Muslim Youth Group raises £1 million for charity

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), Britain’s largest Muslim youth group, hosted a reception and a cheque presentation for charities with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, at Leeds City Hall on Thursday 6 September 2018.

AMYA helped raise over a million pounds over the past year through its ‘Mercy for Mankind’ initiative. The title ‘Mercy for Mankind’ is based on the peaceful character and life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is referred to in the Holy Quran as a ‘Mercy for all Mankind’ and he serves as the inspiration for the work of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association.

The initiative involved thousands of young Muslims taking part in local, regional and national fundraiser events to raise money for charities such as The British Red Cross, Royal British Legion and Save the Children. The funds also went to numerous regional charities across the country.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I am delighted and proud that these fantastic young Londoners have raised more than £1m this year for charity. London is a place where we celebrate, cherish and embrace our diversity and I want to thank the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association for their role in helping us build a more open and inclusive society.”

“At a time when we need to counter the polarisations that exist, such efforts are extremely helpful in helping one another and in breaking down barriers.”

Farooq Aftab, serving as Vice President of AMYA, said:

“A central purpose of AMYA is to serve society at large, regardless of faith, ethnicity or gender. As Muslims, this is a principle teaching of the Quran and Prophet Muhammad that we instil in our 7,500 members aged 7-40 years.

“We are delighted that the Mayor of London is recognising the work of so many young British Muslims, just as he has done with other parts of British society.

“Sadly, many people have projected their ignorance and hatred for Islam and Muslims onto Sadiq Khan. In our opinion, there is no better way to counter hatred of Muslims and our religion than to work tirelessly to help our fellow Brits for the sake of Allah.”

AMYA have been volunteering all year around in various activities. To date they have donated more than 6000 pints of blood which is equivalent to 18,000 lives saved. Over 200,000 trees have been planted in locations all over the nation. 60,000 food packs have been distributed to the homeless as part of weekly homeless feeding sessions across the whole country. In addition the youth have also been regularly visiting the elderly with over 1,000 visits having taken place in care homes and children’s hospitals around the country.