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Safe Landing in Ramadan
Simple steps to make this Ramadan count When Ramadan greeted us last year, the world was in a panic. Everything we knew to be normal was turned on its head. People lost loved ones. They lost livelihoods. Our overall balance was lost. At that time no cure was in sight and it seemed as if COVID-19 would never slow its steamroll through communities. We made the best of Ramadan 2020. Some have said that the seclusion sometimes brought a different source of peace. Now we enter Ramadan 2021 can be a triumphant despite our trials. Here’s how to have a safe landing in the greatest month we know. 1. Qur’an…
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Manal has Her Eye on Her Dream
A snapshot into a dynamic opportunity women’s empowerment projects provide Original post at ANERA Manal is a passionate wedding photographer from the city of Nablus, in Palestine’s West Bank. She thinks of her profession as a way to bring joy to her clients and their families. “If people are interested, I won’t decline an offer!” At 50, Manal has been honing her craft for the last 25 years. She first discovered a love for photography through her husband, and swiftly mastered the basics. She soon felt in complete harmony with the camera. After her husband died, she picked it up as a profession. In addition to weddings, she began filming other ceremonies…
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Muslim Women’s Day 2021
Muslim women blaze trails and make their mark on the world Today, IRUSA would like to express our utmost gratitude and appreciation to Muslim women around the world and right here at home. The contributions to our communities, support to those facing trials, and humanitarian spirit they embody is immeasurable. We are safe in saying that the future is in overly capable hands with the game-changing Muslim women we have leading the charge on multiple fronts. Today we would like to highlight 4 Muslim women who are making their mark on the world. Dr. Kameelah Mu’min Rashad Dr. Kameelah Mu’min Rashad is the Founder and President of Muslim Wellness Foundation…
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U.N. Women’s Conference features IR Reps
Bringing perspective to sustainable development By Christina Tobias-Nahi, May Hashem, Minhaj Hassan Making a Difference Women making extraordinary differences is a common outcome in many programs that Islamic Relief administers around the world and likes to showcase. The Islamic Relief journey with Gender Equality was institutionalized through the Gender Justice policy developed back in 2014, and was presented at a series of global stakeholder roundtables across many continents. A larger campaign roll out was planned for 2020 but events were postponed due to COVID-19. Meanwhile Islamic Relief has conducted a gender review, mapping their gender empowerment and gender protection (including gender based violence, early marriage etc.) related programs over the…
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Burned Out With Nowhere To Go
Already Combatting COVID, Fires Are Displacing Refugees Across The Globe Originally published 3/5/21 on G20 Interfaith Forum IRUSA Director of Communications & Public Affairs, Christina Tobias-Nahi In October, I risked flying during the pandemic to see my father who lives alone in the Rockies. Not only was I checking on his mental well-being after 8 months of being quarantined, but suddenly there was a new danger on the horizon – smoke-clogged skies triggering respiratory issues for older people and a fire encroaching within mere miles of his home. Where would he go, especially with COVID raging? Fortunately for him, early precipitation and winter snows finally brought relief before he had…
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Behind the Blueshirts
A candid conversation with one of IRUSA’s prized volunteers, Wafa Omran-Elhindi 1. At a young age, or while growing up, did you have someone in your life who inspired you to volunteer or to be generous? My parents were exceptionally generous people. Not only with their money, but more with their affection, kindness, and time. They had this extraordinary ability to make every single person they know feel loved. At the root of this effusive affection was my parents’ inability to be selfish. My dad in particular, grew up dirt-poor in a tent in a refugee camp. His mother had to sell her only possessions, to pay for his education.…
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MLK Day of Service Brings Hope to Hearts
2021 is off to the races to bring relief to neighbors The great civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said the problem of hunger hardly stems from not having the tools to address it. “There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will.” Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) refuses to let complacency and inertia fester around the issue of hunger. It addresses the problem head-on, especially on Dr. King’s birthday every January. For several years now, IRUSA has conducted a Day of Service on Martin Luther King Day, holding food distributions in many urban centers around the country. Ready to Respond The need for…
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Racism as a Public Health Crisis
Health experts weigh-in structural racism’s brutal effects The disproportionate number of people from racial minority groups who’re suffering –and dying–from the coronavirus pandemic is hardly a surprise. In fact, accoriding to one expert, Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad of the Muslim Foundation, the health care disparities experienced by them are linked to systemic racism. “They are always intertwined,” she said. Simply put, it’s a pandemic within a pandemic. That was just one of the revelations expressed during Islamic Relief USA’s webinar “Racism as a Public Health Crisis,” on Jan. 19. Along with Rashad, the 80-minute session featured Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan-based epidemiologist who has frequently appeared on CNN. ‘Cumulative Deprioritization’ More…
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For You, Palestine!
Hearts combine to support the people of Palestine Islamic Relief USA’s National Event team hosted a live online event on the 13th December 2020 to raise awareness and funds for IRUSA’s projects in Palestine. IRUSA’s Sanat Karkat & Said Durrah presented the event titled: For You, Palestine! World-renowned religious leaders, athletes, and talent gathered to support the people of Palestine. The hosts Karkat and Durrah kicked off the show with somber reflections from the past year. As the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the world in 2020, attention diverted from Palestine to other urgent causes. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified the impact of Palestine’s funding crisis and left already struggling Palestinian refugees vulnerable…
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Serving in a Year of Uncertainty
A look back on humanitarian efforts in 2020 When we take account of all the twist and turns the world took this year it can paint a bleak picture in many of our minds. Billions of people were jolted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 2 million people fatally contracted the virus. It was during these uncertain times the community of supporters of Islamic Relief USA stood tall. Your contributions of time, effort, resources made light shine in the darkness of 2020. As we look back at the challenges of this year we’re reminded that it took massive hearts to pull through. Pushing through a Pandemic Medical aid has been top…
