Source: The New York Times
By Anna Schaverien
LONDON — Abdurahman Sayed doesn’t know where he got the energy. Last year during Ramadan, the busiest time of the year for Muslims, Mr. Sayed, the director of Al Manaar mosque in West London, found himself thrust into a crisis that went on for weeks.
Grenfell Tower, an apartment building that is a 10-minute walk from the mosque, had gone up in flames, leaving more than 70 people dead. By the morning of June 14, 2017, 203 families were homeless, and most had lost nearly all of their possessions. More than half of the victims were Muslims.
For the days that followed, the mosque stayed open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide food and shelter. Mr. Sayed spent every spare moment there, traveling home only to take a quick shower and change his clothes. He continued his Ramadan fast and barely slept.
“Sleeping was not really so much of a necessity in those days,” he said. “When you are handling a major crisis, things like your own welfare become less important.”
Categories: Europe, Mosque, The Muslim Times, UK