DC/Maryland/Virginia Chapter
ICNA DMV would like to announce a great new program! Free Online Tutoring Service Assalamo Alaikum, ICNA DMV area chapters are excited to announce a new free program for our area students. Under the current circumstances, we recognize a need many parents have to offer some additional help to their young students. Alhumdulillah, our community is also full of talented youth and adults who would love to help out by volunteering as tutors. ICNA DMV is providing a platform to bring both sides together under the supervision of our local chapter brothers and sisters. The ICNA program administrators will match the right students with the appropriate tutors and manage the program by providing oversight and guidance, and ensuring that we offer the very best service to our community, Inshallah. Subjects: Math, Science, Physics, Chemistry, English, Spanish, or let us know and we will find a tutor who can teach that subject. Please use two buttons above to sign up as a student or as a volunteer. Here are answers to some common questions that you may have: Q. If I register as a student, am I guaranteed to get a spot in the program? A. Program administrator will do their best to match the needs of students with the available tutors but registration is just your request and the administrators have to be able to find a volunteer tutor for the requested subject and meet other program requirements to offer a program for you. Q. How long it will take for you to make a decision after my registration? A. We commit to getting back to you within one week Inshallah. If we cannot find an exact match for your needs, we will be happy to discuss other options. Q. How long is the Tutoring Program? A. Each program will consist of 8 sessions, 45 minutes each, for eight consecutive weeks. You will sign up for a program by subject. Q. Is this one-to-one tutoring or a group study? A. This will be Inshallah one-to-one tutoring based on agreed upon subjects. Q. Will I be able to get the time and subjects I requested? A. Inshallah, the program administrators will do their best to match the right student with the right tutors who can meet the subject and timing needs. However, registration is not a guarantee of being approved for a program. Q. Can I sign up for more than one program at a time? A. Yes, you can request more than one subject and ICNA team will decide based on availability of tutors if more than one subject can be offered to one student at a time. Q. Can I sign up again after first 8 week program? A. Yes, you can again sign up for future programs. ICNA team will decide based on availability of tutors. Q. What online platforms we can use for this tutoring? A. Most of our local students use Zoom or Google Meet to conduct online studies. Our tutors will also use the same tools as needed Inshallah. Q. How do you select your volunteer Tutors? A. Alhumdulillah, we have a team of local brothers who come from academic backgrounds and they will evaluate the ability of the tutor to tech the subject matter at the required grade level. Also, we will require all tutors to consent for background checks and clearance from the Child Abuse Registry as per local laws. Apart from this, we also require our tutors to provide references that will be checked to ensure only those are allowed to engage with our students who have the best moral character and great academic ability, Inshallah. Have more questions, please reach out to the program administrators at icnadmvchapter@gmail.com
Mosque opens first-of-its-kind food pantry
One man, an Uber driver from a community near Valley Stream, was in a car accident and lost his job, which left him wondering how he would find money to feed his children. Another, a woman from Queens living in a shelter with her two children, was unsure where they would find their next meal. Similarly, a single mother from Center-each did not know how she would feed her five children.
Police, Muslim Community Join Forces to Distribute Backpacks to 400 Jersey City Children
JERSEY CITY, NJ – Volunteers from Islamic Circle of North America Relief (ICNA) joined with Jersey City police officers Saturday to give out 400 backpacks filled with schools supplies as well as 500 slices of pizzas.
Queens lawmaker partners with AAFE urging full census participation at Flushing food pantry
With 21 days to go before a federal deadline to end the count for the 2020 Census, Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) and Council member Peter Koo joined with ICNA Relief at its weekly food distribution in Flushing on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to help community members complete their census questionnaires.
September is National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning – for now and throughout the year. As our nation continues to respond to current disasters (pandemic, fires, floods, hurricanes), there is no better time than now to create your preparedness plan.
As the Islamic Year Begins: Hijri 1442 AH
By Shaykh Abdool Rahman Khan The Muslim New Hijri Year of 1442 began on August 20th, 2020. This year both the Common Era (CE) and the Al-Hijrah (AH) have a lot to record that later generations would wonder how did how did humanity cope with so many calamities? Calamities that have never been witnessed in modern times!
PPP a ‘bridge’ for North Shore nonprofits in a dry time
Nonprofit organizations across the North Shore said that loans from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) helped sustain them as streams of revenue were cut off.
Teen-founded Nonprofit Helping Through COVID-19
Brianna and her family then came together to help others in need: The Subins were soon collecting gift cards, clothing, and toys for families who had been hit hard by the pandemic, and Bake Back America was officially born.
Transition home offers solutions for women with no place else to go
Muna had only been in the U.S. for a few years when she and her husband decided to separate. A refugee from Iraq, Muna spoke little English. Other than her children, she had no family in the country and had never lived on her own before. “Where can I go?” she thought. She called the International Rescue Committee and they recommended a women’s transition house. The house, run by ICNA Relief, an Islamic charity organization, had strict rules. But Muna was glad to find a safe place to stay, and one with an Islamic environment. In a quiet neighborhood in East Plano, the ICNA transition house provides a roof — and stability — for women who have no other place to go. It’s open to women of all faiths and does not promote any religious beliefs. But it also addresses the unique needs of Muslim women, which ICNA Relief’s leadership says is not the case in other area shelters. Clients face a wide range of circumstances. Some have experienced chronic homelessness, while others, like Muna, have left their husbands and have no work experience. Former residents say the home helped them become independent and confident. Muna and another client agreed to speak with The Dallas Morning News on the condition that only their first names be used for privacy reasons. Unlike a traditional shelter, transitional housing is intended to be a long-term solution to help those experiencing homelessness gain self-sufficiency. This transition home is one of the few in North Texas that serves women experiencing homelessness. Community leaders endorse the house’s mission. Imam Omar Suleiman, founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, says the house’s staff members make their clients feel welcome. “They work from such a deep sense of purpose and faith, that they’re really vested in the real success of the victims…” he said. Strict requirements The transition house is one of 23 houses nationwide operated by ICNA Relief. Since resources are limited, all have strict eligibility requirements, only accepting women who are able-bodied, have no serious mental health issues and have not been involved in a partner-abuse situation. The Dallas home, which at any given time can house up to 10 people, was built in October 2018. Since then, it has served 22 women and 18 children. Only three women have backslid into homelessness, all struggling with their mental health, said Hala Halabi, who oversees refugee programs for ICNA Relief and is the transition home’s site director. Halabi helps manage multiple programs for ICNA Relief in North Texas but spends a lot of time on this one. “We don’t call it a shelter, because it’s not a shelter,” she said. “It is a program that helps sisters to stand on their feet again.” Halabi said that women would call her, crying. They felt out of place at shelters in the area. Some were forced to eat pork since there were few other food options at shelters, she said. Others might get bullied for wearing the hijab or for praying. Suleiman says discrimination against Muslim women in shelters is a common experience. Shelters are overwhelmed, he said, and sometimes don’t have the time or willingness to understand the unique needs of Muslims. That doesn’t happen at the transition home, where ICNA Relief provides halal meat, and women can practice their religion free of judgment in private rooms. A messy separation Muna’s separation from her husband was messy, and their kids got caught in the middle. He ended up calling Child Protective Services, but the mother retained custody. A few months later, a teacher noticed a mark on one of the kids’ faces and reported it to child protective services, and the children were taken from Muna, said Halabi. ICNA Relief helped place the kids in a foster home run by a Muslim family. “Everything was new. I didn’t know anything,” Muna said in Arabic. “With my husband, with the house, with the new living space and the situation with my children.” After leaving the transition house, Muna reconciled with her husband to regain custody of her kids. CPS recently visited her new apartment and deemed it a safe living space for the kids, Halabi said. ICNA Relief helps clients with food, jobs and transportation. Through donations, the organization provided Muna with a car and helped her find an overnight shift at a warehouse in Farmers Branch. The East Plano Islamic Center has typically supported the transition house with $1,000 each month, said Riyad Chowdhury, who handles finances for the mosque. The center has also provided financial assistance for some of the women after they leave the home. Chowdhury says ICNA Relief needs a second transition house in North Texas, given the current economic crisis. “Sister Hala is doing a very good job,” he said. “But she’s a one-person show in this area.” Improving their skills Sumbal, a Pakistani immigrant, stayed at the Dallas transition home for a year. Her husband cheated on her, then kicked her out of their home, leading a friend to recommend the transition house. At first, Sumbal said she had a difficult time adjusting to the house’s strict rules. Residents are not allowed in the house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. During these working hours, they must be out, either working, looking for a job or improving their skills. This includes their children, who in a normal life would have to be dropped off at a babysitter or daycare. These rules did not apply during the stay-at-home orders. “We don’t give them a chance to be lazy,” Halabi said. Still, ICNA Relief helps them find jobs and people to look after their kids. Sumbal said the home’s rules taught her how to manage everyday life and become independent. At weekly meetings, she discussed her goals with Halabi and other case managers. She learned how to multitask, manage her time and think critically. “When I first got there, I didn’t have a lot of confidence,” Sumbal said in Urdu. She was concerned that she would not be able
