US Muslims Help Fight Hunger
“Wow, what an event! Such dedication and energy,” General Hazem Bata, Secretary of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), said in a statement published on ISNA’s website.
“I was very impressed with the community. Everyone really stepped up. You had to be there appreciate to truly appreciate it.”
Bata was among the volunteers who participated in the project entitled, “The Joy of Caring & Sharing: Feed the Hungry.”
This event was facilitated by the "Stop Hunger Now" project and cosponsored by the North American Bangladeshi Islamic Community (NABIC) and Islamic Relief USA.
Hosted last Friday, the event was attended by more than 150 volunteers who turned out to package over 30,000 meals for international relief effort.
The event is not the first to be hosted by ISNA.
Last year, ISNA held a similar event at its annual convention where more than 200 volunteers packaged over 40,000 meals.
ISNA is the largest Muslim umbrella organization in North America.
Though there are no official estimates, the US is home to an estimated Muslim minority of six to eight million.
An earlier Gallup poll found that the majority of Americans Muslims are loyal to their country and optimistic about their future in the United States.
Another US survey has revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.
According to Islamic Shari`ah, a capable Muslim pays 2.5 percent mandatory payment and spend it to help the poor and the needy.
In August 2013, Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) was recognized amongst the top 10 highly rated charities in the United States.
The ranking was announced by Charity Navigator, the nation's largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities which has developed an unbiased, objective, numbers-based rating system to assess over 6,000 of America's best-known charities.
Source: On Islam
