WASHINGTON, DC (11 Feb 2023)—The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), the nation’s largest umbrella group of Muslim institutions, give praise to God and hail our American Muslim community for its quick and massively generous and compassionate humanitarian response to our emergency call for support for the tens of thousands of victims of the deadly earthquakes that struck Türkiye and northern Syria on 6 February. In just a few days, American Muslims raised an estimated $100 million in monetary and in-kind aid to support their stricken brothers and sisters in dire need.
“This lightning-fast, giving response in times of need has become the hallmark of our American Muslim community,” said Oussama Jammal, USCMO secretary general.
“Anyone who knows the American Muslim community, who is a part of it or has worked with it, knows how compassionately generous our people are, how tirelessly innovative, efficient, and globally established its humanitarian relief organizations have become, and the kind of striving leadership in our community that all of this speaks to,” he said.
Indeed, American Muslim relief organizations were already on the ground in the afflicted region with well-developed humanitarian infrastructures, their experts aiding rescue efforts and providing lifesaving relief in the quake-destroyed areas as soon as it hit. In less than 24 hours, major American Muslim humanitarian agencies had dispatched teams of additional relief workers and supplies to the area.
“Immediately after the quake struck and our emergency appeal went out to American Muslims on day one, monetary and in-kind contributions began pouring in from all quarters of our community,” said Jammal, who also thanked Turkish Ambassador Dr. Hasan Murat Mercan, and his embassy staff and consulate offices around the country, for facilitating the rapid transit of relief shipments and delivery of American Muslim donated aid directly to the stricken region.
“Our thanks also go out to Turkish Airlines, Türkiye Hava Yolları, for its generous services in transporting our community’s donated relief supplies.”
“To our U.S. Muslim community, and also our many fellow Americans who rose to the occasion with us and supported these earthquake victims in every possible way, please accept the heartfelt thanks of all of us in the Council,
“We applaud the Biden administration and US congress for swiftly sending emergency aid and support to our NATO ally Türkiye,” said Jammal.
He emphasized that USCMO continues to urge the Muslim American community to pray for the well-being and recovery of our brothers and sisters in Türkiye and Syria, and to do “the very best you can to donate money and essential aid to help” the hundreds of thousands there afflicted and tested by this catastrophe.
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