Houston Muslim groups feed evacuees on 9/11 anniversary
Submitted by Pilgrim on September 11, 2005 - 11:34pm.
News and Links
I found this story heartening. And also think it demonstrates something General Clark points out as a common thread among various religions - those who have more helping those who have less.
By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press
About 2,000 Muslim volunteers helped victims of Hurricane Katrina at Houston's downtown convention center today — the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Muslim leaders from around the country who were in Houston for the volunteer effort said the anniversary was mere chance. But they welcomed the coincidence as an opportunity to highlight their faith's true meaning.
"We're not trying to prove anything, other than what our faith requires us to do," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Muslim American Society. "What goes with our faith is to help others, to respond and show compassion when people need it and I'm glad we can do it."
Parvez Ahmed, chairman of the board of the nonprofit Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Muslim leaders viewed Sunday's volunteer opportunity as another chance to show that the Sept. 11 attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists who do not represent the true meaning of their faith.
Thanks for posting this! It's a really great story and I hope a lot of people will see it.
Don't we owe it to ourselves to be all that we can be as a people of faith? To reach out and offer hope and opportunity to the least among us? - Wes Clark
This is the type of story that needs to be in every paper in the counry and on AlJazeera, to show how much the compassionate side of Islam is appreciated in the US.