A street is littered with debris at the Windmill Village mobile home park in Punta Gorda, Florida, after Hurricane Charley

CAIRO, August 19 (IslamOnline.net) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group has launched a campaign to mobilize Muslims in the country to provide disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Charley, which left thousands homeless in Florida.   

The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL), in cooperation with the Islamic Center of Southwest Florida (ICSWF) of Ft. Meyers, announced the campaign on Wednesday, August 18.

The group urged in an action alert Muslims across Florida and the United States to aid their fellow Americans by sending donations.

It also urged mobilizing volunteers to collect items and cash after Friday prayers, asking worshipers at the prayer to donate to this cause, establishing a plan to forward relief supplies to victims by using a local donation drop-offs
sites.

The CAIR-FL called in an action alert for Islamic centers and mosques across the state to designate this Friday, August 20, as "Hurricane Disaster Relief Day." (Friday is the day for Islamic congregational prayers, or "Jummah.")

The group said Imams can use the Friday sermon to remind worshipers about the Islamic obligation to help neighbors, and for Muslims to organize a "Disaster Relief Drive" at their Islamic center or mosque after prayers this Friday.

Prayers

CAIR-FL called on Muslims to make du’aa (supplication) for victims of Hurricane Charley, which devastated more than two dozen Florida counties, leaving thousands homeless and hundreds of thousands without power or water.

The estimated cost of disaster recovery could reach into the billions.

The group reiterated that Qur’an, Islam's revealed text, enjoins Muslims to "cooperate with one another toward righteousness."

When asked to describe some of the best  actions a Muslim can perform, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "To feed (the needy) and to greet those you know and those you don't know." The Prophet also said: "Speak the truth…and be a good neighbor."

Donations can be sent to United Way Hurricane Charley Relief Donation Fund (813-274-0900 or donate online http://www.unitedwayhc.org), and to Islamic Center of Southwest Florida Hurricane Relief Fund (239-939-0292).