Muslims Serving our Communities While 41 Million Go Hungry
The Models are there for Muslim & Other Communities to Respond to This Crisis Now
Support Chef Amor & El Xalal Tacos Feed the People in this Time of Crisis
These are insane times as fascism rises again here on Turtle Island, as a form of techno fascism replaces neoliberal capitalism with the goal of shrinking public services as monopolistic billionaires get richer and richer everyday. Starting November 1st, 41 million people, our communities, our families, children, and elders could loose access to food assistance through SNAP programs. Who knows how long this will go on for so we must act now and we have to normalize buying food for our neighbors if we can. Our community institutions, Mosques, restaurants, community cafes, and community and social media influencers must work together right now to serve the millions of people in need. There are clear examples of programs that can be set up quickly within a matter of days to serve food to the masses.
Over the last three years since we moved to the Pacific Northwest we have seen an incredible group of community based organizations and nonprofits who have led local mutual aid and zakat projects serving the most vulnerable people in our communities. Through programs developed by nonprofits like Adasha Turners organization, Modest Family Solutions, to mass feeding programs likes Wasat’s Neighborly Needs program rooted in South Seattle which has been a national leader for community led mutual aid work. Neoliberal capitalism has been taking resources from government and placing the burden on understaffed nonprofits for decades. True socialist infrastructure like what Zohran Mamadani is proposing in New York City is the only long term solution, working in partnership with well funded local organizations.
The Role of Mosques & Houses of Worship in These Times
The majority of our community leaders in the United States, the Imam’s and directors of Islamic centers know social services like SNAP, housing assistance, Medicare and Medicaid, and child care assistance because most of them have been beneficiaries of these programs at some point in their journey as a faith leader. Yet surprisingly, I have only seen one Mosque so far offering to serve food to their community as access to groceries are threatened for so many. That’s Mosque is Islah LA in Inglewood, California led by Imam Jihad Safir where they have put out a call for community assistance through LaunchGood where they have raised $20,000 so far. This money is being used to serve hot meals at the Islah LA campus every Friday for the month of November.
