Canadian Muslims urged to reach out to Horn of Africa in spirit of Ramadan

August 5, 2011
EMERGENCY COMMUNITY APPEAL

Montreal, Quebec, August 5th, 2011- The Muslim Council of Montreal urges all Canadian Muslims to donate generously to the relief efforts in East Africa, in wake of the humanitarian crisis unfolding due to severe drought and famine.

“What is happening in East Africa is absolutely devastating and it is imperative that each of us does whatever we can to help,” stated Salam Elmenyawi, president of MCM. “Over 10 million people are in need of emergency aid, facing starvation, malnutrition and death. These aren’t just statistics; they are innocent men, women and children in need of our immediate assistance. Ramadan should be a time of charity, of helping those in needs and alleviating the suffering of others. We strongly urge everyone to open their hearts and donate generously before it is too late.”

MCM thanks the federal government for pledging to match donations dollar-for-dollar made by individual Canadians to registered Canadian charities responding to the famine, until September 16th. Moreover, $50 million in federal money, in addition to $22.3 million from the Canadian International Development Agency, has been provided in humanitarian assistance, making Canada the world’s largest per-capita donor to the relief effort in East Africa.

“Our government has set a good example of generosity for other countries around the world, as well as for all Canadians to follow,” Elmenyawi said. “As Muslims, we believe that giving in charity never diminishes wealth, so we should give without hesitation and pray for all those who are suffering.”

According to the United Nations, over 10 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of urgent help. Tens of thousands have already died and millions are at risk of starvation. Crops, livestock and homes have been completely destroyed. Malnutrition and child mortality rates have skyrocketed and the refugee camps are full beyond capacity.

MCM, together with JMF, will be collecting donations to send to Somalia. Cheques should be made out to JMH with a memo note of “MCM Somalia Relief.” MCM also encourages immediate donations to Human Concern International (http://humanconcern.org), Islamic Relief Canada (http://www.islamicreliefcanada.org) or to any other trustworthy, registered Canadian charity organization.

 

CONTACT:

Salam Elmenyawi

Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM)

Ph.: (514) 748-8427

E-mail: info@muslimcouncil.org

Website: http://www.muslimcouncil.org

 

The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is an umbrella organization representing a number of Islamic institutions in the Montreal region. There are over 275,000 Muslims in Montreal, about 1,200,000 in Canada and 1.9 billion worldwide.

 

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