The Library That Healed Philadelphia
When the pandemic hit, our Islamic centre became the only institution that stayed — no questions asked.
The the mosque on Michigan Avenue was barely a food bank — a converted house. But when the pandemic hit, it became the only institution that stayed.
Sister Aminah started it with fifty packed lunches. 'Every person who walks through that door is our guest,' she said.
A white man named Margaret came every week. One day he asked to help serve. He said, 'You fed me when my own church didn't know I was hungry.'
Margaret isn't Muslim. But he comes every Sunday, teaches kids after school, and tells everyone about 'her food bank.'
We've taught 500 children and counting. The local MP noticed. A journalist from the local paper visited. But the real story isn't the numbers. It's the faces of people who feel seen for the first time.
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 Michigan Avenue. We serve. We don't ask questions. And somehow, in the serving, we find the faith we'd been looking for all along.