Impoverished Muslim Converts in Chiapas Need Help
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful
To send financial assistance to the Chiapas Muslim converts in Mexico, please donate now via Paypal.
Fellow Seeker, Sister Zainab Ismail, will be embarking on her third journey to San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico soon. Chiapas is in the south of Mexico where it borders Guatemala and Central America.
Sister Zainab embarks on this journey from 10th February to 14th February 2016 with two other volunteers. The intentions are to continue the work that started on their previous trips.
Who are the Muslim Converts in Chiapas?
The communities they visit are made up of 180 indigenous peoples who are converts to Islam. Approximately one hundred of these members are children. They primarily speak Tzotzil, a Mayan language, which is the native dialect of the people. However, most of them are bilingual with Spanish being their second language.
These communities are very impoverished and have faced many hardships over the years struggling to maintain their Islamic identity with little support from the outside world. Aside from these immense difficulties, the community continues to strive in studying the Quran and the learning the fundamental teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
It is important to help these communities maintain their Islam as many of our teachers feel there is an urgent need to support their sustainability.
Scholar Endorsement
Upon the advice of our teachers Habib Umar bin Hafidh as well as Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Imam Zaid Shakir and Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, these sisters are keenly working to assist their growth.
Mexico is over 80% Christian, which makes it difficult for them to access traditional Islamic education, halal resources, and interaction with other Muslims. Thanks be to God they have a great Imam, who has lived with them now for four years.
The people live in very poor conditions, and the homes are made of wood with dirt floors and plastic tarp as walls. They are unable to get proper medical, gynecological, or dental care. They hold to the rope of God by the thread of their firm belief.
Previous Trips
From our previous trips the donors helped to accomplish the following:
- Provide New clothing and toys for the children during both Eid celebrations in 2015;
- Teach from the Shamail the Prophetic character and Prophetic nutrition in Spanish;
- 100 % support for both Eid celebrations;
- Provide support for Eid Qurbani & distribution to families (both Muslim and non-Muslim)
- 100% support for the renovation and reconstruction of one of the family home (family of 14+)
- Sponsor volunteers to visit Chiapas
- Provide one on one private Q&A sessions for the women;
- Provide ongoing access to a female teacher;
- Bringing together of two communities;
- Strengthen sisterhood/brotherhood ties in families;
In the upcoming trip, they would like to continue with the improvement of the living conditions. One of the women lives in a single room with her husband, seven children, and is expecting another child soon. The want to renovate and build an expansion so they can live more comfortably.
There will have a community gathering to celebrate the completion of another sister’s home – she is one of the first converts in Chiapas. Sister Zainab Ismail and another sister will be the witnesses for two community weddings. Sister Zainab will begin with lessons from “The Clarification of Noble Character” by al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz in Spanish.
They also have a surprise Skype meeting planned with the students of an Islamic primary school in Leicester, UK and the Muslim children of Chiapas, Mexico to create a network of support.
We ask you to pray and support financially this noble project to assist the deeply spiritual community that is suffering hardship due to little financial means of supporting their lives.
Please donate generously to bring light to this endeavour and May God grant all those supporting it with His mercy and guidance.
Make a donation online via the Al Maqasid website.
You can also send us a check, write “Latin America Outreach” in the memo and make it out to:
Al-Maqasid
PO Box 99
Macungie, PA 18062
We are a 501(c)3 Non-Profit registered in New Jersey.
Jazak Allah Khair
Update from Sister Zainab Ismail:
Alhamdulillah, we shared an emotional Skype meeting with Muslim children of Chiapas and Muslim children from The Land of Learning Primary school in Leichester, UK. The children asked, each other questions and recited Quran for each other. We closed with a beautiful nasheed and dua from the students in Leichester, UK. May Allah preserve our children and keep them on the straight path.
