The new Hajj?
Via Baltimore Sun:
An estimated 20,000 Muslims from across the country are in downtown Baltimore over the Easter holiday weekend for the Islamic Circle of North America’s annual Conference for Peace.
It is the 42nd annual convention for the group and the third straight year it has been held at the Baltimore Convention Center.
“We’re bringing like-minded people together to celebrate our religion and do good,” said Haris Qudsi, outreach coordinator for ICNA Relief, a charitable nonprofit arm of the organization.
Qudsi said Baltimore is an ideal location, given the active Muslim community in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region and the city’s easy accessibility from other states.
The group first held its convention in Baltimore in 2015 just after the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who suffered fatal injuries while in police custody. Inspired by the protests, Qudsi said, the group created hundreds of “blessing bags” of basic necessities, including toothbrushes and soap, to give out in the community.[…]
One sessions, called “#WelcomeRefugees,” included more than a dozen recently arrived refugees from Iraq and Syria, who spoke of their struggles in the months following their arrival in the U.S.
Most said they had understood from the United Nations that they would have one year of full assistance during which they could learn the language and get situated. But family after family spoke of their surprise when they found they would just have one month of full resources and then were told they needed to get a job and survive largely on their own during that second month and thereafter.
Hanaan Ismail, single mother to a 17-month-old girl, is a refugee from Iraq who attended the session. She said she was told she needed to have a job after one month, though she had yet to learn English or find affordable housing or day care. Ismail, 31, lives in Baltimore in an apartment that costs $925 per month, which she said was too expensive for her. She said religious groups have helped to fill the gap, but she is looking for more affordable housing and more time to get on her feet.
Samar Daas, 43, from Syria said he has resorted to looking in the garbage for furniture and other necessities for his family. He spent the one-time $1,850 stipend he and his wife received on rent. Daas, like other refugee families, collects food stamps, but said the amount has decreased over time.