On August 27, forty young men participated in team building activities and dhikr at Islamic Foundation in Villa Park at the Council’s “Qiyam under the stars” event planned by the Youth Development Department. The following night, nearly 80 girls listened to motivational guest speakers and enjoyed ice breaker games.

Thanks to local speakers, Sa’ad Quadri, Abdul Sittar and Tahera Ahmad, both events were very well-received by the youth.  The reason behind the theme for the night was based on the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him [paraphrased], “My companions are like stars, if you follow any of them, you will be rightly guided.”

“I liked the qiyam because the girls could unite as one and actually talk about their personal needs on Islam,” said Safia Khan.  “The food was great – it was nice to have iftar and suhur here, too.”

Read what other youth had to say

Vice-Chairperson of the Council, Tasneem Osmani and Executive Director, Mohamad Nasir along with several other Muslims attended the Aug. 27 hearing regarding a new zoning ordinance that may limit houses of worship in DuPage county residential areas.

“The new regulations appear to target Islamic and minority religious organizations, as they are the predominant groups currently seeking to establish new places of assembly in DuPage County,” said Osmani. “Secular schools are allowed to build and develop in residential areas, and thus the proposal discriminates against religious institutions. By excluding new religious institutions from residential areas, the County will force them to locate in high traffic and commercial areas, which contradicts the need for more intimate settings for religious practices.”  Read more

On August 26, Islamic Relief USA announced that it has increased its fundraising target for the Pakistan flood victims to $6 million.

“We are in a race against time to reduce the number of people who will die from malnutrition, diarrhea, malaria and cholera,” said Anwar Khan, VP of Fund Development, who just returned from a trip to devastated area. “Young, already malnourished children are the most at risk. And the most critical time to save lives is now.”

Islamic Relief is already administering camps housing thousands of internally displaced people and constructing sanitation facilities in Nowshera using fiberglass slabs. It is distributing family hygiene kits to benefit more than 20,000 people in Nowshera and Mardan, with 1,570 more kits on the way. It is transporting hundreds of tents to disaster zones for distribution and ordering 4,000 food parcels which are now ready for distribution to displaced families.

Islamic Relief has been working in Pakistan for the past two decades. For the seventh consecutive year, it has been awarded four stars by Charity Navigator, the largest charity evaluator in the country. This prestigious award puts IR USA among the top 2.25 percent of charities in the nation

The situation in Pakistan is not getting any better. Water-borne diseases are spreading and malnutrition and homelessness is on the rise. To make it simple to help the nearly 20 million victims, the Council has launched a “Save Pakistan” texting campaign. It is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Text 27138
2. To donate $25, enter in the message         Pakistan [space] 25        and hit send. You can donate any amount you wish.  
3. Someone will call to charge your credit card

“We encourage the community to donate generously by simply using your phone,” said Council Chairperson, Dr. Zaher Sahloul. “Encourage your friends and family to text their support during the upcoming Night of Power in Ramadan and at Eid prayers.”

Read more about the crisis:

• Donations for Pakistan flood victims lag, despite on-going crisis
• Pakistan flood damage will take at least three years to fix, president says as crisis worsens