04 June 2007
“Muslims Care” Campaign Improves American Health, Communities
Muslim team wears pink at breast cancer walk
Washington -- Summer in the United States is often a time to slow down the pace of everyday life, and for many, including some American Muslims, to get to know neighbors and solve shared problems.
The Muslims Care campaign is a summer volunteer program launched three years ago to encourage Muslims to help their communities. Monthlong themes offer ideas of ways for Muslims to contribute to American society, said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which spearheads the campaign. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, with 33 chapters in the United States and Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
To kick off the third annual campaign, a team of 40 Muslims raised money and awareness to fight breast cancer by walking in the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure in Washington on June 5.
"We were proud to be part of the race and hope that the combined efforts of all those involved will bring us that much closer to a cure for breast cancer," said CAIR’s Rabiah Ahmed.
“Oftentimes we get so caught up with our own issues and affairs that we forget to help someone in need or to do a good deed, which is so important to Islam,” Ahmed told USINFO.
Muslims in America have busy professional lives, Ahmed said, but it is their duty to be good neighbors concerned with issues that affect many, including disease and hunger.
MUSLIMS WEAR PINK
Nearly 45,000 people participated in the five-kilometer race/walk to benefit the work of the Komen Foundation, a nongovernmental organization devoted to breast cancer research and awareness. Many participants, including the Muslim team sponsored by CAIR, walked together in families and groups, including 35 international teams hosted by embassies, Sloane Burke, coordinator of the Komen race, told USINFO. (See related article.)
The Muslim team carried a "Muslims Care" banner, and many of the Muslim women participants wore pink hijabs, Islamic head scarves, symbolizing breast cancer awareness, said Ahmed, the CAIR team leader.
Despite the fact that the race provided shortcuts for people who could not walk the distance, Ahmed said, “we didn’t take any shortcuts -- it felt great for our entire team to make it to the end.”
Worldwide, breast cancer causes 502,000 deaths a year, according to the World Health Organization, and it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women. Because there is no cure, education and early detection are the best defenses against it, according to the American Cancer Society.
At fundraising events, women in the United States wear pink to indicate that they have survived breast cancer or that they support breast cancer research.
CAMPAIGN TRANSLATES FAITH INTO DEEDS
The Muslims Care campaign’s theme for June is health awareness. In addition to participating in the Komen Race for the Cure and encouraging Muslims to sign up for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life races, held throughout the country all summer long, CAIR offers other ideas for Muslims to help. Suggested projects include organizing mental health awareness days and health fairs at mosques, volunteering at hospitals and nursing homes, and organizing blood drives through the American Red Cross.
July’s theme is helping needy communities. During that month Muslims will volunteer their services to people who need their help.
August’s focus will be on youth. Muslims will address the pressures faced by youth at home, at school and in their communities by co-sponsoring events with i-SAFE America Inc., an organization that offers Internet safety programs to young people.
Mosques around the country also will be hosting information seminars on adoption and foster care and encouraging Muslims to volunteer with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, a youth-mentoring program in the United States. Some mosques will sponsor a school supplies drive to provide pens, paper, calculators and computers to children.
“We are encouraged to assume a broad role in society by working to improve the communities in which we live,” said Awad. “Islam is a religion of deeds, and we need to put our faith into action by working to make the world a better place.”
Additional information about Muslims Care is available on the group’s Web site.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
