Muslims for Life Holds Series of Blood Drives, in Honor of 9/11 Victims

"In Islam, we believe that if you kill one person, you kill all of humanity," said Nazir Ayaz.

Ayaz was on his way to the LIRR Station on Bell Boulevard in Queens, where he and fellow Muslims were holding the second of a series of blood drives in New York in honor of the victims of 9/11 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.

"The idea began three or four months ago. We started handing out fliers, we put some ads up on buses - but mostly it's been word of mouth," said Ayaz.

Of the first day in New York, during which the blood drive was held at Union Square, Ayaz said, "Despite the rainy weather, we had donations from about 50 people. People are responding positively to us. They are responding positively to Muslims."

According to Ayaz the group has met with positive reactions across the country, with students and community organizers inspired to help the cause by setting up additional blood drives under the Muslims for Life banner.

The campaign’s mission is to collect 10,000 pints of blood, which could potentially serve 30,000 patients in need of transfusions. Its reception has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Ayaz, as it has traveled from Washington to the west coast and will soon come to Brooklyn.

The blood drives are part of a campaign called Muslims for Life, organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Red Cross. Muslims for Life have been holding , and will continue their campaign through the month of September.

Ayaz is a member of the global Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. First arriving to the U.S. in the 1920s, the Ahmadiyya community was the very first organized community of Muslims to immigrate and establish a presence in the United States.

Community members have given themselves the title Muslims for Peace, and are proactive about encouraging interfaith dialogue and educating non-Muslims about the facts of their religion by distributing translated copies of the Qur'an. Besides religious activities, the community runs a number of clinics, schools and hospitals for people in need throughout the world.

Post 9/11, the Muslims for Peace campaign go to lengths to make sure people understand that Muslims and Islam disapprove of violence, believe terrorism is wrong, and do not agree with the fundamentalist definition of the word “jihad.”

"The 9/11 events were not Islamic," Ayaz emphasizes. "Islam means peace."

People of the Ahmadiyya community have taken it upon themselves to reiterate this point at every opportunity- a visit to the Muslims for Life website shows the word "terrorism" crossed out and "honor the victims of 9/11" reads across the rest of the page.

"We intend to have 10,000 units of blood by the end of the project," says Ayaz. "In 9/11, we lost the lives of 3,000 people. We will hopefully gain the life of 30,000."

During the tenth anniversary of September 11 this year, the mosque will be open to all.

"We will all pray together, gather, distribute fliers." Says Ayaz.

You can find Ayaz and Muslims for Life stationed at Union Square on Friday from 12:20 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, the 11th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Brooklyn at 1477 West 8th Street and Bayside Avenue, at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mosque.

Additional blood drives will be held on September 17th and September 24th, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

To learn more about how you can donate or get involved, visit the Muslims for Life website.

Related Topics: 9/11, Bood drive, Brooklyn 9/11, Muslims for Life, and new york