FEED THE HUNGRY EVENT AUGUST 6th 2010
The journey of the 400 brown bags… by Akmal Niyazmatov
When forty U.S. billionaires pledged on August 4 to give at least half of their wealth to charity, two dozen volunteers from the Islamic Society of Michiana (ISM) gathered at the local mosque of South Bend to sort and pack food items into mid-size brown bags. They were working on the final stage of their project to distribute free food to those in need. They were able to raise enough money for 400 brown bags. The distribution of bags was scheduled for August 6.
To spread the word about the project, ISM members visited several local churches, handed over event flyers and requested church leaders to announce the event during their congregations.
On August 6, “Feed the hungry” and “Food for Free” read colorful signs at the intersection of South Olive and Ford Street of South Bend. A group of teenage girls wearing hijab (head covering worn by Muslim women) was standing behind the tables, smiling and encouragingly distributing brown bags to the visitors. Meanwhile, a group of teenage boys was continuously stocking the tables with the bags and welcoming the visitors to help themselves. Each brown bag contained rice, dried beans, apples, potatoes, cans of tuna, green peas, sweet corn, peanut butter, boxes of macaroni, noodle soup, and quick oats.
The food drive and distribution were organized by the Islamic Society of Michiana. ISM is a non-profit organization that has been serving the Muslim community of the Michiana area, including South Bend, Elkhart, Goshen, Niles, and Plymouth, for more than 10 years. Though small, ISM has an extremely diverse membership. If the muezzin (the one who proclaims the call for prayer) is from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the imam (the leader of the mosque) is from India. You will see community members from Africa who speak Arabic, Swahili, or French, members from South-East Asia speaking Urdu or Hindi, members from Europe speaking Bosnian or Turkish, members from Central Asia speaking Uzbek, Tajik, or Russian, and members from the Middle East speaking in different dialects of Arabic.
These types of activities have never been as important as they are now. Today there are over three billion people, which is almost half of the world’s population, who live on less than $2.50 a day. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that 6 million children die from hunger-related illnesses every year. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2008 that the official number of the poor in the U.S. is about 40 million. Of those, about 18 million lived in households that were considered to have “very low food security,” which means one or more people in the household were hungry over the course of the year because of the inability to afford enough food.
What was the inspiration for ISM members of different ages to be actively engaged in this type of activity? No doubt, their primary inspiration was their desire to put into action the Quranic injunction that reads: “And they feed, for the love of God, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive, (saying), ‘We feed you for the sake of God alone: Neither do we desire reward from you, nor thanks”’ (Al-Insan, 76:8-9). In a similar line, when asked why this type of activity is important, Doctor Abduzafar Arif recalled prophetic tradition which commands that the one cannot become a good Muslim if he goes to sleep with a full stomach knowing that his neighbor is hungry.
For Zahraa Naseer, a 16-year old teenager, the event had additional meaning. For her it was about appreciating the blessings we have and realizing that there are some among us that are less fortunate and need special attention and care. The event was also a unique opportunity for her to better acquaint herself with her community members so that she could think of future activities that would better address community needs.
Muhammad Serajuddin, the imam at the Islamic Society of Michiana, brought up yet another perspective. For him, this type of activity that ISM organizes 3-5 times each year is not only “faith in action,” but also a work of important outreach that can serve as a tool to introduce the Muslim community of the Michiana area to the community at large.
It is noteworthy that the event was organized just 5 days before the start of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of fasting for Muslims. Fasting requires refraining from eating, drinking, and sexual activities from dawn until sunset. The main purpose behind fasting is to teach patience, modesty, and spirituality. Describing fasting, the famous 13th century Muslim poet, jurist, and theologian Rumi noted that “[t]here is an unseen sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.” One way of understanding the sweetness that comes with being hungry is realizing the blessings bestowed upon us and the hardships that some of the less fortunate among us might be going through because of hunger, poverty, or illness.
Shortly before 6pm, all 400 bags had been distributed and the area cleaned from empty bags and boxes. Before leaving the place, organizers already started talking about the importance of keeping this type of activity going and when the next one, and in what form, should take place. True, extending a helping hand to the community is not a one day job. In order to heal hearts and make a change it should be continuous. The journey of the brown bags should go on…
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