A look into Islamic Relief’s Inspire program in Puerto Rico. by: Nabeeha Shah In Puerto Rico, over 43% of the population lives in poverty, most of which are children. The island has endured multiple disasters, the most recent being Covid-19 and Hurricane Maria, the most destructive disaster to hit the island in nearly a century. These hardships have deeply affected the country’s economy, infrastructure, and health systems, leaving communities vulnerable to poverty.  Puerto Rico has demonstrated remarkable resilience, and efforts by nonprofit organizations such as Islamic Relief help to raise awareness and support those in need across the country. The most recent Islamic Relief Inspire in Puerto Rico supported development…

by Yusuf Azmi The headlines are becoming all-too familiar as the damage caused by the climate crisis continues to grow and impact people across Asia. This summer’s monsoon season has been one that continues to confound expectations and has caused widespread destruction and loss of life in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.  Monsoons and floods alone are nothing new to the region; heavy rainfall, caused by a complex series of wind patterns, sweeps through from June through September every year. It’s a part of life for people across the subcontinent, but with every passing year, it’s becoming a time of increasingly fraught emotions and panic as the rainfall becomes increasingly dangerous…

By Zana Sahyouni Growing up in a post 9/11 world, Waseema felt like an outsider that was constantly facing racial discrimination by her peers in middle and highschool. The problems she faced ignited a desire in her to showcase how Muslims are good people. She searched for a Muslim community, and found herself at the International Learning Center Plus (ILCP) in Virginia. In between studying the Qur’an at ILCP, Waseema listened to her friends tell stories of the hardships their family members faced back home. She could not believe that so many people experienced impoverishment, displacement, and oppression in their home countries. Listening to these stories fueled Waseema’s motivation to…

By Salma Heram With midterm elections coming up this fall, it’s likely that you’ve encountered one of the many Get Out the Vote campaigns, perhaps from a fellow community member or an advocate at a local non-profit. IRUSA is no stranger to such campaigns, and our advocates have been working tirelessly to get people engaged and ready to vote come November 8. Take our recent Qurbani distribution at Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, VA, for example, where community members received information on how to vote on their way to collect the Eid Al-Adha meat and produce. But why is voting so important, and what does voting have to do…

World Refugee Day By Minhaj Hassan Lately, it seems hardly a day goes by where you don’t hear about refugees. Whether it’s the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, or other countries where instability has taken hold (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, among others), forced displacement has become more common than anyone would like. It is a sad story whenever someone is forced to leave their homeland due to conditions or circumstances beyond their control.  Islamic Relief USA has long helped refugee populations and has especially stepped up the past year. After people from Afghanistan managed to reach the United States following the end of a decades-long war last August, IRUSA’s volunteers helped assemble…

Economic Disaster and Humanitarian Crisis By Yusuf Azmi Sri Lanka is in the middle of the worst economic crisis in its history. Skyrocketing inflation rates, depleted foreign exchange reserves, and surging food prices are amongst the numerous issues causing the country’s economic state to spiral. The government has been forced to default on its loan payments for the first time, and months of widespread protests against their policies, which were largely peaceful, have started to turn violent in recent weeks resulting in eight fatalities and over 200 people wounded. Since emerging from a grueling 26-year civil war, Sri Lanka experienced an exponential rate of growth, in large part due to…

Dhu al-Hijjah By Yusuf Azmi What do the start of Hajj, the sacrifice of Qurbani/Udhiyah, the celebration of Eid al-Adha, and the best 10 days of the year all have in common? They all occur during the first 10 days of Dhu al-Hijjah.  During the twelth and final month of the Hijri calendar, the first 10 days of Dhu al-Hijjah hold a special significance in the hearts of every Muslim. The importance of these days can be found in both Qur’an and Hadith. “By the dawn; by the ten nights” (al-Fajr 89:1-2) It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “There are no days during…