How Muslims showed support for the LGBT* community this Ramadan

By Anisa Easterbrook

Surge in donations on JustGiving this Ramadan sees Muslims supporting a variety of good causes from showing solidarity with the LGBT* community to raising money for refugees and the homeless.

Last week, thousands of people celebrated Eid — marking the end of a month-long fast by Muslims across the world. People everywhere in Britain abstained from eating and drinking from dusk until dawn.

On JustGiving almost 6,000 donations have been made to charitable appeals launched in the spirit of Ramadan. That is an increase of nearly a quarter over the full-year total for 2015. Two-thirds of the donations we have seen have been made during the period of Ramadan, proving that it is indeed a peak time for charitable giving for followers of Islam.

This year various Muslim communities reached out to people to spread a message of love, peace and solidarity.

Support.

The Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council (IMPIC) invited members of the LGBT community to celebrate Eid with them this year via Facebook and Twitter posts.

Speaking to JustGiving, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri says: “We invited the LGBT* community to join us this year because Islam is a religion that teaches us to reach out to others and to be compassionate to every person, irrespective of their faith, background or relationship with God.”

Last year the IMPIC invited Jewish holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental to join in on the Eid celebrations, however this year Sheikh Omar explains they felt deeply saddened by the recent Orlando attack in a gay nightclub —

“We were so disheartened by the attack in Orlando that took place and so we extended our invitation to the LGBT community because we are all humans and those were our brothers and sisters in humanity who were killed”.

It isn’t just in Dublin that Muslims have been extending a hand of friendship and solidarity however.

Mohammed Yaser, who recently joined groups in London and Birmingham to support people in Cumbria affected by the flooding, has just finished fasting. He explains that during Ramadan, it is essential that you try and be the best form of yourself —

“Fasting is a time for us to reflect on ourselves and what we have. It is a time where you learn to be more appreciative of what you have and to think of others who are not as fortunate”.

During Ramadan, Muslims must pay Zakat. Zakat is a certain amount of money (depending on your yearly income) which you must donate to a charity of your choice.

Yaser says: “In the Koran, it states that you must never turn away someone in need. Giving is something which makes you feel good inside.”

This year he decided to team up with his mum and raise enough money to support and sponsor an orphan in Bangladesh for a year via Orphans In Need. He intends on raising enough money soon to be able to extend his support in future.

Whilst Yaser chose to donate this year, others chose to get into action and do their part to spread the spirit of Islam.

Solidarity.

College student, Zee Bukhari who’s just 18 years old, has also just finished fasting. She decided this year she would team up with a London based organisation called Who Is Hussain. “Every Saturday they do a food drive and we all help out, gather food in London and distribute it to the poor. I’ve also been raising money this month in hope that I can go to Greece and help the refugees. That’s something I really want to do and feel is important.”, Explains Zee.

She continues to say for her, fasting isn’t just something she does for God but also, in a way, a form of solidarity for those with less — “We all become unified during Ramadan. Some people aren’t lucky enough to get a meal at the end of the night with their family and having a better understanding of that makes you more appreciative of what you have and aware of those who don’t.”

Much of the Muslim faith have pulled together this year to help with the ongoing refugee crisis.

Dawood Masood who started the #NotInMyName hashtag speaks to JustGiving about why he feels compassion is at the heart of Islam. Masood is the founder of multiple charities aimed at helping the needy in both Britain and abroad.

Peace.

Masood tells JustGiving he has done a lot of humanitarian work in the past to help children in Syria however, this Ramadan Masood joined Quba Trust charity and raised £15,000 to fund food packages which were distributed to families in need. The packages were mainly received by widows and families in Lahore Pakistan. Masood explained that widows in Pakistan were often those in the most desolate situations as they don’t have the freedom in their country to work and so cannot support their families.

Given all that, JustGiving asked Masood what he would say to someone who felt Islam was a violent religion, to which he replied:

“I think the people who honestly believe that need to engage with Muslims a lot more. If they did, they would start to understand what the religion is truly about — peace, humbleness, love and beauty.”