Mosques, churches welcome victims
As devastating flooding from Harvey continued around the Houston area, the city’s Muslim community stepped up: turning mosques into 24-hour shelters and bringing in diapers, water and food from their own homes.
M.J. Khan, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston — an organisation that represents 21 Islamic centres in the area — said in a phone call that four of ISGH’s member mosques are now open as round-the-clock shelters.
“This is an obligation, a religious obligation to help others,” Khan said. “When you give, you don’t give only to your own family. … You give to anybody who needs help.”
Khan explained that the ISGH had the idea to offer mosques as shelters to anyone who needed refuge. The problem, he explained, was that many of the roads weren’t passable.
Luckily, Khan said, “we have a pretty good networking and communication system.”
With just a few phone calls, volunteers showing up to local mosques with bottled water, sleeping bags and supplies. As of Tuesday, Khan said, four mosques were operating as fully equipped shelters, staffed and stocked by local volunteers. In fact, there were so many volunteers from Houston’s Muslim community that Khan began sending them to help in city shelters and at Houston’s convention centre.
“We have truckloads of supplies coming,” Khan said. He added that the ISGH had put together a list of 50 doctors from the Muslim community who were willing to be on call and offered it to the city of Houston. Joel Osteen opened his Houston megachurch to those seeking shelter from floodwaters Tuesday after social media critics slammed the televangelist for not offering to house people in need while Harvey swamps the city.
“Houstonians, Texans, are generous people, gracious people. We like to help others in need. That’s what you’re seeing here today people stepping up and you know and helping these people that have been displaced,” Osteen said after opening his Lakewood Church to displaced Houstonians seeking shelter.
The church had announced on Twitter late Tuesday morning that it was receiving people who need shelter. Osteen announced the move himself shortly after, adding in a tweet that he and wife Victoria Osteen “care deeply about our fellow Houstonians.”