Tradition in the making: Islamic Center prepares 1,200 meat pies for May 1 dinner

CEDAR RAPIDS — Two-hundred pounds of flour, 100 pounds of ground beef, 50 pounds of onions and tomato sauce, 25 volunteers and 12 hours of labor adds up to a priceless moment — 'like the MasterCard commercials' — for the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids' meat-pie-making efforts, according to organizer Tima Smejkal.

'These women are second- and third-generation volunteers, so it is all about tradition and sharing our culture with the Cedar Rapids area,' Smejkal said Saturday as dozens worked to prepare meat pies for the Islamic Center's annual Middle Eastern Dinner. 'It's hard work, but it's worth it.'

At the Islamic Center on Saturday, the 25 volunteers, ranging in age from 14 to 88, started making the dough at 5 a.m. By 5 p.m., 1,200 meat and spinach pies were ready to be frozen until the May 1 Middle Eastern Dinner.

The meat pies, or fatayer in Lebanese, consist of ground beef, onions, lemon juice, salt, pepper and tomato sauce.

The first Middle Eastern Dinner was held in 1978, when Smejkal's mother and grandmother were in charge.

'We really want the younger generation to learn from us, because I learned from them,' Smejkal said. 'They mentored me, and I want to mentor someone else.'

The dough was made before the sun came up, then passed along to be patted into a disk, filled with the meat or spinach mixture, pinched into a triangular pie, put into the oven for 15 minutes, glazed with butter, cooled, counted and frozen until the dinner that is expected to attract 1,000 people — mostly from outside the Muslim community.

'When our friends, co-workers, neighbors and teachers fill up this building that day — we love it,' Smejkal said.

The center still has a lot to prepare. Also on the menu are other Middle Eastern and Lebanese-style dishes such as Mediterranean salad, hummus, beef stew, rice and baklava — a Middle Eastern dessert pastry that is made with layers of dough and chopped walnuts, then topped with syrup.

To honor the generational transfer of recipes and techniques the event bolsters, the center has photographs of volunteers working at past pie-making events on the wall next to the dough-pressing and meat-filling station.

'A lot of love and dedication is put into this over the years. This doesn't just give character to the younger people, but teaches the ability to understand what it takes to be a community. Here you have it by picture,' said volunteer Hala Azmeh pointing at the poster board. 'And here you have it by action.'

Azmeh has been involved in dinner preparations for the last 22 years and brings her children to climb the ladder of pie-making responsibilities.

'I started out helping to make the dough and cutting onions. Last year I wore goggles, but this year, I toughed it out and cried through it,' said Noor Azmeh, a freshman at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. 'I want to try to work the oven next year.'

Her mother responded, 'You are still too young.'

Smejkal hopes the dinner can help shake negative perceptions of her religion.

'Christians, Muslims and Jewish families were all in the same situation when they first immigrated here. They supported each other and helped each other. Today that is not true. That is why we have to continue doing this,' she said. 'So people know that we are Muslim-Americans, and that we love this country. This is our home.'

Meals will be served 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on May 1, and the $12 tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling (319) 329-8432.

All proceeds go toward the Islamic Center.