August | 2013 | Maliyka is health

I get overjoyed when I hear of others selflessly giving of themselves whether it be time or money. I even more overjoyed at this organization’s desire to help all. As a Muslim who has been on this earth long enough to see Muslims painted with the same broad stroke…terrorist< I am extremely happy that there are a lot of Muslim organizations i.e. Muslims who refute those claims on a daily basis.

My heart is full at the efforts that the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has put forth to enable to children to have the tools that they need to succeed in school. As Muslims, we are taught that we should learn from the cradle to the grave. The problem is, that you need the proper tools to do this. With so many parents struggling to provide food, shelter, and clothing sometimes the necessary things needed to obtain a quality education fall to the wayside. In a time when things are so expensive sometimes food on the table outweighs 3-ringed binders.

Across the country, ICNA will be giving out school supplies to all children in need regardless of their religion. I commend them for their efforts and wish them success. Hopefully, this endeavor will grow and be in every city in the United States. To do that, they need donations. I support this organization not only as a Muslim but as a philanthropist who believes in supporting quality philanthropic organizations.

You can go here to find the nearest donation site. Here’s to all having a happy and healthy school year.

Words of wisdom: “Charity looks at the need and not at the cause.” -Jewish Proverb

In health,

Maliyka

This coming Saturday along with hundreds of others, I will be embarking on a journey to where 50 years ago one of the greatest men marched for civil rights of African-American people. While others will be sleeping in the bed, my younger brother and I will be boarding a bus at 4:00 A.M. in the morning for the about 5 hour drive.

Fifty years ago, I wasn’t even born and my mother was only six years old. Yet, it is important to me that I be there to pay homage to those who treaded the path through the blood of the slaughtered. It is important that I stand and say that, while we have come aways we have not fully overcome. Many would like to believe that a Black President of the United States has made racial equality all the more better. That could not be furthest from the truth. We still live in a world where racism is clear. Rather then them calling you N*gg* to your face they are doing other things.

Have you ever wondered why, Black people make up least amount of the population in tis country yet are at the top of the list for everything negative. There are more black in prison. There are more blacks that suffer from chronic conditions. There are more blacks infected with the HIV/AIDS. More blacks die from breast cancer. Health disparities are seen in black neighborhoods.

So yeah, I felt that I have to be there on Saturday to march for the rights of people who are still being denied basic things like adequate education and health care. They are being denied the right to live and grow old. They are being gunned down because they seem to be a thug only because they are wearing a hoodie or didn’t turn down their music. They are being policed by crooked police who use their guns and badges like billy clubs and waterhoses.

I have been fortunate to be blessed with a lot in spite of my race, my gender, and even my religion. I believe that I have a duty to get on a bus and let this country know that while they have come a long way…they still have a long way to go when it comes to valuing the civile rights of black people. After all, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Words of wisdom: “The revolution is at hand, and we must free ourselves of the chains of political and economic slavery. The nonviolent revolution is saying, “We will not wait for the courts to act, for we have waited hundreds of years. We will not wait for the President, nor the Justice Department, nor Congress, but we will take matters into our own hands, and create a great source of power, outside of any national structure that could and would assure us victory.” For those who have said, “Be patient and wait!” we must say, “Patience is a dirty and nasty word.” We cannot be patient, we do not want to be free gradually, we want our freedom, and we want it now. We cannot depend on any political party, for the Democrats and the Republicans have betrayed the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence” John Lewis

In health,
Maliyka