£232,000 donated to Birmingham Muslims over the past twelve months.
Charitable donations have been fundamental for supporting communities over the past year, as the pandemic has affected numerous people across the country.
Thankfully, many non-profit organisations have seen huge support from donors, with reports suggesting that more than third of Brits donated to charity during 2020, despite economic worries.
UK Charity, National Zakat Foundation, has announced that it saw a huge surge in generosity from the UK Muslim community in particular throughout this time, raising a total of £232,000 to support Birmingham’s Muslims in need.
For Muslims, the act of donating Zakat, which is understood as 2.5% of an individual’s total wealth, is a vital part of the faith. According to the charity, however, Zakat is much more than a religious obligation.
Mahboob Hussain, Head of Marketing Communications at National Zakat Foundation, explains “Zakat is now a lifeline for UK Muslims as many struggle to gain the right monetary support elsewhere. The generosity of Muslims in the past twelve months has exceeded our expectations and it’s incredible to see how Zakat is transforming lives and making a difference.”
The charity, which collects and distributes Zakat within the UK, has so far helped over 900 Muslims in and around the Birmingham area within the past twelve months. The foundation has plans to continue this work, with the hope that the strong sense of community and selflessness that has so far been witnessed will continue throughout the remainder of the year.
The generosity seen during the last year is at least predicted to continue over the coming months. with a recent survey by blood cancer charity, DKMS, revealing that upwards of 44% of Brits feel more inclined to take part in charitable acts since the pandemic began.
Yet whilst the outlook may appear positive, there’s still much work to be done. Whilst donations appear to have skyrocketed across many charities throughout this time, the need for support has also increased at an equally aggressive rate.
“We have received over 19,000 applications within the past twelve months nationwide for various funding, mainly surrounding hardship and housing,” adds Hussain.
Muslims are falling into poverty at a rate ten times higher than any other demographic in the UK, meaning donations count more than ever.
The charity is keen to encourage Muslims across the UK to continue giving what they can in order to help feed the demand for support and minimise the level of poverty within the community.
More information on how you can get involved is available here.
