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Beyer Encourages Islamic Relief to Stay Strong
Rep. Don Beyer, who represents Virginia’s 8th Congressional district, which includes the city of Alexandria, stopped by on Sept. 15 at Islamic Relief USA‘s headquarters to give a morale boost. “It’s a great pleasure to be here,” he said. Like many times when a political figure comes into contact with his constituents, Beyer struck a positive tone. He lauded the organization for the great humanitarian work it does and for standing on its principles. And if there was any doubt Islamic Relief USA is located in an undesirable locale, he quickly dispelled those perceptions. Beyer said his congressional district is among the most educated and wealthy in the country. As…
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Unity Walks Puts a Spotlight on People Who Hate Hate
There was plenty of physical sunlight present during the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 10. But as hundreds of people gathered for the annual Unity Walk at the Washington Hebrew Congregation on Macomb Street NW, another type of light had shone. Just ask Rabbi Bruce Lustig. “Hatred doesn’t have the power to include intelligence and discernment,” he told a crowd of hundreds gathered in the synagogue’s auditorium before commencing the walk. “Love does! The face of America is when we come together. We’re here to bring light.” It’s the light that shines when people of different faiths, socioeconomic backgrounds, and walks of life come together to stand up to, and perhaps…
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IRUSA partners with the Delaware Food Bank – One BackPack at a Time
By Christina Tobias-Nahi Just a couple hours north of Islamic Relief USA headquarters is soon to be the largest food bank in the nation. As IRUSA has been sponsoring a project there, a few staff set off to see for themselves how this small state is tackling a hunger problem effecting 114,000 residents, primarily children and the elderly. Run by Patricia Beebe, a self-avowed throwback from the 60s who has been at the helm for two decades, the first thing you notice when arriving is all the bright, cheery tie-dye colors – on the staff T-shirts, buildings, and the cars parked in the lot. There is also a similarly bright…
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Alternative Spring Break: College Students Giving Back in Flint
Masouna Kochaji is a Communications Coordinator at IRUSA. She recently attending Alternative Spring Break in Flint, MI and shares her experience with ReliefLab. In early March, I was sent to Flint, Michigan to accompany Howard University students on an alternative Spring Break. Having only heard stories of the conditions in Flint, I was anxious to see what the situation would be. The Howard students would be spending an entire week at various schools in Flint, and work with local students and staff in the classroom. While the students were going to support the community for a week, I’d only be on this trip for two days…and what I saw in those…
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East Africa: The Pain of Losing a Child
Tufail Hussain – Deputy Director, Islamic Relief UK – writes about meeting Fatouma during his recent visit to drought ravaged Somalia. Dotted around Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, are camps where countless desperate families arrive in search of food and water. It was at one of these camps, where teams from Islamic Relief regularly distribute food packs, that I first met Fatouma. Fatouma, from a village in the Burhakaba region, around 250km from Mogadishu, told me her harrowing story of survival through the catastrophic drought. “The drought has been with us for years, but in the last 12 months things became unbearable. My people are farmers, and our lives…
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Paving our Daughters’ Path towards a Suffer Free Future
When Khadijah Abdullah, Founder and Executive Director of RAHMA, first walked into the meeting room, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The meeting was titled: “Honoring our Daughters: The Effects of FGC in the DMV”. This struck me as odd. The Greater DC area? We keep hearing of practices of this nature in some countries, especially in Africa, but they always seemed very far away. Never in a thousand years would I have imagined that these practices could be performed here, at home. A few minutes before I joined the lecture, I did some research about FGC in America and found statistics I didn’t expect, especially that I knew that…
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Orville Disaster Response Reflections
Iqra Shaikh recently attended a disaster response deployment with IRUSA. She graduated from UC Berkeley and founded Major Probs, an organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering students globally. She reflects on her experience with ReliefLab. A few weeks ago, I had the honor and privilege of volunteering as a part of a Disaster Response Team aiding those impacted by the Orville Dam evacuations and the San Jose flooding. This experience opened my eyes and made me realize a few things—here are a few of my reflections and thoughts. 1. Humanity Transcends All Religions I have always believed in this notion, but it is something that I have rarely seen in…
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Open Arms at The Muslim Center in Detroit
Salman Aznan is a Marketing Specialist at IRUSA. He recently attended the Detroit Day of Dignity and wrote a reflection about the experience. “The buses won’t move” said Mika’il Saadiq. “That’s not good.” I thought to myself. “The buses with the beneficiaries?” Maab replied. “Yes.” answered Mika’il. “That is definitely not good!” I screamed in my head. It was a cold, bitter Detroit morning and we arrived at the Muslim center with banners and notebooks in hand ready to document the event. We entered the masjid and walked into the auditorium and the place was bustling with energy. Men and women were unpacking boxes, categorizing coats, socks, and other articles…
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Ibtihaj Muhammad: We’re Rooting for You!
Christy Bectel reflects on Ibtihaj Muhammad’s visit to Islamic Relief USA. Christy was a Public Affairs Intern this summer at Islamic Relief USA. She is originally from Michigan and is a senior at Grand Valley State University majoring in International Relations and minoring in Middle East Studies and German. The morning of July 21 was a bit more exciting than usual at IRUSA as news got around that Ibtihaj Muhammad would be stopping by for a quick visit. Most of the staff was already familiar with the 30-year-old athlete who will be the first U.S. woman to wear a hijab when she competes at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this…
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Faith Communities and Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights
Sharifa Abdul-Aziz is the Senior Gender Policy Advisor at Islamic Relief Worldwide. Sharifa attended the Women Deliver conference on behalf of Islamic Relief USA, who is part of the Faith Alliance for Health who organized the panel Sharifa spoke at. She wrote the following reflection Women Deliver is a leading global advocacy platform for women and girls rights, health and wellbeing. Thousands of influencers, policy makers, activists, journalists and young people from a number of countries come together to promote and highlight solutions and focus on how to make Sustainable Development Goals matter to women and girls. The event takes place every three years and has achieved putting maternal,…
