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The Ramadan Heart Transplant
{ O you who believe! Answer (the call of) Allah and His Apostle when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered. } (8:24) Symptoms and Causes for Concern Atherosclerosis is the process of plaque build-up on artery walls from fats, cholesterol, and other substances. When the plaque overruns, blood flow gets constricted, which then causes an array of severe health concerns. But, when arteries in the heart are under the pressure of atherosclerosis for too long, heart disease soon follows after. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS),…
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Remembering Rwanda
Mu’adh ibn Jabal reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: وَاتَّقِ دَعْوَةَ الْمَظْلُومِ فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ حِجَابٌ “Beware of the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.” Sahīh al-Bukhārī 4090 The Cost of Cruelty Kevin Van Valkenburg is now a decorated senior editor for ESPN. His coverage of golf is renowned. His social commentary regarding the recent power struggles in professional sports has been immaculate. But at 16 years old, Mr. Kevin, as I called him then, extended a small black microphone towards my hairless chin while we sat in my high school lunch cafeteria and…
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World Water Day 2019: Humanity Behind Water
Bacteria washing up on they beaches (Say word?) Don't drink the water, son they can't wash they feet with it (Let em' know) Young babies in perpetual neediness (Say word?) Epidemics hopping up off the Petri dish (Let em' know) - Hip-hop artist Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) My friend Victor tapped me with his burly hand and said, “Look out the window.” I struggled for a moment and finally climbed across my bed, placed my hands on the sill, and dipped my head a bit to see the full view. My stomach dropped and rose to my ears all in an instant. There was a mountain range flush green with…
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IRUSA Awardees Making Black History Today
The Price of Doing the Impossible Decades removed from Dr. Martin Luther King’s infamous appeal to the moral organs of America, the nation is still grappling with what his dream meant. It may very well be true that vast collections of Americans are still learning what it means to even dream. Dreaming in the land of opportunity is a prerequisite to survival. Without a self-induced slumber, and wondering on the grand possibilities of our lives, you can’t quite call yourself an American. This isn’t to say that in lands known and unknown people aren’t submerged in their own prophetic visions, but as it stands, we have told the world: in…
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Four Ways We Ended Our 25th Year
In 2018, here at Islamic Relief USA we were all systems go for celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of service and hope. Check out four of the biggest ways we celebrated the end of this year below. #1: 500K Meals Packed… Islamic Relief USA was founded 25 years ago by young volunteers ready and willing to take on any possible task that fell from the sky. People like IRUSA President Anwar Khan can attest to the drive of IRUSA’s earliest volunteer cohort. They knew what had to be done, even though in some cases the “how” wasn’t readily available. But what makes IRUSA’s volunteers special is that they figure…
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A Special #GivingTuesday to Yemen
Crowdfunding is an Interesting Universe There’s a crowdfund for almost anything today. You can raise funds to make cherry pie in the actual shape of pi 3.14. A need for a single tooth can be answered by a group of well meaning stranger. There’s also the possible good fortune of having sculptures of bacon created, if desired. No matter how you name it, crowdfunding has changed the way we view and contribute to fundraisers forever. But something special happened in 2018 on this past #GivingTuesday, an annual campaign for people to donate to various causes mostly boosted on social media. An outpouring of compassion rained in across platforms like Facebook,…
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World Food Day Spotlight: Towards food security in Minnesota
Today is World Food Day, an annual celebration around the world on every October 16 (in honor of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945). On this day, Islamic Relief joins many other humanitarian organizations that are concerned about food security worldwide. In recognition of World Food Day, we’re featuring a spotlight on a case study of one of the domestic food security programs we support in Minnesota. Off in the distance an African American woman walks across the empty parking lot of Masjid an-Nur, past the tan fence line and community mural. She flashes a welcoming but quick smile and hurries through…
