Jonathan Ghaffar of Chino was at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community booth where people could get free Qurans or other free literature on Islam just for giving their email.
Source/Credit: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
By Wes Woods | September 15, 2013
POMONA - From Christian jewelry to a hand-washing booth to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Shopping Place at the L.A. County Fair has a little of everything except a lot of customers.
Vendors said business was a little slow this year. Most said it was because of the hot weather outside. According to www.accuweather.com, the temperature hit 100 degrees at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Jonathan Ghaffar of Chino was at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community booth where people could get free Qurans or other free literature on Islam just for giving their email.
“We’ve had it be a little slower than last year,” said Ghaffar, who records anyone who comes to his booth in a positive or negative category.
“Christians who want to convert us, that’s a positive visit,” Ghaffar said. “Most people don’t stop. Some people come back year after year. Any information on Islam, they’ll want to get because they don’t go to a bookstore.”
Ghaffar said a negative visit would be someone who asks, “How come all you Muslims are terrorists? I ask them, ‘Why are you Christians terrorists? The Ku Klux Klan ... are Christians. We got nut jobs in Islam. You get them all over.”
On Friday the 13th, Ghaffar said he a woman who described herself as an atheist stole a Quran.
“She left me a copy of the Constitution,” Ghaffar said with a laugh.
At a Christian jewelry booth in the same building as Ghaffar, Elijah Gomez, 20, of Fullerton said his business was “starting to be the same as last year. It’s been a slow start this year.”
Gomez said his most popular items were stainless steel rings and necklaces ranging from $25 to $45 that come inscribed with Scripture.
Additionally, Gomez said he would pray with customers.
“If it’s something they want me to provide. We’re supposed to show the love of Christ.”
A few booths down, Kevin King, 26, of Las Vegas displayed his affection for money at the Refreshed Shoe Cleaner booth.
“No, because you are doing something to make money,” King said when asked if he got bored cleaning people’s shoes.
He added the Fair was slow, but it was not unusual.
“The beginning of the Fair is usually not as busy as the end,” King said during a lull. “I’m anticipating a big finish toward the end.”
Zena Pando, manager of the Salem, Ore.-based Touch of Mink booth nearby, agreed the Fair was slow because of the weather but said regular customers were picking up the slack because the business offered 25 percent to 50 percent discounts.
“This is our form of advertising,” Pando said, adding the business doesn’t use perfume or mineral oil in its products. “Most people know us as the hand washers. We’re the ones who wash hands at the Fair.”
She wasn’t worried about the Fair’s lack of business either.
“The last half is always busier,” Pando said. “People know they got to get here because it will be gone for another year.”
Read original post here: USA: Shopping Place at L.A. County Fair has variety of vendors
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