https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/09/nyregion/covid-clergy-new-york.html
Imam Khalid Latif: I realized just how fortunate I am to be part of a community that is very caring and generous. At the onset of the pandemic, New York City’s systems were being overwhelmed. My students, and our broader community, recognized that our role wasn’t merely to sit at home and do nothing.
Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve probably raised, as a center, over $7 million in Covid relief funds. We ran campaigns to raise funds to support people of any background with micro-cash grants. We collected masks and gloves to distribute to hospitals and ran crowdfunding campaigns to help with funeral costs. We supported survivors of abuse who were stuck at home with their abusers.
This created an opportunity, albeit virtually, for us to step up as a community in ways that build cohesion internally, as well as provide support to those who were in need.
It became very clear early on that Covid would stick with us for a long time. Islam teaches me that my physical wellness is linked to my emotional, my mental, my spiritual wellness. I’m not going to be able to care for other people’s hearts if I’m not taking care of my own heart.
