Street roots., September 16, 2011, Image 1

A sm all nonprofit rooted in Oregon’s
M u slim com m unity has become an
unexpected haven fo r fam ilies in need
P H O T O B Y K E N H A W K IN S
BtY STA CY BROWNHILL
limited. There were other people that needed
help. Now we serve everyone; of all faiths in
akat, one of the pillars of Islam that obliges
Oregon and southwest Washington, whether you’re
all Muslims to practice charitable giving, is
Muslim or non-Muslim.
at the heart of Islamic Social Services of
Our cases are really unique. Over 45 percent of
Oregon State (ISOS). In the nine years since it the people we help are single mothers. A large
started, the little-heard-of nonprofit has helped at
percentage are disabled. We look at each case
least 300 families, Muslim and non-Muslim, with
based oh its individual merits and try to sit down
$300,000 of financial support. ,
with each person and look at what’s happened and
In contrast, Muslim Americans are still more
how she can lift herself up by her own bootstraps.
likely than other religious groups to report
We ask applicants to '
discrimination, even though the vast majority say
come up with a self-
they are loyal tó thè United States, according to a
sufficiency plan, and we
"There is no more effective
Gallup poll released in August. And testimony
want to see what other
way to get people to listen to
before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this
agencies they’ve gone to
year showed that anti-Muslim bigotry has
first Once we figure out
our message of friendship
significantly risen in communities, workplaces and
what additional services .
than when they need help,"
she needs, then we reach
schools since Sept. 11, 2001.
Laila Hajoo, president oflSOS, started the
out
501(c)(3) partly to raise awareness. “There is no
• One woman lost her
family’s whole income when she lost her job
more effective way to getpeople to listen to our
message of friendship than when they need help,”
teaching and her husband returned home from
Afghanistan. She came to us. When her husband
says Hajoo.
found out that an Islamic social services
Street Roots sat down to talk with ISOS’s
organization was helping his wife, it really hit him
president on everything from their charitable
-r how can he look at a person (in Afghanistan)
cases to her thoughts on Muslim-American
who may be innocent and find out that a Muslim
relations after 9/11 and the controversial bombing
organization is helping his wife at home?
plot in Pioneer Courthouse Square earlier this
Another female client wears the full veil, has
year.
two young daughters, grew up in theU.S., and
S t a c y B r o w n h ill: W hat services does IS O S
cannot get hired for a job. Every employer has said
she needs to remove her veil. Even DHS told her
provide, a n d is it ju s t fo r M uslim s?
S T A F F W R IT E R
Z
L a ila H a jo o : In the beginning, we served only
Muslims and mostly refugees. But that scope was
See IN GOOD FAITH, page 7
Day of Dignity
Oct 1, Hawthorne Bridge
STAFF REPORT
or the past five years, the Portland
Islamic community has hosted a Day of
Dignity, part of an annual nationwide
campaign launched by Islamic Relief USA after
9/11 to bridge the Muslim pillar of charity
with a larger community in need: the
homeless.
The event draws hundreds of homeless men
and women, families and children of the
Portland area for free services and vital
provisions to help in their daily lives. It also
brings together a diverse network of social
services, organizations and agencies, including
Catholic and Jewish programs, tor a common
cause.
On Oct. I, under the Hawthorne Bridge, the
Day of Dignity will provide free hot meals,
medical checkups, HTV/AIDS testing, haircuts
and additional supplies. The event is
sponsored by Islamic Social Services of
Oregon State, or ISOS, and Islamic Relief
USA.
'
For nearly a decade, ISOS has been weaving
a safety net for people, often refugees, ferried
to tire U.S. through social services tor the
B
ISOS, page 7
ilnsidej
ODOT settles on
1
I
ODOT 1
property case
Campers will get a
10 day reprieve to
|
!
move belongings
1
Page 4
Taking a long
walk through the
valley of
homelessness
Stephen Millhouse,
formerly homeless,
hits the skids again
Page 5
‘We will get justice'
Victims o f the drug
thalidomide want a
form al apology from
its m aker
Page 8