Support/Volunteer at www.ICNA.org/dawah
Watch video recap of ICNA National Dawah Summit 2019. Summit focused on Dawah in rural / remote areas, Dawah on college campuses and outreach to public school teachers. Also discussed were digital dawah efforts and working closely with Latino and African American community partners.
Find more information at
https://labssol.com/dev/iccna/dawah

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Public Schools: Outreach for Inclusive Environments
As educators traverse the new domain of virtual and hybrid education, traditional classroom challenges may include an added dimension of complexity taking into account both student and teacher socio-emotional wellness. Applying a holistic approach to education necessitates understanding the intertwined layers of mental, social, spiritual, and emotional resilience and how these layers may be severely impacted by the shift in education mediums. This talk will outline an initiative to reach out to educators in public schools via live workshops, booths and presentations at Teachers’ Conferences, outreach booths at major Book Fairs.
For more information:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/icna
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/icna
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/icnatv
Website: http://www.icna.org
Phone: 718-658-1199
Donate at http://www.icna.org/dawah
Volunteer at http://www.icna.org/barakah/
Donate/Support Prophet’s (p) Mission
http://www.icna.org/dawah

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Domna Antoniadis attended Fordham Law School with the aim of combining her interest in law and health care, which she did in part by co-founding the school’s health law club. She interned with the LegalHealth division of the New York Legal Assistance Group and later completed a post-graduate fellowship at the organization before being hired as a staff attorney.

During her eight years at the organization, Antoniadis has worked with a wide range of the organization’s clients while running free legal clinics at Mount Sinai Morningside, Woodhull Hospital Geriatric Care Center and Bellevue Cancer Center. Antoniadis also created a legal navigator program, allowing for graduate social work students to meet their clinical requirements at a legal services organization.
Currently, Antoniadis has been working on the organization’s Avon Breast Cancer Project and running Bellevue Cancer Center’s free legal clinic, where she collaborates with doctors and provides assistance to undocumented immigrants.
Antoniadis testified to the New York City Council about a proposal that would expand health insurance in New York to undocumented immigrants, saying that over the past five years she personally worked with more than 200 people who would otherwise not have been able to access lifesaving medical treatment because of their immigration status.
“The ability to do the direct services and then actually gather the information to present to those who are making policy, I think, is definitely something that I feel really proud of,” she says.

Mufazzal Hossain

Democratic District Leader, Assembly District 38

After Mufazzal Hossain won his district leader seat in July, he told himself he would take a one-week break. For months he had been campaigning and working to make sure coronavirus relief aid was reaching Muslim and South Asian families in Queens, on top of working a full-time job. But he quickly found himself right back in it, working with the nonprofit ICNA Relief to distribute food at his local mosque and handing out personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer in his community.
Hossain was born into a political family in Bangladesh, but he says his call to politics came with the election of President Donald Trump. After 9/11, Hossain’s family returned to Bangladesh from Queens, fearing a growing tide of Islamophobia in the United States. He came back to New York after being educated in civil engineering in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and he was determined to stand his ground now that the United States seemed to be moving in a xenophobic direction once again. “(If) I ever have kids, I don’t want them to be born into a situation … where they have to flee,” he says.
Hossain maintains his career as an estimator for a construction firm, but he says he enjoys using his analytical skills in politics. He is the vice president of diversity and outreach for the Queens County Young Democrats. “(Politics) gives me an opportunity to research about everything that’s changing at a rapid pace,” he says. “And that’s with the purpose of helping people out.”
After Mufazzal Hossain won his district leader seat in July, he told himself he would take a one-week break. For months he had been campaigning and working to make sure coronavirus relief aid was reaching Muslim and South Asian families in Queens, on top of working a full-time job. But he quickly found himself right back in it, working with the nonprofit ICNA Relief to distribute food at his local mosque and handing out personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer in his community.
Hossain was born into a political family in Bangladesh, but he says his call to politics came with the election of President Donald Trump. After 9/11, Hossain’s family returned to Bangladesh from Queens, fearing a growing tide of Islamophobia in the United States. He came back to New York after being educated in civil engineering in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and he was determined to stand his ground now that the United States seemed to be moving in a xenophobic direction once again. “(If) I ever have kids, I don’t want them to be born into a situation … where they have to flee,” he says.
Hossain maintains his career as an estimator for a construction firm, but he says he enjoys using his analytical skills in politics. He is the vice president of diversity and outreach for the Queens County Young Democrats. “(Politics) gives me an opportunity to research about everything that’s changing at a rapid pace,” he says. “And that’s with the purpose of helping people out.”
To read more and see the rest of the 40 under 40 Rising Starts Follow the link below!
Article Courtesy: cityandstateny.com

There are millions of people in the United States, the world’s richest and most powerful country, who homeless , including women. The Muslim organization Icna Relief inaugurated its 23rd Muslim Women’s Shelter Home yesterday.

Inaugurated by Mohsin Ansari and Icna Relief Baltimore Outreach Director Ibrahim Abu Soya and Hajra Hope’s Nasreen Rehman. The event was attended by representatives of Islamic Centers and government officials, including the Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Baltimore.
Hajra Hope, an organization of Muslim women in Baltimore, also cooperated in setting up the shelter home. Mohsin Ansari said that the shelters of Icna Relief are for Muslim women but we give shelter to anyone beyond race. Not only are women sheltered, but counseling is provided for them to move on with their lives.
City Councilwoman Shereen Green said the house was in dire need in Baltimore and appreciated the role of American Muslims. A special award was also given to Islamic centers and personalities who helped establish the shelter.
The 8-room Icna Relief Shelter Home is state-of-the-art. Clean rooms, great atmosphere, wonderful play land and praying area.
Article Courtesy: pakobserver.net

One man, an Uber driver from a community near Valley Stream, was in a car accident and lost his job, which left him wondering how he would find money to feed his children. Another, a woman from Queens living in a shelter with her two children, was unsure where they would find their next meal. Similarly, a single mother from Center-each did not know how she would feed her five children.

The situation for the three families changed for the better, however, when they discovered the food pantry established on Aug. 31 at Valley Stream’s Masjid Hamza through a partnership between the mosque and the New Hyde Park-based non-profit Islamic Circle of North America, according to Shumaila Noor, ICNA’s outreach coordinator.

“When I spoke to those three families and so many other families who need food, I was in shock because if you were to walk by those people in their neighborhoods, oftentimes you can never tell what they are actually going through,” Noor said. “There are a lot of needs in this world, more than we recognize, and we are filling in a gap or building a bridge by helping meet the needs of those who are truly in need.”  

The pantry is the first that ICNA has established on Long Island. In the weeks since its opening, it has helped feed nearly 400 families, Noor said. It is open every Monday from 4 to 6 p.m.

Noor oversees all the organization’s outreach programs, and she volunteers at the new food pantry every Monday. As a Deer Park resident and a mother of three, Noor said that helping others has long been what she wanted to do to teach her children sympathy for others who are less fortunate. 

“I’m making a small change, and I’m part of something bigger,” she said. “The best part of helping run the food pantry is the heartwarming feeling of seeing everyone come together to help those in need.” 

Before the food pantry partnership, Noor said, representatives of Masjid Hamza and ICNA had worked together on other charity projects. Whenever community members or congregants needed shelter, for instance, Masjid Hamza referred them to one of ICNA’s transitional homes. 

“During the pandemic, we wanted to partner with Masjid Hamza because we saw they were a very strong presence in the community and we wanted to give back,” Noor said, noting that the mosque is the first that ICNA has partnered with in Nassau County. “Each family that we serve takes home up to 40 pounds of food every Monday, and our pantry is different because we cater to ethnic demographics with ethnic food, in addition to other foods.”

Masjid Hamza volunteers said they have been surprised by the number of donations they have received to support the pantry.

“There was always a need for a food pantry in the community, but the Covid-19 pandemic heightened that need, and it’s great to see the smile on people’s faces when we help them through this tough time,” said Valley Streamer Ruhee Kapadia, Masjid Hamza’s outreach coordinator who helped organize the pantry. “We wanted to create an environment where anyone can come and get food, regardless of religion, color or race.” 

“People were panicking with this pandemic going on, and we didn’t want people to go to sleep hungry,” said Valley Streamer Noshi Ahmed, another volunteer who helped with the pantry’s opening. “It makes me feel so good to see so many people lined up every Monday to get food.”

To donate food or make a money donation to the Masjid Hamza food pantry, email newyork@icnarelief.org or icnarelief.org/donate.

Article Courtesy: liherald.com

A new county commission will work to bridge the gap that can often exist for new immigrants, especially those who are learning English, as they adjust to life in their new country.

The Bucks County commissioners created a New American Advisory Commission on Wednesday and established its bylaws and named founding members during their meeting in the county administration building Wednesday.

Dr. Umar Farooq, a specialist in internal medicine with Knights Medical Associates in Bensalem, will serve as chairman. He immigrated to the United States in 1991 from Pakistan and started his medical practice in 1999.

Farooq thanked the board for his appointment. He said the mission of the commission is to “build bridges between the communities…being part of civic engagement, advising new immigrants on the path to success and guiding them in this land of opportunity.”

He said the commission wanted to “enhance interracial and inter-ethnic dialog” as well as to help immigrants address their education, economic, health and legal concerns and to ease their way to citizenship.

Commissioner Bob Harvie said the county has several commissions of volunteers who help county officials know about different issues but didn’t have its ear to the ground when it came to concerns for “people who are first and second-generation immigrants.”

He said the county wanted to make sure it was hearing of their needs so his administrative assistant Stephen Seufert worked on establishing the commission with the help of solicitor Joseph Khan. In addition to new immigrants, they included members of organizations that seek to help those communities.

Other new commission members are

• Stephanie A. Gonzalez Ferrandez of Bensalem, a family law attorney and member of the Bensalem School Board who has worked with immigrant communities for 25 years;.
• Lois Heist of Lower Makefield, a board member and English instructor for Welcoming the Stranger, a Langhorne nonprofit offering free English, computer and citizenship preparation classes for area immigrants and refugees;.
• Razin Karu of Bensalem, former student body president and Muslim Students Association president of Bucks County Community College and current Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for ICNA Relief USA;
• Eugene Potakh, of Lower Southampton, a Ukraine-born consultant and senior programmer for New York Technology Partners;
• Patrice Tisdale, of Warrington, an attorney and co-chair of the Criminal Justice and Education Committee of the Bucks County NAACP;
• Duke Wu, of Northampton, a Temple University business student;
• Seufert, who will serve as the county commissioners’ representative on the board.

While it currently has eight members, its bylaws allow for up to 15 members and seeks appointments with a preference for racial and ethnic diversity “with an emphasis on immigrants and first- and second-generation Americans, preferably from communities that have historically been marginalized or underserved by county government,” said county spokesman Larry King.

It also strives to include members with diverse career experiences.  All are appointed for four-year terms.

 
Article Courtesy: buckscountycouriertimes.com

With two weeks left before the U.S. Census Bureau ends counting efforts on September 30, local officials and community advocates are making one last push for all residents to fill out the census.
Last Wednesday on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall, census organizers provided an update on self-response rates, urging all New Yorkers to be counted before the deadline at the end of the month.

As of September 8, New York has a self-response rate of 61.9 percent, compared to a national rate of above 65 percent. The state is ranked 34th in the nation. Meanwhile, New York City’s self-response rate is just under 60 percent.
Brooklyn’s self-response rate is just 54 percent, making it last out of the five boroughs. Borough President Eric Adams said grassroots, community-based organizations, the ones that have helped residents with rent, food and other services during the pandemic, need to be empowered to help communities fill out the census.
“Now is the time to do the last dash for September 30,” Adams said.
The borough president noted that the federal government, through its “hate rhetoric,” has intimidated local families from participating.
“We need to counteract that intimidation,” he added. “We don’t want to be last again.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said that message is particularly important for immigrant communities, which are distrustful of the federal government.

He said despite the Trump administration’s previous attempts at adding a citizenship question and other efforts to prevent immigrants from being counted, “they have lost every single time.”
“The Trump administration has enacted actions that have led to fear, misinformation and confusion about the census,” said Meeta Anand, Census 2020 senior fellow at the New York Immigration Coalition. “We are actively fighting these measures.”
In August, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it would end all door-to-door outreach by September 30, one month sooner than originally planned. Since then, a federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order to temporarily halt the government’s efforts to wind down operations for the count. A court hearing on the issue will take place on September 17.

The Trump administration also released a policy memo calling for undocumented immigrants to be excluded from the apportionment base following the census. That, too, has been struck down in the courts.
On September 10, a three-judge court ruled that the president’s memo excluding undocumented immigrants was unlawful.
“President Trump’s repeated attempts to hinder, impair and prejudice an accurate census and the subsequent apportionment have failed once again,” said Attorney General Letitia James, who led a coalition of states and cities in the lawsuit. “The courts have ruled in our favor on every census matter in the last two years and continually reject President Trump’s unlawful efforts to manipulate the census for political purposes.
“We cannot allow the White House’s constant fear-mongering and xenophobia to stop us from being counted,” she added. “We urge everyone to fill out the census, if they have not already, and we will continue to take every legal action available to ensure all communities are counted.”
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, praised the federal court’s ruling.
“Now that the court has ruled, Republicans must finally agree to extend the statutory deadlines and let the Census Bureau do its job of conducting a complete and accurate count of every person in the United States,” she said in a statement.
Anand, who noted that NYIC was a plaintiff in the lawsuit, also echoed the call for Congress to pass legislation extending the deadline for when census data needs to be delivered to Congress.
Maloney’s bill would not only extend the deadline for the Census Bureau to provide complete results of the enumeration to Congress by next April, but would also extend door-to-door follow-up outreach to October 30.
“If people want to do something else to help the census,” Anand said, “then they need to be on the phone and writing letters to their senators and representatives to say they want to pass legislation to make sure that the census is extended accordingly.”
Amit Singh Bagga, deputy director of NYC Census 2020, broke down census response rates by neighborhood. He noted that historically African-American and Afro-Caribbean communities that were significantly undercounted in the past have now surpassed their 2010 Census rates.
Prospect Lefferts Gardens, for example, is now more than 11 percentage points ahead of where it was in 2010. Flatbush is also ahead by 11 percent. Other neighborhoods include Crown Heights at 9.4 percent, Flatlands at 5 percent and Prospect Heights at 2.5 percent.

“This does not happen by accident,” Bagga said. “This happens when New Yorkers come together, educate, organize, mobilize and get things done.”
Other Brooklyn neighborhoods are still struggling with self-response rates. Cypress Hills has a rate of just 44.4 percent and Borough Park is at 45.4 percent. Mapleton has responded at a 45.6 percent rate, while Manhattan Beach is at 46.1 percent.
Some communities have actually regressed from 2010. Brooklyn Heights, for example, had a self-response rate of 75 percent a decade ago, but is down to 64 percent. Bagga said neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn and Cobble Hill may have residents who temporarily relocated outside of the city during the pandemic.
He urged them to fill out the census online using their New York City address.
“There is no greater, simpler or easier task to demonstrate your pride as a New Yorker and do your part,” he said.
Bagga also noted that tens of thousands of New Yorkers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, live in basement apartments in multi-family homes. While many of those apartments are legal, the large majority of them are not.
Both tenants and landlords of those basement apartments should know that census information does not come back to the city or agencies like the Department of Buildings (DOB), Bagga said.
“It is critical that if you are living in a basement unit that you fill out the census,” he said. “You can use your full address and no harm will come to you.”
In Queens, the deputy director of NYC Census 2020 said he’s seen a “tremendously positive increase” in the borough’s self-response rate in the last six weeks. Queens is now tied with Manhattan for second place out of the five boroughs with a rate of 59.9 percent.
“This is truly a testament to the incredible amount of organizing that’s been done across the entire borough,” Bagga said. “We have many organizations that we have funded to the tune of $19 million that are organizing their communities in the languages that they speak.”
Groups like DRUM and Chhaya CDC are organizing in South Asian communities, Make the Road New York in Latinx communities, Minkwon Center for Community Action in Flushing and faith-based groups in African-American communities, Bagga said.
Neighborhoods that have a high self-response rate include Oakland Gardens, Fresh Meadows, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Sunnyside and parts of Astoria.
Bagga noted that there are still pockets that need more outreachp, like Corona and Richmond Hill, which have rates of just about 45 percent. Corona is made up largely of Central and South American populations, while Richmond Hill has a large Punjabi Sikh and Indo-Caribbean communities.
Despite their low-response rates, Bagga said the amount of organizing and advertising put into neighborhoods like Richmond Hill has made a difference. In March, the southeast Queens neighborhood had a self-response rate in the lower 30 percent range.
He said census tracts around the Sikh temple in the neighborhood, as well as commercial corridors where Punjabi and Sikh residents congregate, have seen increases of between 6 and 12 percent over the last few months.

Bagga attributed part of that increase to a consistent advertising effort, over many months, in languages like Punjabi, Bangla, Hindi and Urdu.
“This type of investment is really what’s required,” he said. “This is the first time the city has done something like this.
“What we’ve done now is built a really strong foundation that we can now build into the future,” Bagga added. “That’s a result of the work the city and organizations have done.”
That type of success, in which the city provides resources to local organizations to speak neighbor to neighbor, has also been replicated in southeast Queens communities like Springfield Gardens, Laurelton and Rosedale, as well as in the Bronx.
Where the city has struggled, Bagga said, is in immigrant communities, largely due to Trump’s rhetoric and repeated attempts to “exclude, demean and remove immigrants from the census.’
“We know our community organizations and partners across the city remain undeterred,” Bagga said. “We will keep fighting until September 30 to make sure every single New Yorker is counted.”
Earlier that day in Flushing, Councilman Peter Koo joined Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) at the ICNA Relief food pantry to help community members fill out the census during a weekly food distribution event.
Koo noted that the Flushing-based food pantry is one of many in the community that would benefit from a full and accurate census count.
“Filling out the census will ensure the rights and needs of every person is counted when our government determines what funding will go to policies, programs and services,” he said in a statement.
Jennifer Sun and Thomas Yu, co-executive directors of AAFE, also said in a statement that a complete count is important for communities hoping to overcome the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is the key to delivering adequate government resources for Flushing,” they said, “and other immigrant communities that have been historically overlooked.”
Article Courtesy: greenpointstar.com

 
Article Courtesy: erienewsnow.com

The Mosque of San Gabriel sits back from the street so it’s easy to miss as you drive along Las Tunas. Originally a house, the congregation purchased it in 1984, and received their license in 1987. Approximately 200 members come from San Gabriel, Alhambra, Rosemead, Temple City, Sierra Madre and Pasadena.

An important part of their doctrine is community service and helping those in need. The Mosque of San Gabriel is the living embodiment of that belief. They have supported Union Station in Pasadena since 1990 with food and other necessities for the homeless. Recently, they have brought their benevolence closer to home. They have provided much-needed supplies for the food bank at La Casa de San Gabriel.

Grocery give-away

With the pandemic and stay-at-home order, they saw there was a greater need for distributing food as well as non-food items.  In April, in conjunction with ICNA Relief USA organization, they had their first grocery give-away at the Mosque, handing out 85 large bags of groceries which included bread, juice, chicken, rice, sauces, onions and potatoes as well as packages of socks.
The guiding force in achieving all this largesse is Rick Khan, a long-time member of the Mosque. Although the entire congregation is involved, he credits his “team” with putting their programs in action, including fund raising, shopping and distribution.
The success of their grocery give-away showed Khan that there was a need to help families in San Gabriel. He contacted Rebecca Perez, Director of Community Services, which coordinates and distributes meals to seniors, to see if they could partner with the City and help in some way. Perez told him that with so many seniors staying home during the pandemic, they could use help with the senior meals program.

Senior meals program

According to the latest update, they are now delivering meals, two lunch box meals and three frozen meals to 250 seniors. Due to the increase in meal deliveries since the pandemic Community Services staff have been delivering meals twice a week.
When Khan heard that only cold lunches and frozen meals were being distributed, due to time and money constraints, with no hot meals, he felt that was a need the Mosque could fill.
Khan called his Mosque team members and they jumped into action. Some members reached out for funds, others ordered the hot food and still others volunteered to hand out the meals. Donations from members of the Mosque pay for the hot meals.
“This is what our faith teaches,” Khan said. “I feel fortunate that we are getting to do this.”
They partnered with ICNA Relief to bring bags of groceries to be distributed along with the meals.
The Mission Playhouse parking lot was reserved and flyers were delivered to the seniors. Cars were lined up a half an hour before the food was to be distributed. No walk-ups allowed. Two take-out containers with chicken, salsa, rice and salad were placed in each trunk along with a bag of groceries including fruit and non-perishables. All volunteers wore gloves and masks and thanked the seniors for coming. Staff kept the traffic moving and within a half an hour, 100 meals and bags of groceries were distributed. No one left without food.
“The Mosque of San Gabriel has been extremely generous in providing food donations as well non-perishable food items to our older adults. Their staff provided hot food distribution on two separate days with 200 hot meals, as a way to give back to the community and assist in these distressing times. We are extremely appreciative of their generosity and the partnership we have established.” Lucy Hokobian, Community Services Manager, said on behalf of the City of San Gabriel.

Boxes of fresh fruit & gallons of milk

More recently, on Saturday, June 22, the Mosque partnered with ICNA Relief USA again to provide 146 boxes of fresh fruit, 240 gallons of milk, large tins of tea and large jars of olives. The food is purchased from Interfresh Farmers to Families, part of the USDA Feeding Programs, as well as from Restaurant Depot.
The Mosque of San Gabriel provided the location, and the volunteers and ICNA provided the groceries. Cars were lined up down the street and around the block even before the boxes were unloaded. It took an hour to set up four tables of boxes and about half an hour to give it all away.
“The Mosque is working tirelessly to alleviate hunger in our neighborhoods by regularly donating hot meals and food, including fresh produce, to local food pantries while also volunteering with the distribution. I appreciate their spirit of service and call to action to give to those in need,” said San Gabriel Mayor Denise Menchaca.
The outreach is a family affair for Rick Khan. His two adult children, daughter Sadia Khan and son Haseeb Khan, have been helping their parents with the various service programs since they followed along as toddlers.
“Our parents have set a good example for us, and we have just followed their example,” said Haseeb. “I know that my dad underplays how much he does in organizing community outreach.”
“So much of what is done is him (Khan) doing it on his own, meeting people and finding a need,” Sadia added.
Rick and the Mosque of San Gabriel have even bigger ideas in store for the City. They want to establish their own food bank at the Mosque as well as continue to help support La Casa de San Gabriel’s food bank. The hot food program for seniors was so successful they plan to continue as long as it is needed.
Mosque of San Gabriel and its members will continue to serve the community wherever they find a need. When asked why they do it, member Yusuf Wadalawala said, “Someday I might need a handout. What goes around comes around.”

Article Courtesy: coloradoboulevard.net