Skip to main content

Update on the Three Puerto Rican Imams Project

The 3 Puerto Rican Imams Project is a long-term endeavor that seeks to provide solutions to the needs of the people of Puerto Rico. In its initial planning stages, it was meant to be an outreach-driven initiative to provide educational and social services to the Muslim community. However, after the devastating natural disasters that occurred in September, Hurricanes Irma and, more notably, María, the project became an emergency relief effort that extended not just to the Muslims of Puerto Rico, but to all Puerto Ricans.

These powerful cyclones literally hit home for the directors, three Puerto Rican Muslim leaders (Imam Abdullah Daniel Hernández, Imam Jose “Yusuf” Rios, and Imam Wesley “Abu Sumayyah” Lebrón) and their supporters, who share both their pain and vision, making this a mission of love and solidarity. The project is unique in that it unites various organizations and works collaboratively with others inside and outside of the island, while still working independently in its response. It has successfully brought people together of all faiths and nationalities with the common goal of providing relief to those most affected by the hurricanes and easing some of the many hardships they face.

By the Grace and Mercy of God, the 3 Puerto Rican Imams Project has been able to serve the people in the following cities in Puerto Rico, in the aftermath of Hurricane María:

1. Yabucoa

2. Ponce

3. Salinas

4. Coamo

5. Utuado

6. Lares

7. Añasco

8. Las Marías

9. Aguadilla

10. Arecibo

11. Hatillo

12. Bayamón

13. Gurabo

14. Navarro, Gurabo

15. Río Piedras

16. El Viejo San Juan (La Perla)

17. Humacao

18. Toa Baja

19. Manatí

20. Orocovis

21. Moca

22. Adjuntas

23. Canovanas

24. Maunabo

25. San Lorenzo

26. Vieques (A generator was sent to a medical center)

27. Mayaguez

Total spent during both trips is around $35k, thus far.

Quantity of items approximately bought and distributed on the Island:

1. 3000 bags of rice

2. 2500 can of tuna

3. 2000 boxes of milk

4. 3000 bags of pasta

5. 2500 cans of beans

6. 200 jars of pasta sauce

7. 200 boxes of cereal

8. 5 pallets of water (380 cases 9,120 bottles of water)

9. 100 packs of coffee

10. 3000 packs of Farina/Oats

11. 50 bags of sugar

A message from the Three Puerto Rican Imams:

We first thank God, then all of the wonderful donors, from all walks of life/religions/colors/nationalities, who are committed to following the beautiful teaching of being a “Mercy for Humanity.”

We are also thankful to all the people who have been collaborating with us, whether in the back end or front end of the project, because without all of you this work would not have been possible.

A special thanks to those who have collaborated:

1. Hablamos Islam

2. IslamInSpanish

3. AgitArte

4. Catholic Church of Humacao

5. Catholic Church of Yabucoa

6. Episcopal Church of Castañal

7. Evangelical Ministries of Bayamon

8. Centro Ayaní

9. Irso (Yasir)

10. CVS in Carolina, who has been key in this process

11. Walgreens in Utuado

12. Ana Show In Ohio Channel 3

13. Irvin Maldonado Sr.

14. Islamic Relief

15. ICNA Relief

16. CAIR Español

17. ISNA

19. Masjid Al Huda, Jersey City

20. Islamic Center of Passaic County

21. Masjid Tawheed

22. Muslim Community Center of Rockford

23. Muhammad Masjid NY

24. Islamic Center of Long Island

25. Islamic Educational Center of PA

26. Pearland Islamic Center

27. Islamic Center of Cleveland

28. Masjid of Boca Raton

29. Salam Cleveland

30. Islamic Center of North Jersey

31. JMIC

32. Aldo Pérez

33. José Acevedo

34. Alianza Islámica

35. Caribbean Relief Movement (Hazel Gómez, Shinoa Matos, Yusuf Maisonet, Khalil Salgado, and many others…)

36. Louis Torres from Guaynabo

37. Muslim Community Center of Rockaway

38. And many others whom we know prefer to remain in the background without being recognized publicly.

We look forward to much more work with all of these individuals/organizations, as we are not yet finished but we are just warming up.

Follow the 3 Imams on Facebook: www.facebook.com/3PuertoRicanImams/

Donate to: www.youcaring.com/puertoricanaffectedbyhurricanemaria-956754

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Brazilian Feijoada Halal

Recipe for Halal Brazilian Feijoada (Northeast style, minus the pork!) Courtesy of Yasminah Ketchman, 2012 Cooking time: All day • 1 pound (450 grams) dry black beans • 4 Tbsp olive oil • 2 large onions, sliced • 1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped (Don’t skimp on the garlic!!!) • 1 pound lean beef chuck, in one piece • 1 pound (450 grams) carne seca (dried beef) or cornbeef, cut into chunks • 1/2 pound (225 grams) fresh sausages, such as beef sausage • 1 pound (450 grams) smoked sausage, such as smoked beef sausage • 200 grams bacon (beef or turkey) • 3-4 bay leaves • 3 sprigs parsley • 2 sprigs thyme • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 3 1/2 quarts water • 4 cups black beans, picked over, soaked overnight, and drained Soak the smoked and salted meats in a large pan overnight (just enough water to cover the meat). The next morning, drain, rinse, and soak again until ready to cook. In a large heavy stock pot, heat the oil over medium...

Mexican Tortillas Halal

Halal Homemade Mexican Tortillas Courtesy of Holly Garza, 2011 Flour Tortillas (Mexican style) Ingredients~ 3/4 pound (2-3/4 cups ) all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas 3/4 teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons vegetable shortening, about 3/4 cup hot tap water How to make–rub vegetable shortening into the flour using your fingers to knead it. Put the salt in the water mix around a bit so it will dissolve into the water. Mix the water into the flour little by little until you form a stiff-like dough. make sure there is hardly any “Powdery” parts left, as in try to mix it all together. add some flour to your counter top/table or hard/sturdy work station, add the dough on top of the flour surface and kneed it for about 10-15 minutes until it is elastic feeling and looking. Break the dough up into smaller pieces that look like round “balls” about slightly smaller than a tennis ball. Make sure to cover them up in a bowl with a cloth over it or some sort of co...

The Growing Visibility of the Latino/Hispanic Community

Latino Muslims Reach Out to Their Own Communities in Spanish, Portuguese, and English By Wendy Diaz and Juan Galvan ( An edited version of this article appeared on the July/Aug 2016 issue of Islamic Horizons Magazine: https://issuu.com/isnacreative/docs/ih_jul-aug_16 ) Type “Latino Muslims” into any search engine and the results will display a plethora of recent media reports about the fastest growing minority within Islam. Names like PBS, NBC, BBC, AlJazeera, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, Univision, and Telemundo have all produced their share of reports and documentaries fixated on this phenomenon. It has even warranted attention from academia, as professors invest research into the demographic and graduate students base their theses on varying factors of the Hispanic/Latino Muslim presence in the United States and beyond. The trend has been fueled by recent events surrounding the 2016 presidential race and the xenophobic and Islamophobic campaign rhetoric fro...