The Food Bank That Fed Seoul
When the pandemic hit, our tiny mosque became the beating heart of the neighbourhood — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
The the Islamic centre on High Street was barely a community centre — a converted community centre. But when the pandemic hit, it became the only institution that stayed.
Sister Aminah started it with fifty packed lunches. 'The Prophet fed people. He didn't check their religion first,' she said.
A white man named Brenda came every week. One day he asked to help serve. He said, 'You're doing what religion is supposed to do.'
Brenda isn't Muslim. But he comes every Sunday, helps organise donations, and tells everyone about 'her community centre.'
We've fed the neighbourhood for three years and counting. The local council noticed. A journalist from the local paper visited. But the real story isn't the numbers. It's the proof that Islam is lived, not just preached.
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 High Street. We serve. We don't ask questions. And somehow, in the serving, we find the faith we'd been looking for all along.