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Muslim charities expand horizons | December 17, 2007

The IRFWP deeply agrees with the Muslim charities identified in this article. The mission of religion is to care equally for all people of all faiths. The act of service and sacrificial love and care that transcends religious differences, and embraces all people as beloved of God is the best way to advance a peaceful world. It is religion at its best.

Immigrant community is reaching out to help the poor of all religions, ethnicities

Abdul Malik Mujahid wasn't quite sure where to start when the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago decided to extend its charitable mission beyond Muslims.

So he rented a refrigerated truck, filled it with thousands of pounds of meat, and began driving around the city, looking for poor people.

"Finding the poor is not easy; there is no ZIP code for it," he said of the long drives. "It was difficult."

After a few years doing it the hard way, the council, representing more than 50 mosques, teamed up with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This week, to mark the annual celebration of Eid al-Adha, they will give away some 25,000 pounds of fresh, organic meat to local pantries.

For decades Muslim immigrants in the U.S. focused mainly on their own communities, raising funds for local mosques and community centers, or helping Muslims abroad. But many are now giving food to the homeless -- regardless of faith or ethnicity -- along with free medical services to the uninsured and affordable housing to the poverty-stricken.

From its grass-roots origins, typically local efforts in the inner city, the movement has started gaining traction among the major national Islamic institutions. Charitable giving is required as one of the five pillars of Islam, and the broadened focus gives Muslims many new options.

"People are moving now from building Islamic centers to engaging in social justice programs outside of the faith," said Mohamed Elsanousi of the Islamic Society of North America. "For years, ISNA was focusing basically on the community development. The work of extending help outside of our community is actually new."

African-American Muslims have long worked with the indigent of all faiths. But for the immigrant Muslim community, the move is a sign of increasing assimilation into American society, as they trace a path familiar to other groups of religious immigrants.

"The organizational development of the community is still in its nascency compared to the Italians or Irish or even the Catholics, Mormons and Jews," said Salam Al-Marayati, the Los Angeles-based executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. "I think that the Muslim-American community is institutionally 30 to 40 years old at most, and that time frame is still very early in terms of organizational development."

Leading the way are a handful of small organizations, including several in Chicago.

The Inner-City Muslim Action Network, founded in Chicago in 1997, offers a variety of services to Muslims and others in the Marquette Park neighborhood.

"We're trying to move charity not only from the international to the local, but to move from just feeding the homeless to participating in grass-roots initiatives working for social justice," said Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the network. "The idea is not to patronize but to empower the communities you're trying to help."

There are also a handful of Muslim-run food pantries, halfway houses and shelters for abused women in Chicago.

Shyam Sriram, 28, is founder of the local chapter of Project Downtown, a national anti-hunger initiative run through the Muslim Student Association. Every Saturday morning during the month of Ramadan this fall, Sriram and a handful of other Muslims gathered near the corners of Harrison Street and California Avenue in Chicago to feed the poor.

Sriram, who also helped found Project Downtown in Atlanta, said he is regularly reminded of the disconnect between urban poverty and the common patterns among immigrant Muslims, often including professional parents and a suburban upbringing.

Posted by admin at December 17, 2007 04:31 PM


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