Santa Monica Close-up

Santa Monica Police officers help distribute gift packages to local schools during Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi (MTO) ShahmaghsoudiⓇ School of Islamic SufismⓇ celebration of National Love People Day at the Santa Monica Pier Beach Parking on Thursday, September 30, 2021.

The local Santa Monica event is part of a global celebration of the birthday of Sufi Master Professor Nader Angha, being celebrated in dozens of cities across the globe. “For our community, September 30th is the day of celebrating the practical teachings of Professor Nader Angha, who has continuously shown us and millions of others the true meaning of love, devotion and unity for over five decades,” said Ed Selbe, M.T.O. Los Angeles.

At the same time, in celebration of the Coastal Cleanup Month, the MTO SustainabilityⓇ volunteers participated in the solution-to-ocean-pollution by partnering with Heal the Bay’s Adopt-A-Beach program -sponsored by the California Coastal Commission- in cleaning up the most crowded portion of the North Side of the Santa Monica Beach.

Santa Monica Police Department’s frontline heroes were honored. The Police Deputy Chief was presented with an Islamic Sufi artwork gift, a specially handcrafted, three-dimensional mirror mosaic.

In attendance was MTO’s LA City District 3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield's official representative, along with 20 members of the Santa Monica Police Department's three Special Units of “Homeless Outreach”, “Neighborhood Resource” and “School Resource” officers, joining MTOⓇ student volunteers in delivering their donated items.

Organizations receiving MTOⓇ donations include: Children Lifesaving Foundation: Helping 85,000+ primarily underserved/homeless Latinx youth since 1993; Salvation Army & People Concern: Homelessness service providers; 10 different Santa Monica City’s Elementary & Middle Schools via SMPD “School Resource Unit” and Los Robles, Simi Valley and other local Hospitals.

MTO Shahmaghsoudi® School of Islamic Sufism® is an international non-profit organization spanning five continents. The teachings of the school, through an unbroken lineage of 42 Sufi Teachers, bring the message of knowledge, love, peace, tranquility, and survival to the lives of the true seekers. The PPE and care packages represent the global efforts of MTO branches across dozens of cities. MTO centers worldwide have made and delivered well over 100 thousand food packages, school supplies, facemasks, face-shields, and medical gowns throughout Europe, Australia and North America for the past 17 months. MTO has also been offering free daily Tamarkoz® meditation and relaxation Instagram Live sessions to help people around the globe cope with the crisis. To accompany the meditation practice, the Zendeh Delan® ensemble has partnered with the TamarkozApp team to create music to quiet the mind, relax the body and awaken the soul. Another MTO affiliate, the Sufi Psychology Association®, launched two new initiatives: Coping with the COVID Crisis course which is available to the public for free and Caring 4 Our Caregivers, which targets healthcare worker burnout.

The MTO School of Islamic Sufism® students represent a cross section of humanity. Students from all walks of life, from different cultures and religions come to study at centers throughout the world.

For actual numbers of items donated see: www.mtocharity.org/community-support/