Volunteers From The Muslim Community Celebrate Eid By Helping Victims Of Harvey

Volunteers from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA’s youth group helped out anyone who needed help in the flooded city of Houston. They were welcomed with warmth in spite of the targeting of the Muslim community in Texas. Some of the residents even recognised them by name. An elderly women remembered the group helping her out two years ago. The group of volunteers chose the festival of Eid al-Adha and celebrated it by helping out the community.

The Muslim community in Texas has faced harassment and has been targeted. The refugees from Syria were not allowed to settle in Texas as the state government cited concerns for safety. Various mosques around the state were vandalised and the women wearing a hijab or a headdress were harassed as well. The President of the youth group, Dr. Bilal Rana, found himself singled out and detained on a flight back to Houston two years ago. In spite of all this and the added tense political climate, volunteers from the Muslim community responded to the flooding in 2015, 2016 and now in 2017.

The volunteers have rescued nearly a score of people by boat, have distributed chicken dinners and other food that they prepared in a mosque despite the flood damage there, and have gone door-to-door to help out residents either clean-up or lift heavy stuff. They are helping the residents to haul away wet furniture and rip out the soaked drywall. They helped out the elderly primarily, helping out with the removal of soggy mattresses and soaked debris.

Dr. Bilal Rana, a 38-year-old anaesthesiologist, said that actions like these help weed out the negative thoughts that people harbour against the Muslim youth. He also said that the volunteers had not received any opposition but were welcomed everywhere they could help. One of the volunteers said that the group felt compelled to help because of both their faith, Eid al-Adha celebrating sacrifice, and their upbringing.