MUSLIM VOLUNTEERS HELP FEED HOMELESS

More than 100 Muslim volunteers made PB&J sandwiches to fill 2,000 sack lunches. The food, along with coffee and gently used winter clothing, went to homeless people across the city. This was the first year Denver joined roughly 20 other cities in an initiative started by the Chicago-based nonprofit Pious Projects.

The group worked diligently. Several stood over a table, lathering peanut butter and jelly onto bread. Others bagged carrots. Still more assembled the items in brown paper bags, throwing in bananas, granola and water.

“Do good work but fast work, friends,” said Nadeen Ibrahim as she hurried to add paper bags to the assembly line and directed late arrivals to hop in quickly because the group was running behind.

From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Ibrahim led more than 100 Muslim volunteers as they made and distributed 2,000 lunches to homeless people across the city. This was the first year Denver joined roughly 20 other cities in the initiative started by Chicagobased nonprofit Pious Projects.

“(Hunger) is an issue that’s very important to our Muslim-american community,” Ibrahim said.

Islam puts an emphasis on feeding the hungry. Prophet Muhammad is believed to have said, “He is not a Muslim who goes to bed satiated while his neighbor goes hungry.”

Instead of a specific mosque or association running the event, Ibrahim said this was a grassroots effort. People saw news of the event on social media, decided to join and word spread among the small, tightknit Muslim community in Denver.

The group of volunteers ranged from 3year-olds, who drew smiley faces and stars on the brown bags, to people in their 70s, who made the PB&J sandwiches.

Some volunteers had arrived from Syria six months ago. People of other faiths also assisted.

Brown paper bags with crayon drawings of smiley faces could be spotted next to people across Civic Center park that afternoon. A smiling group was handing out the lunches and hot coffee under a tent, laughing and chatting with people who stopped by, at times encouraging them to take two bags.

Other volunteers distributed the lunches at Sonny Lawson Park, Governor’s Park, the Denver Rescue Mission and along 16th Street Mall.

All the food and gently used winter clothing was donated. Volunteers said they wanted to give back to their community. A couple of folks said they were surprised by the large turnout.

“When I heard about this, I jumped on the opportunity — even though I could have been working today — to do something for the people,” said Dr. Aziz Nsier, who has a practice in Fort Lupton that will give free services to those who cannot pay.

Nsier, who moved to the U.S. 40 years ago from Georgia, attends the Masjid Ikhlas mosque in Northglenn. He said he’s irritated that the media hasn’t done a good enough job explaining that every religion, including Christianity and Judaism, has its extremists.

“ISIS hurts Muslims more than anyone else,” he added.

Justin Edmonds, Special to The Denver Post Shabir Amin, 8, tosses a banana while helping fill sack lunches for the homeless.

Photos by Justin Edmonds, Special to The Denver Post Farah Afzal, second from left, Sara Westbrook, center, and other local Muslims gather at the University of Colorado Denver to make PB&J sandwiches on Saturday for sack lunches for the homeless.

Volunteer Amru Ashour carries sack lunches to a car Saturday. The lunches – as well as coffee and gently used winter clothing – were to be delivered to the homeless at five Denver-area locations.