Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association deliver food at homeless shelter, gifts to neighbors. “This initiative is to use these holy days to serve the needy and our neighbors,” a group leader says.
Source/Credit: Austin American-Statesman
By Monica Williams | January 5, 2018
Over the winter break, in some of the coldest temperatures of the season, a group of young Muslim men and boys delivered gifts and food as part of their organization’s effort to dispel prejudice and serve the community.
Their group, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, is a national youth organization with a chapter in Round Rock that serves all of Central Texas. Its 50 young members are part of Austin’s Ahmadiyya Muslim sect, which has been based at a mosque in Round Rock since 2007.
“We’re a religious group with the purpose to foster religious identity based on Islam,” said Abdul Naseer, a research scientist at the University of Texas and the national director for humanitarian services for the organization. “This initiative is to use these holy days to serve the needy and our neighbors.”
Over the school break, members packed and served more than 100 meals at the downtown homeless shelter on Christmas Day, cleaned up their adopted road in North Austin and handed out small gifts to neighbors around the mosque on New Year’s Eve.
“Unfortunately, the extremist within Islam try to convey the message that Islam is against peace and against being a part of our communities,” said Naseer, “so we stand for the principle that Islam is a religion of peace that teaches us to be active in serving our community.”
Yasir Quereshi, a 16-year-old member, helped deliver the meals downtown and gifts to neighbors around the mosque. He said he was surprised by the number of people at the shelter on Christmas Day.
“Being able to help them with even just one meal and knowing that it helped them get through another day felt good,” said Quereshi. “Some of them got emotional and started tearing up. We explained who we were and what we did, just to show them that the media’s biases aren’t always true, and that we can be good people, too.”
Along with the annual outreach to the community, the youth group also organizes an annual blood drive, an annual race that raises money for other charities, monthly service projects locally, and trains and deploys volunteers to assist in disaster relief. According to the group, in 2017 Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association chapters across the country helped more than 10,000 people in need, fed 570,000 people with meals, collected 2,400 bags of blood, raised nearly $40,000 for charities and provided 3,000 volunteer hours to help those affected by hurricanes in Houston, Miami and Puerto Rico.
Quereshi, who had raised more than $2,000 for charity by participating in an Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association race, says most of the people he’s reached out to have been receptive and grateful.
“I think that’s the most interesting part of being a member, physically going out and meeting people, trying to make the world a better place,” he said. “I hope it gives them a more positive view about Muslims and shows them that we’re willing to help if needed.”
Read original post here: UK: Ahmadi Muslim youths serve community over winter break
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