04 September 2009
Muslim-American Community Service Initiative
Podcast on grassroots campaign, service projects Web site
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Narrator:
This is an America.gov podcast.
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In his Ramadan message to Muslims worldwide, President Obama recognized Muslim-American organizations engaged in volunteering and community service works. The president’s community service initiative, United We Serve, focuses on projects that address clean energy, education and literacy, health care access and awareness, economic recovery, disaster preparedness and support for veterans and military families. Muslim Americans are showing their support for Obama’s community service appeal by launching the Muslim Americans Answer the Call campaign.
The campaign is a national grassroots effort to mobilize every Muslim American to take part in the president’s initiative. The effort is led by Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The campaign aims to expand the effectiveness of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work, as well as encouraging volunteers to develop their own projects with friends, family and neighbors. The campaign also seeks to serve as an example of how Muslims Americans live their faith and their citizenship by serving their communities.
Mogahed also launched www.muslimSERVE.org, a Web site that identifies a national goal of 1,000 service projects for Muslim Americans. It provides information about different projects and a mechanism for recording Muslim-American contributions to the effort. The projects will be recorded in a final report for the president and the public.
In her speech at the recent Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention, Mogahed identified the goals of service for Muslim Americans:
• To answer President Obama’s call to help rebuild communities.
• To respond to the millions of Americans in need who have been hit hard by layoffs and foreclosures, or who do not have affordable health care and education, or need other social services.
• To answer God’s call to serve humanity to confirm faith with good works.
She also said many Muslims are already serving America — there are dozens of free and low-cost health care clinics run by Muslims, for example.
Some examples of the service projects under way and registered at www.serve.gov, the government Web site run in conjunction with United We Serve, include:
• The Day of Dignity project in Baltimore. This is a grassroots effort coordinated by Islamic Relief and involves volunteers who distribute clothing, hygiene items, toys and food and provide health screenings to homeless people.
• And Project Downtown, led by the Muslim Student Association and Project Downtown in Orlando, Florida. This initiative is led by Muslim youth across America to take bag lunches to homeless people, especially those living in the downtown areas of large cities. The goal is to meet their needs in any way possible, such as weekly food and clothes distribution, housing assistance, or help in finding a job.
Mogahed cited the importance of community service and engagement. Despite the challenges, she said, Americans are fortunate enough to be part of one of the most tolerant societies in the world. The goal should not be to live in a country that merely accepts Muslims, but rather one whose greatest aspirations are realized by their contributions.
Disclaimer:
This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.
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