Brothers and sisters, I have been observing on facebook some people are not pleased with our Mosques providing assistant to families in need. I even read a story on a page where a new convert is receiving more welcoming arms from Churches than Mosques and that could in some way make her doubt her decision of conversion. First and foremost, it is important to remind the sister in need of help of the reasons she converted to Islam and that she did it for Allah and not Muslims. So the actions of Muslims (not helping) should not interfere with her faith. Otherwise, she may have converted for the wrong reason(s). Hopefully not. Second, it would be an isolated incident if a Mosque clerk refused help in favor of a relative, a family or friend or even because donations received are not fairly distributed for various other reasons. Generally our Mosques do a good job in the distribution process. True improvements can help but if you have a suggestion or know something is wrong is going on in your local Mosque, I suggest you contact the administration of Islamic Society of Greater Houston and report any suspicious activities. Thirdly, we need to understand few points before making statements that mosques are not assisting those in need. Mosques are busier than ever especially now. If they cant assist as much as a Church, it would be due to the following conservative reasons I accumulated: -The volume of arising issues for US mosques that require financial assistant is on the rise due to Arabs and Muslims migrating to the US from afflicted war zones. In addition, most of refugees if not all have applied for help from mosques because the US government doesnt provide much assistant for refugees and because refugees face a culture shock at the beginning which refrains them from working and progressing for a while. -Churches, on the other hand, are wealthier overall because they receive larger donations considering the fact the majority of the population are Christians, especially here in Texas where you see a Church almost in every corner. I even know of cases where Muslims in need of financial assistant have been turning to Churches as well but that doesnt mean they should leave their religion. This is faith were talking about in exchange for money. Of course, we appreciate any contribution and effort from the Christian community as they are also a helpful and generous community. -The Arab-Americans and Muslim- Americans who are not directly affected by the war in the Middle East have also their fair share in providing help for their families, relatives and friends. Some even choose to directly send their donations to entrusted family members to assist needy back home which in turn directly affect mosques general funds. Overall, the Muslim community is a generous and a giving community and will stand together and help in all situations. Recently, it is harder to receive help because of current events in the Middle East that financially burdened and exhausted the Muslim Community all over the world. This is why it is important to remain positive, focused and united than despaired and dispersed in these difficult times and answer with wisdom to people who doubt our Mosques who are doing a great job enshaAllah.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 17:50:39 +0000
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