Muslims and Arabs challenge stereotypes in the US through disaster-relief work

Ray Hanania Show - Abdulrauf Khan 1
0 seconds of 1 minute, 16 secondsVolume 90%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Next Up
Ray Hanania Show - Abdulrauf Khan 2
00:31
00:00
01:16
01:16
 
Short Url
Updated 15 September 2023
Follow

Muslims and Arabs challenge stereotypes in the US through disaster-relief work

  • They have been part of responses to emergencies such as the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and severe flooding in Illinois this year 
  • Aid workers say efforts to help all Americans in need, regardless of race, religion or origin, offer a counterbalance to the plague of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab racism 

CHICAGO: Major disasters strike communities across the US each year, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. But while the aid organizations that respond to them are often praised for their vital work, what is less-often highlighted is fact that many Muslims and Arabs are among the dedicated teams that help to provide relief to victims, in partnership with government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and aid organizations such the Red Cross. 

The Islamic Center of North America Relief is one of the largest Muslims and Arab relief organizations in the US. It was founded in 1968 and has been working since then to provide food, clothing, shelter and medical care to the victims of disasters, officials from the organization told Arab News. 

It is now works in partnership with FEMA to support relief efforts, and was part of the responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and most recently the floods in Illinois in July this year that damaged more than 35,000 homes. 

The majority of the people who benefit from the aid provided by the ICNA Relief are not Muslim or Arab, and officials from the organization said this is helping to counter the persistent, inaccurate and negative stereotypes that continue to fuel anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism. 

0 seconds of 1 minute, 16 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
01:16
01:16
 

 

“For us, these stereotypes actually motivate us — at least, me,” Mohammed Dahsheh, ICNA Relief’s assistant director of disaster relief services, told Arab News. “They really motivate me because I know I am on a mission to show my faith, because everything in my faith is positive. 

“Really, it doesn’t ask me to hurt anybody. This is our mission: To help as many people, no matter where they are from or what their color is, whatever their nationality, race or religion. It doesn’t matter. We are all humans and we all need help sometimes and we all deserve that help, whoever we may be or wherever we may be from. 

“It doesn’t matter where they are from. They are human, they deserve to have dignity, even if they are going through challenging times. We all go through challenges in our life, we all go through difficulties, it doesn’t matter who we are or where we are from.” 

Describing the achievements of the Muslim and Arab Americans who have worked for the organization over the years, Abdulrauf Khan, ICNA Relief’s chief commercial officer, said they have helped more than 5.2 million Americans of 70 national origins in 42 states through their work, which includes 26 shelters for women, 58 food pantries, eight medical centers, 27 refugee resource centers, and four mobile medical clinics deployed in crisis zones. 

0 seconds of 31 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:31
00:31
 

 

“Our goal is whomever comes to our door, we serve them” he said. “It’s not about ethnicity, race or where you are from, what language you speak or how you get here, legal or not legal. We just serve them because, first of all, being a Muslim, it is our responsibility to help our fellow Americans, our fellow neighbors. We do it because it is our responsibility. 

“That’s why we are so very careful of what we do and how we do it, because people are looking at us as a representation of Islam, a person who has to represent Islam in a very positive way. So we are very careful, very mindful of people around us, how we do it, the way we do it, to present it in a way that people accept it.” 

Khan agreed with his colleague that such efforts have a direct effect in helping to debunk negative stereotypes, given his own observations of Muslims and Arabs helping Americans in need. 

“Our services are not just for Muslims only,” he said. “Whoever comes, we welcome them. We don’t force them to become Muslims. We don’t even tell them about Islam. We just do what we do, and if they like what we do and they like where we are doing it and how we are doing it … they like to be part of us.” 

What American see when they encounter the organization’s workers is very different from what they might have heard about Muslims and Arabs, he added, and this helps to challenge the stereotypes that fuel discrimination. 

As schools across the country reopen after the summer break, another example of the work of ICNA Relief is the distribution of more than 1 million backpacks filled with school supplies  for American children. 

And after several years of lobbying by the organization, the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the approval and distribution of foodstuffs during emergencies recently gave the green light the inclusion of Halal foods in relief packages. 

0 seconds of 56 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:56
00:56
 

 

“When it comes to community engagement and being within the community, all of our services within ICNA Relief are domestic services,” Dahsheh said. 

“So everything that we provide, any service we provide, is here in the United States of America, 42 states across the nation with these food pantries, with the different services and the programs we have. 

“We try to reach those vulnerable communities that really need the support, that are having challenging times. ICNA Relief, its mission is really just to alleviate human suffering with compassionate services that we provide around the country.” 

Both Khan and Dahsheh are immigrants. Khan came from Pakistan, while Dahsheh was born in Lebanon to Palestinian refugee parents who came to America when he was an infant. Both said they consider America their home but are very proud of their heritage, their culture and their family traditions. 

0 seconds of 49 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:49
00:49
 

 

“Now we are here,” said Khan. “Now, our responsibility is to take care of people, those who are not able to take care of themselves. We are at this point now, have been serving millions and millions of people every year. 

“We want to make an impact on people who are not able to at least take care of themselves. We give them a helping hand and help them to become self-sufficient as early as possible.” 

Khan and Dahsheh said ICNA Relief is a donation-driven organization and only 7 percent of the money it receives is used to fund administrative costs, with the remaining 93 percent directly funding relief efforts. 

“We are at the table,” Khan said. “It took us 30 or 40 years, but we are here.” 

Khan and Dahsheh were speaking during an appearance on The Ray Hanania Radio Show, which was broadcast on Sept. 13, 2023, on the US Arab Radio network on WNZK AM 690 radio in Detroit and WDMV AM 700 Radio in Washington D.C. 

You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.


Eight dead in Brazil hot air balloon accident

Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

Eight dead in Brazil hot air balloon accident

“Eight fatalities and 13 survivors,” governor Jorginho Mello said
An investigation was launched

SAO PAULO: At least eight people were killed Saturday when a hot air balloon with 21 passengers caught fire in southern Brazil, said the governor of Santa Catarina state, where the incident occurred.

“Eight fatalities and 13 survivors,” governor Jorginho Mello said on X.

Videos taken by bystanders and carried on Brazilian television showed the moment when the balloon erupted in flames above the coastal town of Praia Grande. The weather conditions were clear.

The basket carrying the passengers plummeted dozens of meters to the ground in flames.

An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the accident.

Praia Grande, on the Atlantic coast, is a popular destination for hot-air ballooning in Brazil.

That was the second fatal balloon accident in the country in just a few days. Less than a week ago, a woman died during a ride in southeastern Sao Paulo state.

Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria

Updated 21 June 2025
Follow

Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria

  • The suicide bomber was able to slip through unnoticed because of a heavy downpour
  • No group has claimed responsibility for the

ABUJA: A suicide bomber in Nigeria’s northeast state of Borno killed at least 10 people and injured several others in an explosion in a restaurant, police said Saturday.

The blast occurred in the Konduga area late Friday, police spokesperson Nahum Daso told The Associated Press.

The suicide bomber was able to slip through unnoticed because of a heavy downpour, said Ismail Ahmed, a resident of Konduga. The town is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Local media reported that those injured in the attacks have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. They also reported that the bomber was female.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Nigeria’s northeast has been hit by attacks carried out by Islamic militants from the Boko Haram group and its splinter, the Daesh West Africa Province.

Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown militants, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict also has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors.

Some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million displaced in the northeastern region, according to the UN

Despite promises by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address Nigeria’s security challenges, the violence has persisted.


Where does India stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

Updated 21 June 2025
Follow

Where does India stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

  • Middle East situation shows India deviating from its traditionally pro-peace foreign policy, experts say
  • Indian foreign ministry called both sides ‘to avoid any escalatory steps,’ engage in dialogue

NEW DELHI: India is on a path of non-involvement in the growing conflict in the Middle East, experts said on Saturday, as they warned Delhi’s silence could have serious implications for the region.

Israeli attacks on Iran started on June 13 when Tel Aviv hit more than a dozen sites — including key nuclear facilities and residences of military leaders and scientists — claiming they were aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

After Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the two countries have been on a tit-for-tat cycle of bombing.

Israel’s attacks on Iran have reportedly killed at least 639 people and wounded 1,329 others, while Iranian missile strikes have killed 24 people and injured hundreds more in Israel.

India has yet to join other Asian nations — such as China, Japan, Pakistan and Indonesia — in condemning Israel’s initial strikes against Iran.

It was also the only country in the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization which did not endorse a statement issued by the bloc, condemning Israel’s military strikes on Iran. SCO is a political and security body that includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Central Asian nations.

In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs urged “both sides to avoid any escalatory steps” and engage in dialogue and diplomacy “to work towards de-escalation.”

“India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” the ministry said.

Talmiz Ahmad, an Indian diplomat who served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, described the statement as “a very low-key remark and is meant for the record.”

“India is not interested in engaging itself with serious matters pertaining to regional diplomacy. India is not interested in pursuing ways in which we could promote security and stability,” he said.

Historically, India’s ties with countries in West Asia — a region that includes the Middle East — have been bilateral and transactional, lacking engagement “with the region in a collective sense.”

“With regard to the Israeli-Iran issue we have taken a position of non-involvement … (but) silence in this matter where Israel has initiated a conflict that could have potentially horrendous implications for the region, is another and is something which India should be very concerned about,” Ahmad said.

“There is no justification whatsoever for India to be so indifferent to the flames that are now gathering speed and strength right in our neighborhood.”

India is Israel’s largest arms buyer and Israel is India’s fourth-largest arms supplier. According to a report from Reuters, India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion over the last decade.

Delhi also has strategic interests in Iran and has invested around $370 million in a port development project in the Iranian port of Chabahar, aimed at hastening trade and connectivity links to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Moreover, there are over 10,000 Indian nationals living in Iran, the majority of whom are students. Delhi has prioritized safely evacuating them since Israeli attacks began last week.

Peace in the region should be within India’s strategic interest, according to Delhi-based foreign policy scholar and researcher N. Sai Balaji, who highlighted the 9 million Indians living and working in West Asia.

“Not only that these (9 million) Indians contribute to billions of dollars in terms of remittances (but) India’s energy needs are met from West Asia,” Balaji told Arab News. “Any conflict with Iran or any conflict in West Asia does not only destabilize its financial stability in forms of remittances but also energy security.”

He said the Indian government was “taking sides clearly by not calling out the aggression of Israel.”

“India is not only abdicating its historic responsibility but also changing its foreign policy to accommodate Israel,” Balaji added.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, who served as an advisor to India’s former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said the country had shifted its traditional approach in foreign policy.

“India has always stood for peace in the world … Therefore, it is deeply painful that Narendra Modi’s government has deviated from this traditionally pro-peace foreign policy of India,” Kulkarni told Arab News.

“It is wrong for the government to keep silent in the face of Israel’s naked aggression against Iran … Under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, Israel is the aggressor. It has violated international law. Iran is the victim. Iran has the right to defend itself.”


Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges

Updated 21 June 2025
Follow

Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges

  • Zelensky accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending
  • “Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports“

KYIV: Kyiv received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Saturday.

He accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending, and suggested Moscow might be doing it on purpose to conflate the number of Ukrainian bodies they had.

The repatriation of fallen soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war has been one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv agreed earlier this month during talks in Istanbul to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers each.

“It has already been confirmed during repatriations that the bodies of 20 people handed over to us as our deceased soldiers are Russian,” Zelensky said in remarks released on Saturday.

“Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he added.

An “Israeli mercenary” fighting for Moscow was also among those sent, he said.

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since the war began. Neither country regularly releases information on military casualties.

Zelensky said there were currently “695,000 Russian troops” on Ukrainian territory.


Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN

Updated 21 June 2025
Follow

Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN

  • UNHCR said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries
  • “This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement,” said Grandi

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying once people fled there was no quick way back.

UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries.

Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it said, with some people crossing into neighboring countries.

Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad.

“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.

“The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there’s no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.”

Israel said on Saturday it had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran.

Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.

Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world — around 3.5 million — mostly of them from Afghanistan.

If the conflict persists, Iran’s existing refugee populations would also face renewed uncertainty and yet more hardship, UNHCR said.

The agency called for an urgent de-escalation in the conflict and urged countries in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety.

The Israeli government says the unprecedented wave of attacks it has launched at Iran since June 13 is aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran strongly denies.

Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.