“There are Muslim families who are sometimes shy to ask for supplies and food, and it’s up to the Muslim community to identify these families and deliver food in a quiet and respectful manner,” Demir says. It is also essential, according to Asma Hanif, founder of Muslimaat Nisaa, a Muslim women’s shelter in the D.C. metropolitan area, for Muslims to not just give food to those in need, but to help them maintain their dignity. “Fasting helps us identify with those who are less fortunate, but I’ve also come to realize how we as a community do not treat these individuals in these situations as we should,” Hanif says. “Treat them as if they do matter; it is actually more crucial to them than the food that we give them or the clothing or the spending of time.” The first step, Hanif says, is to give those in need what one wants for one’s self, not just their hand-me-downs. She says a big theme of Ramadan is to want for one’s brother or sister what they want for themselves, but in the donations she often sees dropped off at Muslimat Nisaa—a shelter that welcomes Muslim women nationwide—many people are demonstrating the opposite idea and donating exactly what they don’t want anymore. “People treat shelters as a dumping ground and think they’re doing a good deed,” she says. “They go to their cabinets and get the canned foods that they don’t want. Then they give the used clothing that they’re getting rid of—again, it’s their discards. So they’re treating these human beings—Allah’s creations, our Muslims brothers and sisters—like they too are discards and that’s all they’re deserving of. And it’s the month of Ramadan! And if you’re talking about wanting a reward for something, I can’t see that it’s going be looked at as giving up anything, because it’s what you didn’t want anyway.” Hanif says her work with the shelter has taught her that Ramadan’s lesson of engaging with the hungry and needy means more than just feeding the hungry; it’s also about helping them maintain their dignity, self respect and self esteem. “They already feel bad, and know they are forced into a humbled situation,” Hanif says. “So we shouldn’t make them have to beg, we shouldn’t give them our discards and we shouldn’t treat them as discards of society.” A way more people should seek to engage with and help the hungry is to reach out first to organizations with experience and seek help themselves. “Our communities must be proactive
in helping the hungry,” Zakat Foundation’s Demir says. “And if they need help, ask organizations like Zakat Foundation how you can start a soup kitchen, do community service, take part in social services, father information, and even help financially.” Individuals can also turn to their local social services for help in connecting with the poor this Ramadan (and year-round, too).
Islamic Horizons July/August 2012
Tribute
Al-Haaj Ghazi Y. Khankan A pioneer in Muslim American civic engagement 1935-2012
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l-Haaj Ghazi Y. Khankan, a respected and long-serving New York Muslim community leader and activist, died on Long Island, N.Y. on April 26, a few days after suffering a stroke. He was 77. He was laid to rest in New Jersey. Khankan, who had lived in the U.S. since 1954 — migrating at 19, was director of interfaith affairs and communications at the Islamic Center of Long Island, Westbury, N.Y. ICLI president, Eric Hamza Byas, said, Khankan “was a selfless individual. He loved his community much and worked tirelessly for the well-being not only of the ummah, but for humanity in general. We will miss him dearly” Dr. Faroque A. Khan, an ICLI board member, called him “a stalwart who put Muslims on the agenda and took some heat for that.” He had served as the executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations - New York office. He was past president of the National Council on Islamic Affairs, which in 1999 merged with the American Muslim Alliance. In order to end stereotypes and misconceptions about, he had lectured across the U.S. and produced radio and television programs dealing with the various aspects of Islam. Khankan had studied at the Lycee Francais, at Aleppo College in Syria, and at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, completed his education at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles in the fields of business administration and international relations (1954-60).
“Every city has social services, and these social services, by discussing with them what you want to do and how you want to help, will tell you how to move forward. City hall will tell you what steps to take, what you need, how to find these people and identify the poor,” Demir says.
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Meha Ahmad is the copy editor of Islamic Horizons.
During 1960-64, he was the director of the Organization of Arab Students in the U.S. and Canada. He was a member of the Islamic-Roman Catholic Dialogue, American Muslims and Jews in Dialogue, the Jewish-Christian-Islamic Commission of the National Conference of Community and Justice, The Long Island Multi-Faith Forum, the Long Beach Clergy Association, the Long Island Majlis Ash-Shura, Islamic Leadership Council of New York, and several other inter-faith groups. As director of “The Voice of Al-Islam Broadcasting” in New York for more than 25 years, Al-Haaj Khankan met with and interviewed many Muslim and Arab leaders during his travels throughout the Middle East and the U.S. He is a regular guest on Long Island Cablevision Channel 25’s TeLIcare programs, “Father Tom and Religious Leaders” and “Circle of Faith.” He served on the N.Y. State Advisory Committee of the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, D.C. and in Nov. 1996 was designated by Nassau County Executive, Thomas S. Gulotta, to serve as his coordinator with the Muslim community on Long Island. In 1998, he became advisor on Islamic affairs at the Long Island University, C. W. Post campus, Long Island, N.Y. He volunteered as a Muslim advisor at North Shore University Hospital, Glen Cove, N.Y. and at the Nassau County Medical Center, East Meadow, N.Y. Khankan’s services and achievements were recognized by many awards and citations, such as CAIR N.Y.’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2005), American Muslim Alliance’s “Dr. M. T. Mehdi Lifetime Achievement Award” for his pioneering teamwork with the late Dr. Mehdi in building the foundation of immigrant Muslim participations in mainstream politics (2006), and ICLI’s lifetime achievements ward (2011). He is survived by Tania, his wife of more than 40 years; a daughter, Dahlia, a son, Yahya, and six grandchildren.
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