“Selfless Soldiers”: From Houston to Chicago Local Muslims Serve the Less Fortunate

Written by Wendy Díaz

 Abdullah ibn Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Worship the Most Merciful, feed the poor, and spread peace. You will enter Paradise in peace.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

Often when we think about poverty, we imagine a foreign desert landscape, a barren village with children walking on cracked bare feet through mounds of dry dirt or sand. We are flooded with images of haunted black eyes sunken in their sockets, delicate limbs covered only by thin layers of flesh, and swollen abdomens filled with air and parasites. We think of places like Somalia, Yemen, and Bangladesh. We accept that hunger is a global problem, but we imagine it is outside of our own world. Realistically speaking, hunger affects our own communities in the West. According to Feeding America, 40 million Americans struggle with hunger daily and the U.S. Census Bureau stated that in 2017, there were 39.7 million people living in poverty in the United States. Our own neighbors could be dealing with food insecurity, not knowing how they will purchase their next meal or whether they should sacrifice their mortgage payment or their pantry.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, once said: “He is not a believer whose stomach is filled while his neighbor goes hungry.” (Al Adab Al-Mufrad)

Monica “Noor” Morales is a Mexican American convert to Islam, a native of Houston, TX, and a single mother of one son. She became Muslim in 2001 and after a lot of soul searching felt compelled to give back to her neighbors in the community where she was raised. In March 2017, she founded Outreach in the Barrio, a non-profit organization described as, “a group of concerned Houstonians all working together to assist those in need in our city.” The word “barrio” with its roots in Andalusian Arabic, literally means neighborhood in Spanish, and in the U.S. is a term that refers to a Spanish-speaking sector of a town often characterized by a high incidence of poverty. Although barrios are typically ethnically Latino, Outreach in the Barrio serves people of all races and backgrounds.

Outreach in the Barrio, Houston, Texas

For the past two years, Morales serves full time as the Program Director for Outreach in the Barrio, helping Houston’s homeless, low-income communities, and those facing temporary hardships, such as refugees and other immigrant families. Morales is not immune to the challenges that Latinos, especially immigrants, face in Texas. She grew up in Barrio Bellaire in downtown Houston and was caught up in gang life and vices until she found Islam. As a mother of a son with special needs, she also struggled to find a welcoming and accommodating atmosphere in the Islamic community. These challenges led her to withdraw from Muslim circles until in 2016 she found a new home in a Latino-led mosque with an open musalla where she could attend prayers while still watching her son.

When she found her faith once more, Morales prayed for a chance to make up for lost time. She said, “I was starving for good deeds. I prayed to Allah to give me purpose and give me a way to serve Him.” She began volunteering at the Houston Food Bank and tutoring refugee families in ESL. The idea to establish Outreach in the Barrio came after Morales was tasked with giving used clothes to Syrian refugee families but they refused to accept the secondhand clothing. Morales decided to go back to her old barrio, Bellaire, to hand out the clothing there instead and, not only was it well received, but neighbors asked her to come back with more. She continuously returned to hand out clothes and food, realizing that the need was great.  

“After speaking with a homeless woman who told me about her story, I had an epiphany,” Morales described, “I realized that if Allah had not been merciful with me, I could have been in her place. (The homeless) are normal people just going through hardships.” She began calling friends, like ex-marine and fellow Latino Muslim, Juan Pablo Osorio, to assist her with her mission of giving. Since then, Outreach in the Barrio has gathered countless volunteers and teamed up with numerous charitable organizations to provide services for the barrio’s disadvantaged and homeless.

Its ongoing efforts include Hotshots – feeding over 100 people twice a week, Sundays and Tuesdays at 11pm in Downtown Houston; Youth Hotshots – where mosques, churches, and other institutions are welcome to have their youth engaged in civic service by assisting with monthly feeding of the homeless and making personalized arts and crafts for the homeless; Crisis relief – inspired in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Outreach in the Barrio distributes aid to low-income communities and continues the tradition by responding to extreme weather conditions with sleeping bags and blankets in the winter, and cold water, umbrellas, and fruit in the summer; Cuts for Dignity – teaming up with local barbers to provide free haircuts for the homeless as therapeutic healing; and throughout the year, they provide hygiene kits for males and females. Additionally, they visit low-income communities monthly to provide clothing, furniture, food, and other items as needed.

During Ramadan, they organize iftars in the street to break bread with the needy and destitute in downtown Houston. Often, Muslim-owned businesses cooperate by catering for the homeless or providing other support. Anyone is welcome to volunteer or sponsor feedings by contacting the organization. One of Outreach in the Barrio’s volunteers described the group’s core members as “Selfless soldiers,” although Morales says the credit is all for Allah. “This has been a therapy for my soul. It has become part of my worship and the way that I have been able to come closer to Allah. It has never been about recognition. It was about doing the mission,” She explained, “We don’t only feed, we build relationships. The people we serve are our friends.”

Ojalá Foundation, Chicago, Illinois

Further north, another group of selfless soldiers work silently in the streets of Chicago. Ojalá Foundation is a Latino Muslim organization with a mission to spread the message of Islam to Latinos in the Chicago area, and to anyone else who is willing to listen. Although it was founded for the purpose of calling others to the faith, its approach is different in that it caters to the needs of those less fortunate in order to teach Islam by example. Some of its programs include “Andando y Limpiando” (Walking and Cleaning), a clean-up especially designed for downtrodden neighborhoods, weekly Islamic classes, and a monthly potluck.

One of their most successful outreach initiatives has been their weekly trips to feed the homeless which they call, “Neighborly Deeds.” Members of Ojalá, a Spanish word historically derived from “insha’Allah” or “law sha Allah,” provide food, toiletries, and other necessities to the poor when possible. In the last 7 months, they have fed close to 7,000 of Chicago’s homeless population.

Ojalá Foundation’s goal is to acquire a community center to base their operations and continue working to improve the lives of people in their area. Out of their 9 founding members, only one is not Latino, and his name is Christopher Abdulkareem Pavlicek. His ancestors migrated to the U.S. from Croatia and the Czeck Republic, and he embraced Islam around 25 years ago. Pavlicek serves as the Convert Care Coordinator for the Chicago Islamic Center and Al Nahda Center working passionately to help others transition to a purpose-driven life as Muslims, because he knows what it feels like to be isolated.

His involvement in Ojalá foundation is driven by the goal of building bridges between the Latino and Muslim communities. He explained, “I am not Latino myself, but this is the culture I have grown up in and been accepted in being where I am from.  As Muslims we are told to speak to people in a language that they understand, that does not just apply to the Spanish language but the urban Latino culture here,” He continued, “When a young brother or sister wants to change (for the good), it’s a lot more likely to happen with some help from people that have been through the same struggles.”

Working in Cook County, which include the suburbs of Chicago, Ojalá Foundation’s reach is spread out over a huge radius. Their weekly classes take place in 4 separate locations and their monthly potluck is hosted in alternating communities to not exclude anyone interested in attending. It was destiny that their efforts would attract the attention of like-minded individuals, as Pavlicek explained,

“We were approached by Outreach in the Barrio to see if we wanted to replicate what they were doing with the homeless down in Houston.  It was a perfect fit for us, and we have been feeding nearly 100 people on the streets of Chicago and in shelters for going on 6 months now. We have also provided emergency clothing and heating supplies during the last Polar Vortex we experienced earlier this year.”

Raul Gonzalez, a transport specialist and student, got involved with Ojalá because its approach was appealing to him and his faith. He said, “I became part of this organization because I believe in its principles and its willingness to achieve those goals in accordance to Qur’an and Sunnah.” The fact that most of its volunteers are Hispanic, gives Ojalá an edge over similar outreach projects. “Our organization is unique in that we are able to reach a demographic that many other Islamic organizations cannot (because) we are Latino,” said Gonzalez, “Ojalá Foundation is a family. We strengthen each other while striving to tell others about Islam.”

Shirley Chun is also part of the Ojalá Foundation Council and works closely with other members to organize events for Latinos who are Muslim or interested in Islam. Her experiences as a female, Latina from Guatemala, and soccer coach bring a distinct perspective to the foundation. She said, “I saw the lack of participation of youth in the important work of giving Latino Muslims a sense of community. I am hoping to be a role model to the following generations.” Gonzalez, Chun, and other volunteers have witnessed several conversions through their community outreach, although they serve people of all faiths. Their work has garnered the attention of local politicians and the media, even making the front page of the Chicago Suntimes, in their article, “In Chicago and Elsewhere, Latinos Converting to Islam,” (Arriaga, June 30, 2018), and being joined by Alderman Roberto Maldonado during one of their neighborhood clean-ups.

In the last year Ojalá Foundation held over 52 bilingual classes, 4 seminars taught by religious leaders, 12 community potlucks, 6 programs about Latino Muslims at different Islamic centers, fed more than 1800 home-cooked meals, given out hundreds of blankets, sleeping bags, socks, gloves and tents along with a few thousand hand and foot warmers, and successfully executed 4 neighborhood clean-ups. When neighbors, community leaders, and other Islamic organizations and centers hear about their work, they immediately want to be involved. “It's honestly the best representations of Islam for non-Muslims I have seen since becoming Muslim,” affirmed Pavlicek, “It doesn't cost anything to care. Twenty Dollars and some TLC can feed like 50 people, think of the impact that has when we all start giving back collectively?”