Weekend Conference Educates, Raises Support for Homeless Women

By Farkhunda Ali
Muslim Link Staff Writer

It was time to break all of the myths about homelessness. It was a weekend to uncover the truth about the sufferings of Muslim women and children without homes. The entire two-day seminar was dedicated to raising awareness on women and children, who often become victims of homelessness and domestic violence.

Approximately 250 DC Metropolitan Muslims attended the 2nd fundraiser for the Muslimat Al-Nisaa Health, Education, Social & Shelter Services. The educational conference was held the entire weekend of August 2-3 at the University of Maryland Marriott Inn and Conference Center in College Park, Maryland. The fundraising banquet was held on Saturday evening with renowned Sheikh Abdullah Idris Ali as their fundraiser.

The series of lectures and workshops focused on ways to help these underprivileged of the DC Area Muslim community. While making awareness through educational sessions, they also raised funds to address the immediate need of the Muslims deprived of a warm home, food, clothing, and healthcare.

The fundraiser collected $20,000 in cash and checks and an additional $45,000 in pledges. Muslimat Al-Nisaa will continue to provide assistance with food, temporary housing, clothing, health services, and other services to the homeless and the underprivileged with the funds that were raised.

The amount of money raised is far from Asma Hanif’s goal to get her project off the ground. Although she was thankful for the donations, she said she was more grateful to see that there has been a progress in the Muslim community’s consciousness of these issues. While it was often ignored, she said now people are coming in the forefront to address these problems and offering their support.

“It wasn’t just about raising money for me,” said Hanif, founder and director of Muslimat Al-Nisaa in Baltimore, Maryland. “I wanted to change the attitude of the people in the Muslim community toward domestic violence and homelessness.”

Hanif estimated a better turnout than the first fundraiser, and said this was a turning point in the organization’s history.

“We had the support of several nationally known organizations at our fundraiser and well known Muslim figures are now speaking up about it,” she said. “This is the beginning of the big change we needed to address these problems.”

During the dinner, Nihad Awad of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) reminded the audience the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) fed the hungry and sheltered the homeless. Awad said these attributes are characteristics of Taqwa.

“Tonight is a sign of showing our level of Taqwa,” said Awad.

“Sheltering is only a temporary help but the next phase is to get them prepared to return back to their communities and live independently,” said Hanif.

Several survivors of domestic violence and homelessness came to the podium and told their stories. One common surviving factor of these women was their belief in Allah and persistence for a change.

“Talk is cheap. If we are not treating our women equally, not providing for our children, people are not going to come to Islam,” said keynote speaker Imam Zaid Shakir of Zaytuna Institute in California

Homelessness is everywhere, the speakers said. Whether one lives in the inner city or the suburbs, homeless individuals and families have relied on various avenues to seek shelter in their cars, tents, under bridges, or in abandoned homes.

“Muslim women and children have suffered from physical abuse and are filling the shelters all around the US,” said Imam Khalid Griggs of Winston Salem, North Carolina. “I believe this is the primary reason why Muslim leaders of all of the Masajid and Islamic organizations should have been here today to learn about homelessness and come together to find ways of eliminating it.”

The city probably allows easy access to resources, while the suburbia often ignores the fact that they exist, said one panelist in a workshop called “Nurturing Your Sister and Nurturing Yourself.”

“Our statistics show that homelessness and domestic violence are just as much a problem in the Muslim community just as any other religious community,” said Niemah K. Gaal, director of Washington-based, self-funded non-profit support group called Power in Sisters-Sister Power.

Gaal said there are many ways Muslims can help in eradicating homelessness. As part of religious obligation, she said “we” [Muslims] need to take the proper steps in understanding who are the homeless, learn how to treat them with kindness and respect, and find creative ways of helping them.

“We have a covenant with Allah to treat our sisters with integrity and we have a responsibility to help our fellow Muslims,” said Gaal. Her organization is a developmental group which assists women to make transition through different life journeys.

Attendees enjoyed the two-day seminars. Some dined out between breaks of the panel discussions and some reserved hotel rooms for the entire weekend. Some women came from as far as state of Washington, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania to show their support.

“We are appreciative and thankful to everyone in the community who supported our event and program, however, the amount we raised is still far from our goal,” said Ayyub Hanif, associate director of Muslimat Al-Nisaa. “Inshallah, we plan to save as much as we can while still trying to service the community. Raising enough funds to purchase a permanent facility is a very important goal for us. However, we recognize the immediate needs of our homeless sisters and we are trying our best to provide assistance to them while working towards our financial goals.”

Muslimat Al-Nisaa staff is searching for an affordable property in Baltimore city to make a shelter home with various services for the Muslim women and children. At this point, they have one property in mind which has been on hold for them for a few months.

Hanif wants to turn this property into Baitul An-Nisaa, a Muslim Women Shelter. Baitul An-Nisaa is a sister organization of the Muslimat Al-Nisaa. It will be a clean place equipped with the space of housing. It will provide a safe, nurturing, and an Islamic environment for its members. The center will provide transitional housing, food, clothing, medical & health services, and job training to any Muslim woman in need across the nation.

Hanif started the Baitul An-Nisaa project in 2002 with another community activist Maryam Funches. Although Funches returned to Allah in the beginning of 2007, she left behind a legacy of aiding the most unfortunate in the community.

During the fundraiser, Funches and another pioneer Sharifa Al-Khateeb were recognized for their community activism and remembered for their kind character towards the needy.

The multi-faceted property costs $300,000. It will not require any additional costs for renovations. At the time of closing, the property will immediately be available for occupancy.

Several months ago, representatives of Muslimat Al-Nisaa were looking into a similar property for $250,000, which needed some renovations. That particular property was on hold for a year. When Muslimat Al-Nisaa was not able to come up with the down payment, eventually the Muslim landlord sold it to someone else.

This time, they worry the same thing will happen if the community members don’t assist in raising the remaining funds to purchase the property.

“All shelters are fine. However, we need to understand that other faith-based agencies are not conducive to the Muslim way of life and will not respect the rights of the Muslim woman,” said Asma Simmons, founding director of Sisters of Sunnah Islamic Services and SOS House in Tacoma, Washington.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) reports more than 3 million people experience homelessness including 1.3 million children. One-third of the homeless population is made up of families.

According to national studies, many low-income families are at the risk of homelessness. A missed paycheck, a health emergency, or an unpaid bill creates a crisis, pushing them out of their homes and into homelessness.

The weekend seminar was sponsored by ADAMS, Al Maghrib Institute, CCMO-DC, CAIR, MANA, ISWA, Islamic Relief, MAS, ISNA, The Islamic Post, Peaceful Families Project, Baitul Islam, Powers in Sisters, Islamic Center of Maryland, and Muslimat Al-Nisaa.

For more info, visit www.mnisaa.org.