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On World Poverty Day, Let’s Do All We Can to Mitigate Suffering
At Islamic Relief USA, every waking hour is devoted to reducing poverty. That’s why it was unusual when I learned there was a particular day dedicated to this cause. According to the United Nations, October 17 is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (also known as World Poverty Day). The UN first declared this day back in 1992. While much progress has been made in the standard of living for many people in many nations around the world, poverty, if not extreme poverty, unfortunately remain common. In the United States alone, there are some 38 million people living in impoverished conditions. To combat this, Islamic Relief USA conducts many…
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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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What Will Happen to the Children?
by Christina Tobias-Nahi, Director of Public Affairs at IRUSA I have just come back from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey with an inter-agency interfaith team tasked with looking at child protection and welfare issues of emerging concern in the region. Even though I have a background in early childhood education and vulnerable children’s issues – truly I was not prepared for what we saw. Our main takeaway was this: If there is no cessation of hostilities in Syria, the children around the region will continue to suffer like we have never seen before and the effects will be multi-generational. Not just for those fleeing Syria but for the children in the…
