US Muslims Pledge $10m for Katrina Victims

CAIRO, September 5, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - A coalition of major American Islamic groups have formed a task force to coordinate humanitarian relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, pledging to raise $10 million for the effort.

"It is a national and Islamic obligation to assist one’s neighbors when they are in need," Sayyid Syeed, the secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), said in a press release e-mailed to IslamOnline.net.

"The American Muslim community pledges to do its part in helping those Americans, of all faiths, who suffered such great losses in lives and property."

The Muslim Hurricane Relief Task Force (MHRTF) was announced at the 42nd annual convention of ISNA, currently in session in Chicago.

It comprises, in alphabetical order, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), ISNA, Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Relief, Kind Hearts, Life for Relief and Development, Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA).

CAIR last week urged American Muslims to offer assistance to alleviate the suffering of people impacted by Katrina.

The advocacy group also urged mosques and Islamic centers throughout the country to hold special blood drives, prayers and fundraising efforts for disaster relief.

Hurricane Katrina hit the US Gulf Coast just outside the city of New Orleans on August 29 and swept devastation through the area with winds of up to 145 mph (233 km/h).

The killer storm sent a devastating wall of water into Mississippi and 80% of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, is submerged by waters as deep as 6m (20ft).

The disaster has killed thousands and displaced more than one million people, and requires the largest relief effort in American history.

Needs Assessment

MHRTF guidelines for collection and distribution of funds will focus on financial transparency and accountability as set forth in relevant government regulations and standards, according to the release.

Other groups who agree to the task force’s guidelines will be added as the relief efforts develop.

The initial action plan includes an assessment of the humanitarian needs that can be met by American Muslim financial and human resources, as well as a similar assessment of the Islamic community’s ability to meet those needs.

More than $2 millions in hurricane aid have already been disbursed by Islamic charities in an effort coordinated by Islamic Relief USA.

Muslim relief workers are currently on the ground in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi, according to the Islamic relief Web site.

They provide emergency shelter for displaced people and assist in the massive clean-up efforts in hurricane-affected areas.

"We really appreciate the cooperation we have received in the three cities in which we are planning our relief activities," said Arif Shaikh, a spokesperson for Islamic Relief USA.

"In these times it is particularly important that people of all faiths and backgrounds come together to aid the victims of this devastating tragedy."

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in the United States.

Continuing Search

A week after Katrina hit, New Orleans continued to search on Monday, September 5, for growing numbers of its dead and had not given up on finding more of the living.

As emergency teams scouted flooded homes and streets for bodies, authorities said Louisiana's official death toll of 59 could rise into the thousands, Reuters reported.

Rescuers in boats and helicopters were still pulling hundreds of people from rooftops, homes and buildings and police said they were getting 1,000 or more emergency calls for help each day, many from people still trapped in their homes and attics by floodwaters.

Local officials believe thousands remain in the once-vibrant city despite mass evacuations before and after Katrina struck, hammering an area the size of Britain.

Hundreds of thousands of internal refugees from the disaster in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were dispersing to states across the country as they confronted how to rebuild shattered lives.

Texas alone was accommodating 139,000 in public shelters, while 100,000 others were in hotels. Many more were in private shelters run by churches and other groups or with Texas family and friends.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said it was making progress toward pumping out the city but still expected it would take 80 days or more to complete the job.

President George W. Bush planned to visit relief efforts in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Poplarville, Mississippi, on Monday -- his second trip to the devastated region in less than a week.

His administration, criticized heavily for its slow response to the crisis, sent top officials to the disaster zone on Sunday and pledged to do whatever is needed to clean up New Orleans and help its evacuees.

Some battered survivors could not contain their anger.

"We have been abandoned by our own country," Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish just south of New Orleans, told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Most of Katrina's victims were black and poor, and some black leaders have said the federal government would have moved much more quickly if rich, white people were suffering.