The Food Bank That Fed Islamabad
When nobody else stepped up, our tiny mosque became the last line of defence — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
The the community hub on Park Road was barely a youth centre — a converted office building. But when nobody else stepped up, it became the only institution that stayed.
Hajia Khadijah started it with twenty quid and a dream. 'The Prophet fed people. He didn't check their religion first,' he said.
A white man named Brenda came every week. One day he asked to teach English classes. He said, 'This place saved my life.'
Brenda isn't Muslim. But he comes every Friday, helps organise donations, and tells everyone about 'his youth centre.'
We've served 40,000 meals and counting. The local newspaper noticed. A journalist from the local paper visited. But the real story isn't the numbers. It's the quiet dignity of service.
The Prophet (SAW) said the best of people are those who are most beneficial to others. He didn't add conditions. He didn't say 'beneficial to other Muslims.' He said people. All people.
That's what we do on Park Road. We serve. We don't ask questions. And somehow, in the serving, we find the faith we'd been looking for all along.