Young Muslims from south west London are part of a volunteer group presenting £340,000 to Royal British Legion, NSPCC and other UK charities at a prestigious event in the Houses of Parliament tomorrow.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has invited dignities and young Muslim charity workers from all over the country to the Houses of Parliament to honour their charity and volunteering work.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK (AMYA), from the world’s largest organised Muslim community, raised the cash through fund raising activities last year.
This figure brings the total funds raised by AMYA for UK charities to £1.5 million.
David Cameron, Prime Minister said about AMYA: “Your presence in this country is a living example of how Britain has become a true home to people from all corners of the world.
“Your tremendous charitable services that you have delivered to old and young alike, your care for the environment by planting thousands of trees each year, your Feed the Homeless project and blood donation drives are just a few of the many reasons that Britain can be proud of you.
“This is true faith in action”
The 45 UK-based charities benefiting from the fund-raising work also include Barnardo’s, British Heart Foundation, Humanity First, The Silver Line, CLIC Sargent and MacMillan Cancer Support.
Regional Youth leader, Lutf Ur Rehman said: “We have been raising money for CLIC Sargent for over two years now. Our volunteers help with bucket collections at stations and other fundraising activities.
“Charity work is a large part of Islam and it’s important for our youth to give back to the society in which they live.”
The majority of the money raised by AMYA is from their flagship ‘Mercy For Mankind’ charity challenge event.
The inspiration behind ‘Mercy for Mankind’ comes from the words of Muhammad in the Qur’an and serves as a motivating motto for the group’s charity work.
After Eric Pickles sent a ‘patronising’ letter to UK Muslim leaders, co-signed by Lord Ahmad, focus has fallen on young Muslims and their role in British society.
AMYA aim to show that young Muslims are not just proud of their country, they offer vital contributions through nationwide programmes working on initiatives from blood donor drives to planting trees to visiting the elderly and organising peace and interfaith conferences.
