islamic Society began a campaign to teach people about Islam and to dispel the perception that the religion endorses terrorism. The group designated Bundakji to be a goodwill emissary.

A gregarious man, Bundakji is a mixture of humility and humor, business sense and savvy. A pause in the conversation is sure to invite a joke.

Islam, however, is a serious subject, and ignorance about it pains him.

“Islam means peace, it means submission--a willingness to obey the will of God,” Bundakji said. “There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, and 99.9% are peace-loving.”

To spread this message, he joined the Interfaith Council of Garden Grove, Westminster and Santa Ana, a group of clergy and laypeople that promotes understanding among religions. One of Bundakji’s council activities was serving lunch to the homeless.

Soon the Almighty, Bundakji said, taught him not to see homelessness as a stain on a person’s character.

But it struck him that Muslims were rarely among those being fed. Not even the ones he knew were hungry and homeless ate the free meals or went to local shelters.

And Bundakji knew there were needy Muslims.

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It was Bundakji’s unpleasant task to patrol the Islamic Society grounds and roust homeless people who had jumped the fence to find a place to sleep. Reluctantly, he would send them back into the night, often while they begged him for shelter.

“I’d be asleep at 2 or 3 in the morning, and he would come find me,” said Sam Chakwa, 57, who used to sleep on society grounds. “Islam does not allow you to hate anyone, but . . . I did not like him.”

Now Chakwa has nothing but praise for the man who has given him a home and helped restore his dignity.

“For two years, I was sleeping in a van when Brother Haitham opened the shelter and told me, ‘You can go and stay there and cook for yourself,’ ” Chakwa said. “Before, I was full of stress, very angry and always ready to fight. Now I am happy.”

Residents are permitted to stay for two months, and groceries are provided, although they do their own cooking. There is no paid staff, but Chakwa acts as a caretaker, and volunteers from the Islamic Society help out.

In Chakwa’s orderly room, clothes hang neatly from a rod on the ceiling, and a prayer mat is folded on a chest of drawers. A gilded miniature of the Dome of the Rock, the Jerusalem site from which the prophet Muhammad was said to have ascended to heaven, chimes five times daily to call him to prayer.

The shelter is more than a place to live. It provides a religious and cultural sanctuary.

“I found out these people felt uncomfortable to go [to homeless shelters]. They needed a place where people spoke the same language and where they’d be able to perform their prayers properly,” Bundakji said.

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At the shelter, Islam unites a diverse group of residents from India, Pakistan, Yemen, Mali and Russia. Most speak Arabic, in addition to their own languages.

Sambou, 42, came to the shelter last month after completing a graduate degree in French from the University of Illinois and failing to find work. He declined to use his last name. Originally from Mali, he says living at the shelter helps him stay grounded in Islam while he is “in transition.”

“When we are alone, Satan is so strong,” he said. “But when you are in the community, you pray together and eat together, [and] it helps you stay on course. During the day I go look for a job, come back and pray or go to the mosque. That’s it.”

There are no statistics on how many Muslims are homeless in Orange County, but the Islamic Society represents more than 30,000 Muslims from 30 countries and is the largest mosque in California. Hundreds of people turn to the society for help, Bundakji said.

Residents are allowed to stay for two months, and Bundakji’s network of friends provides them with medical exams, job counseling, family mediation and spiritual counseling.

Many people and groups have helped Bundakji with donations for the project.

Islamic Society members Raheem and Nafees Zabadia of Yorba Linda donated eight sets of twin beds, a new stove and a vacuum cleaner. They also send groceries weekly.

The Garden Grove Kiwanis Club recently voted to donate gift certificates and food to the shelter, and the Police Department has provided food.

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Officer Steve La Fond of the department’s community liaison division said support for the shelter is an outgrowth of the affection and respect they have come to feel for Bundakji and the Muslims in the past two years.

La Fond, a Mormon who is also a member of the Interfaith Council, refers to Bundakji as a brother.

That Bundakji would open a homeless shelter with his own money is noteworthy but not surprising to some.

Such generosity is typical of Bundakji, said Garden Grove Councilman Mark Leyes.

“He’s really an exceptional gentleman,” Leyes said. “He’s even active in things that don’t necessarily relate to the [Islamic Society], and he genuinely seems to have no interest in personal gain.”

But seated at the kitchen table at the shelter, Bundakji shakes his head and confesses to “selfish” motives.

“I am trying to earn as much reward from the Almighty as I can,” he said. “God has given much to me, and I pray to the Almighty that he accepts my deeds. That’s my only concern.”