| JOHANNESBURG--The
popular image of Islam, particularly in the more
Islamic fundamentalist countries, is that of
women being almost second-class citizens, compelled
to
wear veils and denied their rightful place in
public life. Come, then, to a booth at the Nasrec
Expo
Center, where the NGO activities for the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) are
being held, and meet Suraya Hassim.
She
is looking after the booth titled "Islamic Relief
Fund," a South Africa-based NGO, which was set
up in 1968. The Islamic Relief Fund is entirely run
by women, rare for an Islamic organization and counter
to what most people imagine about Islam. Its funding
comes from the Islamic community in South Africa.
"Our main objective is to train people
to earn a livelihood and also to feed the poor
and the destitute," explains Hassim. Some
200,000 children are fed by this NGO every
month through feeding schemes. "We also
have projects to train people how to sew, to
make bricks, do welding, gardening and acquire
similar skills, so that they can support themselves
and their families, with the aim of becoming
self-sufficient." Another project is called "Dawaah," which
means "propagation" in Arabic. "This
is to teach people about Islam," elaborates
Hassim.
She admits that much of the activities of
Islamic Relief Fund is oriented towards Muslims,
of which she estimates there are over a million
in South Africa, comprising Asians, coloreds,
Africans, and even whites.
"But we are also working in the squatter
camps, among black South Africans, where we
are building better homes for the very poor," she
says. "The intention is to give these
people a better place to live in, until the
government provides them adequate housing."
Though the
government would not like to admit it, there
is "great starvation" in
South Africa, she continues. "South Africa
is a very rich country, but it has a lot of
poor people."
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