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Organized by Abdelminem

Baby Suha Builds a Masjid for the Rohingya Refugees!

$30,517

raised of $10,000 USD goal

547 supporters, Project Closed
Success!

Impact: Cox's Bazar, Chittagong Division

Verification in progress. Learn More

This campaign will collect all funds raised by December 13, 2017 at 5:00 AM EDT

The only item on our registry for our newborn daughter: a masjid!


​The Ultimate Long Term Investment

Instead of sending out a registry with things that we want and need for baby Suha, our brand new bundle of joy, my wife and I are trying to show gratitude to Allah for what He has already given us. And what better way to invest in our newborn daughter's future than to continuously deposit into her eternal account of good deeds? We pray that building a mosque for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will not only benefit their community, but that every prayer performed, every letter recited, and every tear that drops from a tender heart in this mosque be a source of reward for our baby Suha and every one who contributes to this effort! 

​The Plight of the Rohingya

The Rohingya are an ethnic community of Muslims from the Myanmar region who have been institutionally oppressed and massacred by their own government. They have been without any institutional support or representation since 1982, and their struggle intensifies with every year that passes. A community of Rohingya Muslims has settled in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and is still developing the infrastructure necessary for its own well-being. We chose to help them build a mosque and madrasa in which they can revive their religion, reconnect with their Lord, and regain hope in Allah, the Almighty, the Just and Wise; He will not let a single tear or a single moment of pain go without rewarding them for it, and we only hope to remind them of that. More information about the Rohingya community and their struggle can be found here.


​Who will be Receiving the Money?

We have partnered up with As-Saadiq Foundation, an organization whose administration we know personally and trust. They have continuously proven to be effective and trustworthy; they built wells and water pumps with their last influx of donations (pictures below). We hope to have the mosque established and built before the winter weather worsens, so that our brothers and sisters can find peace in their new mosque both physically and spiritually. You can stay involved and up-to-date with As-Saadiq Foundation here. Any excess funds raised will contribute to providing the community of refugees with essentials such as clothing, food, and other bare necessities. Part of the money raised may also be used to travel to Cox's Bazar to see the masjid after it has been built in shaa Allah!


The current mosque for the Rohingya community in Cox's Bazar, which will be rebuilt and expanded with the funds raised

​How You Can Help

Whether or not you donate, we need your prayers! There is no source of power or strength other than Allah, and we are all in desperate need of His love, mercy, and support, no matter who or where we are. Pray for our daughter Suha, and remember that when you pray for your fellow Muslim, the angels say: "Ameen, and the same for you!" 

​Who are We?

My wife, Jenan, and I are young new parents from NYC who are still learning much about the world and ourselves. Our main priority in our new family is submitting to Allah whole-heartedly, and we are trying to take every opportunity to do so. We hope to raise our child upon a loving and reverent cognizance of her Lord and Creator, and we pray that this effort will lay the foundation for that.


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Updates 2

Abdelminem6 years ago

Masjid Suha Update

As-salaamu alaykum! 

It has been a while, but I am reaching out to update you all on the status of our project. Below you will find a quite verbose description of how the project has developed in the past few months since the fundraiser. If you are short on time, skip down to the "What Now?" section. 

A Change of Plans

While we were trying to coordinate the transfer of funds and the plans for the masjid in Bangladesh, the government in Bangladesh issued new restrictions on what can be done in the refugee areas. In an attempt to discourage long term settlement, construction of any buildings was limited heavily: materials permitted were restricted to tin and wood, and the structure would not be able to sustain regular programs outside of the daily prayers. Our goal was to provide a solution that would enhance the quality of life for the refugee population, not just to build another space for prayer. We decided that it would not be in the best interest of any party to continue with such construction, especially with the risk of it being torn down at the command of some bureaucrat. 

Since then we have been searching for solutions. We first intended to limit ourselves to an alternative that would still benefit the displaced Rohingya community, but there was no reasonable way to do so; the refugees were either in India, where the price of land and construction would not accommodate our budget, or Malaysia, where the government does not allow the construction of any mosque that is not sponsored by the government. After praying for God to facilitate a solution, I was presented with the idea of building a mosque in Haiti, where there is a rapidly growing population of Muslims who are in need of help.

​The Muslims in Haiti


Though we were first reluctant to shift our focus away from the Rohingya refugees, we learned that there was a budding community of Muslims in Haiti that was in dire need of assistance. Haiti is an extremely underdeveloped country with a lot of economic and political instability. Thus, the people are in constant search for a source of hope and fulfillment. This void has created an atmosphere that is fertile for the seeds of Islam to grow, much like that of Makkah in the seventh century. The Haitian people are kind and their culture is beautiful. They have been subject to a political atmosphere that has unfortunately kept them economically subjugated. After repeated disappointments by foreign efforts, they have begun to turn within for a change that is effective and will permeate the various aspects of their lives in which they feel the pain of this void. Many are looking to Islam for this change, hoping to start from the ground up. 

While statistics of Haiti's Muslim population are hard to keep track of, I personally saw records of fifteen new Muslims who accepted Islam in the month of April alone. The Muslims are spread out throughout the country's eclectic landscape, with terrains ranging from mountainside farms to lively beach towns on the coast. The brothers who are leading the efforts in Islamic education to Muslims and Non-Muslims alike shared with me their aspirations to have one mosque in every major city in Haiti. There are a couple in the capital o Port Au Prince, with a few more scattered throughout the country. One town, Petit-Goâve, has had a growing Muslim population who have been using a rented Musallah space that has recently been closed. 

​What Now?

**If you object to or have any concerns regarding any of the following, please contact me via email (abdelminemhbb@gmail.com)** 

We will be working with OMH (Organization of Muslims in Haiti) to help the Muslims in Petit-Goâve build a mosque. The community is excited to not only have a place to pray, but a center for their Islamic education programs and da'wah efforts. The mosque will be built within the current budget of the fund raised and will include: 

  • ​A large prayer space for men and women, with a pulpit for giving the Friday sermons
  • Two restrooms and areas for performing wudhoo': one for men and one for women
  • An office and bedroom for the full-time Imam
  • A bedroom, private bathroom, and kitchen for short-term guests
  • A playground in the front yard of the mosque to encourage the kids in the neighborhood to attend and visit
  • A garden in the front yard to attract visitors
  • A well to be uses free of charge by the neighborhood families (the specific funds for this have been raised separately)

The mosque will be built close to the main road to the capital (click here to see it on the map). The neighborhood is filled with families, some of whom are Muslims; the rest of the Muslim population of Petit-Goâve live close to the downtown area, which is just a ten minute bus ride away. Behind the plot of landed being donated to the mosque by a Haitian brother are plots of fertile farm land that are available for sale. We believe this location has a lot of potential, especially to spread awareness of Islam among the neighboring community. Below is a picture of the land and its surroundings. 


The budget, floor plan, and other information regarding the project were finalized this past week al-hamdu lillah. If anyone is intersted in taking a look at them, feel free to get in touch with me; I don't want to pester everyone with emails. The mosque is projected to be completed by September 2018. I am writing from Haiti now, where I have been engaging the local Muslim community, and I personally am very and optimistic about this project. OMH has been maintaining and assisting many projects for spreading awareness of Islam here, including running an orphanage where the children learn Qur'an, lead prayers, and even give the Friday sermons on their own. They also administer a full time Muslim school in the capital, manage the construction and maintenance of a Mosque in Miragoâne, and conduct street Da'wah in a number of localities. 

Please email me with any questions or concerns at abdelminemhbb@gmail.com. 

Your brother,

Abdelminem Mustafa

Abdelminem6 years ago

We won first place on #GivingTuesday!

Assalaamu Alaykum,

Thanks to your help we won first place in the Giving Tuesday challenge! That means that your individual donation resulted in our campaign receiving a $1,500 boost to be added at the end. 

Thank you for your support. May Allah reward you unfathomably and bless our families with success in this life and the next. We have almost reached our goal, so continue to spread the word and please continue to keep us in your prayers!


With the utmost gratitude and appreciation,

Suha, Jenan, and Abdelminem

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