By Shazah Sabuhi
On Sunday, July 13th, 50 volunteers came together at Masjid Al-Wali in Edison to prepare over 300 meals as part of its first Drive Against Hunger. The project was a collaboration with The Hunger Van, which is a service provided by Muslims Against Hunger.
Zamir Hasan, Founder and President of Muslims Against Hunger, presented to the group at the start of the afternoon. He defined “hunger” as the inability to know from where one’s next meal will come. The devastating reality, he informed the group, is that nearly 49 million Americans are hungry by this definition, and one million of them live in New Jersey. Muslims, he said, believe that they are not to go to sleep at night if they learn that their neighbors are hungry. It is obligatory upon them to feed those around them who do not have food.
Sabin Shaikh Amanullah, the organizer of Sunday’s event at Masjid Al-Wali, assigned volunteers to one of two shifts. In the first, the volunteers prepared and packaged sandwiches and salads. In the second, they transported the meals to Newark, where they distributed them.
The youngest volunteers exhibited their enthusiasm in every step of the process, from preparation to packaging to delivery.
Muslims around the world are currently in the midst of Ramadan, a month on the Islamic calendar during which they fast everyday from sunrise to sunset. The volunteers who assembled today – including members of the mosque’s Board of Trustees – believe that access to healthy food is a right that belongs to all and that their fasting status does not preclude them from fulfilling their responsibilities towards their neighbors.
