Answering the Qurbani Question: Where and How to Give?

How and where are you giving your Qurbani this year? Like many Muslim families in the United States, my family asks the same questions: Can we give Qurbani here (where we live in the U.S.) by ourselves? Should we have family living abroad perform and distribute our Qurbani? How can we get the meat from Qurbani to those who really need it?

Last week, my family and I sat around the dinner table and tried to answer these difficult questions for this year’s Qurbani. My father-in-law, who had returned from a lecture at our local mosque, told us how the speaker, a visiting mufti, related the story behind Eid-al-Adha, why we give Qurbani/Udhiyah and how to go about doing it. The best way, the mufti said, is to bring the goat (sheep, camel or cow, whatever you will be sacrificing) to your home and let your attachment to that animal grow a bit.

That way, the mufti said, when you sacrifice the animal, it will be a little difficult for you, but you will do it for the sake of Allah (swt). That will more closely mimic the difficulty the Prophet Ibrahim had when Allah asked him to sacrifice his son Ismail, and at the last minute, Allah replaced Ismail with a sheep for the sacrifice.

That got me to thinking: Surely doing the Qurbani by your own hand is ideal, but as all things evolve and change, so have our lifestyles. In the United States (and I suspect many countries), it’s difficult, if not impermissible, to bring an animal into your home and perform the Qurbani there. Many areas organize a Qurbani where you can go and perform the sacrifice yourself, but often they permit you to do only one.

And in our family, we have five Qurbanis to do. So this year, we’ve decided to utilize Islamic Relief USA’s Udhiyah/Qurbani program and get a number of our Qurbanis done abroad, perhaps in India or Pakistan (still figuring the location out). The more we thought about it, the more it made sense: We make our niyyat (intention) when we fill out the Qurbani donation form online, the sacrifice is done on our behalf and all the meat will go to people who really need it.

One we will do here where we live, so we can go through the process ourselves, and we will distribute the meat to friends and family, the less fortunate and keep a third for ourselves. And Alhamdulillah, I have immense peace of mind that our other Qurbanis will be taken care of Islamically as well.

There are a lot of options out there for how you can give your Qurbani/Udhiyah, and there are thousands of people around the world who desperately need that meat — it's often the only meat they receive the entire year. Consider giving your Qurbani online through Islamic Relief USA, and may Allah (swt) accept our intentions and bless us all.

-- Dilshad D. Ali

In D.C., Artistry Weds Charity for an 'Evening of Inspiration'

The prayer rugs were laid out in Lisner Auditorium for Maghrib, the evening prayer, just before the show was about to begin. Event producers were charging through the arena, backstage one moment taking dinner orders and on stage the next confirming sound and light adjustments. Volunteers were huddled outside the auditorium entrance going over last-minute plans and preparing to disperse momentarily to man their stations. Everyone had his or her game face on, and I had my camera in hand.

This year marks Islamic Relief USA’s fifth annual Evening of Inspiration (EOI) benefit concert to raise money and awareness for children in need worldwide, but it was my first time attending an EOI concert. As I watched hundreds of people pour into Lisner Auditorium to attend the event, I felt a rush of excitement for the opportunity to see Native Deen and Maher Zain perform live.

I went backstage to get a glimpse of the artists’ pre-performance and found Native Deen members Naeem Muhammad, Joshua Salaam and Abdul-Malik Ahmad in mid-dua’a, asking Allah for guidance and blessings. Soon, event host Karim Amin called the group to the stage and the show was on.

As I shifted from one location to another in the front row and backstage to capture the night in images, I found myself singing along with Native Deen’s rendition of “Tala’al Badru Alayna” and Maher Zain’s “Ya Nabi Salam Alayka.” The beats and lyrics worked synonymously to capture the audience, which ranged in age from infants to the elderly.

As the evening played on like a song itself, children graced the stage to sing along with the artists. The evening was all about children — from those who inspired the event (the ones in need) to those who attended the event. Children in need worldwide may have never heard of Maher Zain and Native Deen, but the cause for which these faithful artists sang was a higher one. I had little hope of capturing that on camera.

-- Muneeza Tahir

IR USA Joins Board of Directors at 'Alliance to End Hunger'

Strengthening a Partnership to End Hunger

After a three-year membership, Islamic Relief USA (IR USA) has joined the board of directors of the Alliance to End Hunger, a group of corporations, nonprofit groups, universities and religious institutions all working toward the goal of fostering real change to end world hunger. “The initiative allows us an opportunity not only to interact with peer NGOs on the issues of global and domestic food security, but helps us learn from corporate and private organizations doing this work as well,” said IR USA’s Director of Public Affairs Christina Tobias-Nahi.

In the past, IR USA has collaborated with the Alliance to host speakers on school feedings, including Jordan’s Minister of Education Mohammed Jum’a Okour. Ambassador Tony Hall, managing director of the Alliance, was a keynote speaker at IR USA’s 2009 Ramadan iftar and at the Interfaith Anti-Hunger Leaders Conference IR USA hosted last April. Additionally, IR USA has published an annual Ramadan Advocacy Guide in collaboration with the Alliance for the past three years.

“The partnership helps us to better educate our own community on this all-important issue and how we can contribute to the solution,” said Tobias-Nahi. “The first United Nations Millennium Development Goal is ‘Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger,’ and we all — organizations and individuals alike — have a role to play.”
The Alliance will host its first-ever hunger summit to be held in Washington, D.C., in April 2011.

Ambassador Tony Hall, managing director of the Alliance to End Hunger and retired member of Congress (D-OH), related this message about the problem of global hunger:

“Day in and day out, sunrise to sunset, more than 1 billion people in our world face hunger. While it takes 19 cents to feed a hungry child, every five seconds a child dies of hunger. In the richest country in the world, nearly 50 million of our neighbors — 17 million children — struggle to put food on the table during the month. This is our reality, but if we act, it does not have to be.”

--Muneeza Tahir

Slideshow: Evening of Inspiration in Washington, D.C.

See exclusive concert footage of Maher Zain and Native Deen from their performance at last weekend's 2010 Evening of Inspiration concert in Washington, D.C. -- with all proceeds benefitting children in need projects at Islamic Relief USA. Thanks for coming out!


-- Photos by Muneeza A. Tahir

'Day of Dignity' Serves Impoverished in New York City's Brooklyn and Manhattan

New York, New York

Karim Amin

Every time I drive past Exit 9 on the New Jersey turnpike, I feel a shot of energy. The air, traffic and scenery transforms: The autumn-colored trees and rest stops that line the highway are replaced by sprawling buildings and billboards. My mindset changes to a New York state of mind. But underneath all the bright lights of Broadway and the massive bridges that connect this metropolis are the often unheard stories of people in need.

This is the sixth year that Islamic Relief USA hosted Day of Dignity in New York. The weekend of events kicked off in Brooklyn at Masjid Al-Taqwa, the home of Imam Siraj Wahaj. Dozens of volunteers from all over the city converged on this historic mosque to serve the community. The line wrapped around the building. Recipients received basic health check-ups, clothing and food.

Each beneficiary was greeted at the end of the line with a warm meal and drink. Toward the end of the event, Imam Siraj Wahaj stopped by his mosque and provided a boost of energy to the volunteers who had worked so hard to organize this event.

The next day started with the same energy as the first. Recipients lined up outside of the Saint Francis Xavier Church in midtown Manhattan. As some of the city’s homeless and working poor entered the building, they were welcomed with goods and meals.

“This is a great example of interfaith work,” said a St. Xavier staff member. “There are Muslims organizing an event at a Catholic church, with donations (book bags and school kits) from the Mormon church with Jewish volunteers.”

That is the beauty of Day of Dignity. It marries dignity with giving and brings together diverse groups for a common cause — to simply help those who need it, no matter where they are from or where they are going.


--Karim Amin is IR USA's Day of Dignity and domestic programs coordinator

photo: Bilal Aslam

Extending the Spolight on Breast Cancer Past October

October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness. But as the month winds down, it's important for us to realize that this is a disease that affects hundreds of thousands of women and men around the world, so the spotlight on breast cancer shouldn't end when October turns into November.

We must continue to fight for research, better medicines and more funding to find a cure. Yesterday was Global Pink Day — one special day when we were all asked to wear pink to draw attention to breast cancer. Did you wear pink for breast cancer awareness and for those suffering from this disease?

Consider these facts from the American Cancer Society:

Every 69 seconds, somewhere in the world, a woman dies of breast cancer.

Almost 500,000 women and men will die of breast cancer in just this year alone.

Islamic Relief USA staff and volunteers in Dallas, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for a number of years because we feel this is a very important cause, and we must do what we can to help bring an end to breast cancer. For us, like for so many around the world, this is not just an issue. It's personal. Many of us at IR USA have had a friend or family member diagnosed with breast cancer or have lost a loved one to this disease.

Please share your support for this cause and wear pink on the last days of this month. Put on a pink shirt or headscarf. Pin a pink ribbon to your clothes. Make your profile picture on Facebook a pink one. Tweet pink. Or take it one step further and sign up to walk with IR USA or with any local group next year. Every little bit helps, insha’Allah.

-- Nazia A. Hossein, National Volunteer Coordinator for Islamic Relief USA

Maher Zain, Native Deen kick off tour to benefit children in need

Evening of Inspiration officially kicked off this past weekend with concerts in San Diego, Calif.; Campbell, Calif.; and Richardson, Texas.

Acclaimed artists Maher Zain and Native Deen teamed up with Islamic Relief USA to tour the country, helping raise money for Islamic Relief’s projects that serve children in need. More than $200,000 was raised at the events.

The benefit tour, officially called Evening of Inspiration, lived up to the event’s title with inspiring lyrics and humble stories from the performers.

One of Native Deen’s band members, Naeem Muhammad, told the crowd in San Diego, which was estimated to be nearly 1,000 strong, that the hip-hop group had originally planned to perform in the United Kingdom but chose to tour with Islamic Relief USA because of the event’s cause.

“We had a chance to perform internationally in front of thousands of people in London, but we chose to join Islamic Relief, go city to city, across the country, to be involved with their great work,” Muhammad said afterward.

“Native Deen has toured throughout Africa and visited Islamic Relief’s work in Mali,” he added. “We are inspired by their commitment to helping children, and we hope to invest our music career into the lives of young people around the world. So it’s a perfect match.”

Don’t miss your chance to enjoy the music of Native Deen and Maher Zain while helping children in need.

Evening of Inspiration will be coming to Rahway, N.J., on Oct. 30 and Washington, D.C., on Oct. 31.

To purchase tickets or to read more about Evening of Inspiration, please click here.

To donate to Islamic Relief’s children’s projects, click here.

-Zeyad Maasarani