NewsletterSpring 2012 Issue

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Foreword

The National Zakat Foundation continues to work towards its vision of a pious, con! dent, sel" ess and self-suf! cient community. Our vision underpins all of our activities as an organisation and we aim to achieve it through:

The collection and distribution of Zakat funds to eligible recipients in the Muslim community.

Launching campaigns to raise awareness about the importance and role of Zakat with the ultimate aim of increasing the level of Zakat consciousness in the UK.

Running education programs to deepen the level of knowledge about Zakat and its rulings.

Shelter Projects

The " agship projects of the National Zakat Foundation, the proposed shelters for homeless Muslim women in Birmingham and London, are making strong progress alhamdulillah.

Birmingham

We are working in partnership with Trident Reach – one of the leading social investment charities in the Midlands – in order to deliver the shelter. The charity is part of Trident Housing Group which has been providing housing and support to vulnerable individuals and communities in the Midlands for over 40 years.

Trident Reach already has experience of working with homeless Muslim women and is pleased to be working in partnership with us, with Janette Beckett, Head of Quality, Marketing and Governance at Trident Reach stating:

“Reach look forward to working with Mercy Mission to provide culturally sensitive services to Muslim women across Birmingham” Janette Beckett

Alhamdulillah, we have now found a suitable property and aim to launch the shelter by Ramadan insha’Allah.

London

We recently started working in collaboration with one of the largest charities in London for homeless people – St Mungo’s – to deliver the shelter. Established in 1969, St. Mungo’s has a long track record of providing services for the homeless and also has experience of working with the Muslim community. Through our partnership, a suitable property has been identi! ed in South London and is currently undergoing refurbishment.

We aim to launch the shelter by the end of the year insha’Allah.

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The National Zakat Foundation continues to receive applications from those in need, with the number of applications steadily increasing every month.

After carefully vetting applicant information, we have awarded almost £50,000 to a number of individual and families who are eligible to receive akat under the rules covering zakat distribution.

Examples of the type of items we have paid for so far include:

Food vouchers

Emergency accommodation

Baby items such as nappies, milk, clothes

Essential travel

Basic furniture

Vital counselling services

NZF Zakat Fund — a lifeline to those in need

CASE STUDY

From my experience of working with the National Zakat Foundation, one of the most common questions we receive is why our work is necessary given the existence of a relatively comprehensive social security system. A recent case study in which I was directly involved highlights just one way in which Muslims in the UK may slip through the bene!ts net and end up without any support.

Towards the end of February, Abdul Kader came to the UK with his wife and child from Spain. He had no money or English language skills, nor any friends or family here. He came looking for work and also because his family had undergone signi!cant hardship from his wife’s relations ever since she accepted Islam in Spain. However, as an EU National looking for work in this country, Abdul Kader and his family have no right to apply for social housing, are not entitled to help from the council even if they become homeless and are only entitled to some bene!ts once they become habitually resident.

Although a mosque in West London accommodated Abdul Kader and his family for the !rst ten days of their stay, we were then contacted by one of our donors to let us know that they had become homeless. Alhamdulillah, since then the National Zakat Foundation has covered their accommodation and food costs and has helped Abdul Kader to start to !nd work and stand on his own two feet. Our support has also involved helping him with enrolling at the job centre, apply for Jobseekers Allowance and providing all the interpretation services required for communication.

I am personally in touch with Abdul Kader every other day and over the weeks it has been clear how his stress has gradually translated into relief. Just a little !nancial help and additional support has given him con!dence and an optimism that he did not possess just a few weeks ago, when he had no one to turn to for support. I can assure you that his du’as are constantly "owing for all the volunteers and supporters of the National Zakat Foundation.

Iqbal Nasim – Project Manager

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The National Zakat Foundation has formalised a partnership with Nour Domestic Violence to support all of its counselling services for 2012 insha’Allah. The charity aims to tackle the silent yet prevalent social issue of domestic violence in the Muslim community by distributing Islamic literature derived from both the Quran and the Prophetic teachings as a platform to refute and condemn domestic violence.

Our support will enable Nour not only to focus on preventative initiatives but also expand its critical faith-sensitive service to more victims of domestic violence insha’Allah.

“Alhamdulillah, National Zakat Foundation’s support has allowed Nour to aid a greater number of clients. The services have proven to be a great stepping stone for our clients to move on from the sufferings to which they were subjected. We pray that the team is rewarded abundantly for its aid, for only Allah and the clients know how important NZF’s contribution is.

Our clients have been given the opportunity to see past their sufferings and build up their courage and con! dence. NZF has truly been the nour in their lives, giving them the strength, support and solace they need to move on.”

Mahfuja Ahmed

Co-Founder of Nour Domestic Violence

www.nour-dv.org.uk

Did you know?

Withholding Zakat is a cause of drought!

In a hadith recorded by ibn Majah, the Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,

“There are ! ve things with which you will be tested, and I seek refuge with Allah lest you live to see them. Immorality never appears amongst a people to such an extent that they commit it openly, except that plagues and diseases that were never known amongst their predecessors will spread amongst them.

They do not cheat in weights and measures, except that they will be stricken with famine, severe calamity and oppression by their rulers. They do not withhold the zakat of their wealth, except that rain will be withheld from the sky, and were it not for the animals then no rain would fall on them. They do not break their covenant with Allah and His Messenger, except that Allah will enable their enemies to overpower them and take some of what is in their hands.

Unless their leaders rule according to the Book of Allah and seek all good from that which Allah has revealed, Allah will cause them to ! ght one another.”

A partnership working

The National Zakat Foundation provides an end-to-end Zakat service in the UK.

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How would you like the opportunity to be a part of something amazing this summer? We are actively recruiting volunteers from across the UK for our exciting summer campaign (15th June to 24th August 2012).

NZF Champions will be required to invest just 10 hours of their time over 10 weeks to make a real difference to our brothers and sisters who are facing hardships on a daily basis, such as sleeping rough or not having enough food to eat.

You will be involved in actively raising awareness about all aspects of Zakat within your local communities. You will also be given

full support and training, welcome packs as well as the opportunity to meet fellow NZF Champions at events across the country.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to revive a pillar of Islam, help alleviate poverty on your doorstep and invest in your Hereafter.

You can register within a few moments by visiting our website at www.nzf.org.uk and clicking on the ‘NZF Champions’ link.

Please also tell your friends and family members about this rewarding initiative and how they can get involved insha’Allah.

Summer NZF Champions campaign launched

Zakat ChampionNZF Champions

NZF Champions

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As part of our commitment to developing services which are bene!cial to the community, we have devised a questionnaire which aims to collect important information about the attitudes and habits of Muslims in the UK regarding Zakat.

Please spare a few minutes of your time to take part in this research. You can access the survey via our website.

Kindly ask your friends and family members to share their thoughts with us on this important subject too – every response will help us in our work.

The National Zakat Foundation is pleased to introduce its new logo.

The decision to form a new identity was born from our desire to create a striking and easily identi!able brand to represent the work of the National Zakat Foundation in years to come insha’Allah.

Feedback on our new look has been very positive so far alhamdulillah and we hope you like it too.

We are also developing a new website and expect to launch the full version by June insha’Allah.

The new version will contain lots of useful and interesting information including progress and updates on our projects, interviews with successful Zakat recipients, as well as resources and features to help you understand and calculate your Zakat correctly.

You can visit our interim website at www.nzf.org.uk

The National Zakat Foundation survey

New Branding & website

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Ahmed Uddin has joined the National Zakat Foundation as our Zakat Distribution Manager.

His new role will involve developing the National Zakat Foundation as a national resource for all those who are eligible for Zakat within the UK Muslim community.

He brings with him a wealth of experience gained through many years of working within the public and charitable sector – in particular with Muslim groups and organisations.

“The Muslim community in the UK has grown considerably over the last half century.

Many organisations and institutions have been set up to cater for its needs. However, what has been lacking is a central fund to which Muslims can turn to when they are in dire need of !nancial support.

For many years, Muslims have always given their Zakat to nations where their parents were born. But for too long we have neglected our local community right here in the UK. National Zakat Foundation helps tackle issues facing UK Muslims in an organised and thought out manner, and it is this unique and pioneering concept which !rst appealed to me.

Joining the team will insha’Allah enable me to raise awareness about Zakat and help distribute it to the poor and needy Muslims in our communities.

Please make du’a that I succeed with the team in this task insha’Allah.”

Introducing the latest member of our team

Joining the team will insha’Allah enable me to raise awareness about Zakat and help distribute it to the poor and needy Muslims in our communities.

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Iqbal Nasim

Project Manager

iqbal.nasim@nzf.org.uk

Asima Iqbal

Operations Manager

asima.iqbal@nzf.org.uk

Ahmed Uddin

Zakat Distribution Manager

ahmed.uddin@nzf.org.uk

Sajad Mahmood

Marketing & Fundraising Manager

sajad.mahmood@nzf.org.uk

For more updates, to make a donation or to apply for support, please visit our website www.nzf.org.uk

The National Zakat Foundation is an initiative of Mercy Mission UK, charity number 1122922.