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$Young Muslims Connect With Bronx Fire Victims Thursday, 26 April 2007 By EMAN ELKHOLY The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Give charity without delay, for it stands in the way of calamity." (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 589) It was all over the news. Raging fire in Bronx, NY leaves many family members dead. When I was first asked to engage in this Young Muslims (YM) initiative to ease the pain and hardships of the Maggasi family from the Bronx I was caught up in the sensationalism that television often creates. I thought to myself, ‘I will actually meet the family that appeared on TV!’ Glory be to God, little did I know, the matter was greater than that… As news of the deaths spread far and wide YM, Young Muslims decided to step in and help this Muslim family. The sisters in Jersey City decided to visit them. The weekend before the visit we went shopping for school supplies for the children. Afterwards, the feelings I carried were quite ambiguous. Perhaps, I felt disconnected from it all. I felt that it wasn’t enough, that more should be done for this family. \ NY Times: Fire Victims Gain a Little Immortality Through Art Thursday, 19 April 2007 By TRYMAINE LEE Aisse Magassa slowly rolled her wheelchair to the wall of the old building, carrying a can of spray paint and with four of her little girls squirming behind her. The air was cold, and droplets of rain crashed softly onto the hijab that covered her hair. The brightly painted wall, at 56 East Mount Eden Road in the Bronx, lit up an otherwise drab stretch of auto repair shops and dollar stores. She steadied the chair with one hand, and with the other she gripped the can, jamming down on the nozzle until a stream of bright blue paint erupted and splashed on the wall. With sweeping strokes she added her touch to the mural that Mohammed Ali, a well-known British graffiti artist and a fellow Muslim, had dedicated to Ms. Magassa’s 10 friends and relatives who died last month after a fire erupted in their house in the Bronx. Five children from the extended Magassa family died, as did four children and the mother of the Soumare family. “We’re doing a lot better now,” said Ngoundo Magassa, 16, who also helped fill out the wall. Looking on, Manthia Magassa, Ngoundo’s mother, said softly: “This is good. That is all I can say.” With each stroke Aisse Magassa, who is still recovering from injuries she suffered in the fire, and Ngoundo Magassa seemed to ease a little more of their collective pain. Soon, with each dash of color, a poignant message became clear: From right to left, in Arabic was written “From God we came,” and then, in English, “To Him we shall return.”$