Posted on Sun, Aug. 19, 2007
Muslim group helps needy studentsBY PARADISE AFSHAR
Altaf Ali had a vision that one day he would organize the Muslim community to join in an end-of-summer tradition: distributing school supplies to needy children.
''I was a student once and noticed a lot of students did not have supplies, and I said one day I'd have to have the Muslim community help out in this,'' said Ali. ``It is our moral obligation -- and not only as Muslims but as Americans -- to give.''
That day came Aug. 11, when Ali and the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Affairs (CAIR-SFL) got together with several Islamic centers to distribute school bags filled with supplies to about 325 children.
Another 125 or so children got bags and supplies the next day when the distribution continued at Masjid Miami Gardens, 4305 NW 183rd St., one of the major mosques in the area.
''I came just to help out,'' said Afroza Kashar, 21, of Miramar. ``I think it's a good cause. I respect that CAIR is taking money from people who have money and giving it to people who don't.''
William Clear, 12, of Opa-locka, was among those who got school supplies.
''Now I don't have to wait in back-to-school lines. It was just nice to get a book bag for free,'' said William, who came out on Aug. 12.
It was the third annual Muslims Care community outreach for the Pembroke Pines-based CAIR-SFL, a branch of a national organization that promotes Muslim rights and outreach. But it was the first that targeted needy school children; for the previous two, the group handed out food and clothing to the homeless.
''I was shocked at the amount of people who came,'' said Ali, who plans to add the school supplies giveaway to his Muslims Care project.
Miami Gardens Mayor Shirley Gibson and Opa-locka Police Chief James Wright were among officials who stopped by.
''I thought it was a goodwill community gesture to give supplies to the community. I thought it was a great effort,'' Gibson said in a phone interview Monday. ``It was one of those opportunities to learn from each other and realize we are more alike than different.''
Sage Clear, 30, who came with son William, agreed.
''You get a chance to connect to people of a different religion; it helps to bridge a gap,'' said Clear. ``This is a way to see the people and that they help the community.''
For Elise Daniels, 48, of Carol City, the giveaway offered a chance to learn about Muslims.
''I passed by the church a lot and wondered about their God. So I said let's come out and learn about these people's culture,'' said Daniels.
Ali saw another benefit from the initiative, this time for the Islamic community itself.
Most of the Muslim organizations at the event are Sunni, belonging to the largest group of Muslims in the world. But at least four were Shiite, from a much smaller grouping of followers of the religion that the Prophet Mohammed started. Members of the two groups are locked in a deadly civil war in Iraq.
''There is that image out there that these two groups are out in conflict with each other and I do not agree with that,'' said Ali. ``At the time of the Prophet there was no division; we were just Muslims.''
Holding the event at the mosque also had its advantages, Ali said.
''The mosque is a community center. I think it exposes our community and gave people the opportunity to visit the mosque,'' he said.
Samir Kakli also saw it as an opportunity to build unity within the faith and with the community, while serving a good cause.
''It was a nice feeling of unity with the mosque and the people of the community,'' said Kakli, service coordinator of Project Downtown, a Muslim charitable organization based in Miami. ``It was a truly nice feeling to help the kids.''
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