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Muslim Americans pledge $20 million for
south Asian quake victims
Washington, Oct. 13, 2005 -- Leaders from member organizations of the American Muslim Taskforce for Disaster Relief (AMTFDR) gathered at a press conference today in Washington to announce their pledge to raise $20 million in aid for victims of the South Asian earthquake.
The 7.6-magnitude earthquake swept across central Afghanistan to western Bangladesh on October 8, killing more than 40,000 people, injuring more than 50,000, and leaving approximately 3.5 million homeless. Its epicenter was in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Ahmed Younis, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, called the AMTFDR pledge effort a "cooperative attempt by the American Muslim community to provide relief in the most efficient and most abundant manner possible for the brothers and sisters of humanity that have suffered as the result of the significant earthquake in South Asia."
Sayyid Syeed, the secretary-general of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), reminded journalists that the earthquake struck during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. "Muslims are in the mood of giving" and will be especially motivated to respond to relief efforts during Ramadan, he said.
Syeed said the tragedy has created an excellent opportunity to improve the American image in the Muslim world. The AMTFDR, he said, is "most qualified to establish bridges between the Muslim world and America."
Another AMTFDR member organization, Islamic Relief USA, is also a member of the U.N. Economic and Social Council and has operated development projects in Pakistan since 1992. With three offices near the earthquake-affected areas, in Islamabad, Neelum Valley, and Muzaffarabad, Islamic Relief announced in a statement released at the press conference that their emergency response team was able to reach the affected area within one hour after the earthquake hit. The release also noted that their organization immediately allocated $4 million to Pakistan following the disaster.
Mohamed Aboulmagd, a representative of the organization, told the press conference that the AMTFDR task force is a "good step" toward improving cooperation among American Muslims.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations' government relations director, Corey Saylor, agreed with Aboulmagd on the need to mobilize and cooperate. He said that although providing relief is not the purpose of his organization, "our faith compels us to help out in humanitarian events."
Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities in the United States, had raised almost $1 million online alone through Oct. 13, 2005, or about 10 times the amount raised by Save the Children. Other organizations reported similar success.
"Donors are responding really well," said Arif Shaikh, a spokesman for Islamic Relief. "A lot of mosques have been collecting money on our behalf, and our phones have been ringing off the hooks with people wanting to make contributions."
Mohammed Alomari, deputy director of programs at Life for Relief and Development, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization founded by Iraqi Americans after the 1991 Persian Gulf war, said donations from individuals and other non-Islamic organizations have been "pretty good, considering all the other emergencies we've had this year."
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the F.B.I. cracked down on several Muslim charities in the United States, contending that they served as financial conduits for terrorist operations. The Justice Department froze the assets of several Muslim organizations, and at least two prominent Muslim donors who contributed to those organizations were arrested.
Those actions caused great bitterness and wariness about giving among Muslims, whose leaders often note that the government has not publicly provided evidence for its suspicions.
The enormousness of the disaster in Pakistan, too, has overcome the fears of Muslim donors that their contributions might be considered financing for terrorist organizations by the American government.
"I think the sheer scale of the suffering we're seeing is prompting people to put aside whatever caution they might have had since 9/11 and dig deep to do whatever they can," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"Sure, there are still concerns among Muslims about donating, but the situation is much better than it used to be even a year ago," said Faiz Rehman, president of the National Council of Pakistani Americans. "There's more confidence and more comfort within the community because people have seen that whatever happened to Muslim charities after 9/11, there are still a lot of Muslim charities around and they take that as proof that everything is in order."
A spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, which has listed 41 charities abroad that it says are fund-raising fronts for terrorist organizations, said it had issued nothing new in anticipation of charitable giving for the earthquake.
The government has made no official statement on the potential for charity aimed at Pakistani earthquake victims falling into the wrong hands.
But the State Department has recommended that donors give to the American Red Cross, which has little direct involvement in relief operations in the affected region, or its international counterpart, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. The United Nations Foundation also has created a South Asia Earthquake Response Fund, and President Pervez Musharraf) of Pakistan has started a similar, officially approved charity for earthquake victims. (Media Reports)
Here are some of the organizations working for disaster relief in Pakistan
EDHI Foundation
http://www.paks.net/edhi-foundation/
Islamic Relief
http://www.irw.org/
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief
http://wwwreliefonline.org/index.html
Hidaya Foundation
http://www.hidaya.org
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
http://www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp
World Food Program (United Nations):
http://www.wfp.org/how_to_help/donate_online/online.asp?section=4&sub_section
UNICEF:
http://www.unicef.org/
American Red Cross
Address 2025 E Street N.W.
20006 Washington D.C
Contact Information Tel: (1) (202) 303.52.79 (General) / (1) (202) 303.52.11 (International Policy and Relations)
Pakistan Red Crescent Society
www.prcs.org.pk
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