Black Lives Matter: We Stand with You

Assalamualaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

We are deeply saddened by the horrific murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Yassin Mohamed, Ahmaud Arbery, Steven Taylor, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and every black person that has been subjected to systemic racism and police brutality. Our deepest condolences go out to their family, friends, and loved ones. We are in support of full investigations being conducted to seek justice for them and their families.

Ultimately, we believe God is the Most Just and Merciful. We seek His wisdom and help in holding the perpetrators accountable for their actions, alleviating the suffering of the black community, and last but not least, in being just in our affairs and decisions.

Temporary Suspension of Community Patrolling

Muslim Community Patrol & Services (MCPS) temporarily suspended its patrolling services on June 6th after an incident involving one of MCPS’ patrolwomen who was almost attacked by a rioter. As of June 15th, we resumed our patrolling services after it was deemed safe for our patrol team to do so.

The suspension of our patrolling service did not change our support for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and our black community members. We are outraged by the systemic racial injustice and loss of life that has led us to where we are today. We continue to ask ourselves how we can do more and how we can channel our anger into action. We’re sharing a few of these small initiatives with you today. We know this is not enough, but it’s a start.

Donations

Our team members have made personal donations to organizations such as Muslim Anti-Racism Collective and Malikah to support their work in fighting racism in our community, and will continue to do so. While MCPS can’t contribute as much financially as other organizations given the size and stage of our non-profit organization, we’re doing what we can and continue to explore options.

Free meals and counseling

In partnership with Rethink Food NYC and Adda Indian Canteen, we are distributing free halal meals every Saturday from 12 pm - 2 pm from MCPS headquarters, Yafa Deli & Grill, Wyckoff Gardens Community Center, and Masjid At-Taqwa, which has a congregation of primarily black Muslims. In collaboration with Dr. Raymond Brock Murray, we are also offering free and confidential counseling for those feeling overwhelmed by the current social climate. Please email us or message us on Facebook or Instagram so we can refer you to a licensed counselor.

Raising consciousness

We are committed to promoting a holistic approach to safety. In pursuit of becoming an ally to our black sisters and brothers, we are using this time to raise our consciousness and better understand racial inequality and injustice in our country. Although the issue of systemic racism seems so much bigger than us, there can be no solution without both individual and collective action. 

Therefore, it is our greatest hope that we intentionally contribute to the creation of a safer community for our black community members, by  raising awareness about racial inequality and injustice, listening with compassion and empathy, collaborating with black-led organizations and businesses, and amplifying black voices.