(TheConservativeTimes.org) – During the month of Ramadan, many Muslim immigrants are looking forward to Iftar, their end-of-fast meal. These Muslim immigrants are piled into NYC during this time, and people are discovering ways that they can help house these migrants.
In the Bronx, an imam has turned a brick house into a residence that houses his mosque and he has turned it into an overnight shelter for migrants. Islamic institutions are not able to keep up with the influx of migrants as the population continues to increase and they look for places to stay.
Many mosques and centers in the area have opened their doors to house these migrants, providing places where new migrant arrivals can rest instead of having to sleep in the streets, which is where most would be without these places. Muslim leaders have been pleading for donations, funding, food, and clothing.
The assistant imam at Masjid Aqsa-Salam in Harlem, Moussa Sanogo, said “We’re doing what we can do, but we can’t do everything. That’s the bottom line.” He continued, “These brothers, they don’t eat enough. They’re starving when they get here. Can you imagine? Starving. In America.”
A mosque in the Bronx run by imam Omar Niass is housing migrants, and Niass has said it’s the least he can do. However, he is facing thousands of dollars in electricity and water bills and it’s becoming a financial burden he cannot handle.
Says Niass, “In our culture, you can’t deny the people who come to the mosque…We keep receiving the people because they have nowhere to go. If they come, they stay. We do what we can to feed them, to help them.”
New York has seen a huge jump in the number of migrants as people continue to head to the state for asylum. There are nearly three hundred mosques available and as the first destination for Muslim migrants, they have seen the influx firsthand.
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