At the end of the day, they moved as a group through the halls of a rural high school, which had been transformed into a shelter. They passed a crowd of locals - including volunteers and people displaced by the record-setting floods - and the words on their blue vests seemed to catch everyone's eye: "Islamic Relief."
"Are they Islamic?" one woman whispered to the person next to her. Others simply stared.
And it was true. They were Muslim, and they had come from across the country to the traditionally red state of North Carolina. Islamic Relief USA has been around for more than two decades, but in a year when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has frequently cast Muslims as violent radicals, the charity's volunteers say they have been thrust into the role of unofficial ambassadors for the real Muslim America.
Plodding in their blue disaster-relief vests through neighborhoods devastated by floods, tornadoes and fires, they frequently encounter people who are "pretty surprised to see Muslims," said Hani Hamwi, 29, the charity's disaster response team manager.
"I think there's an image that gets painted in your head of who Muslims are," Hamwi said. "An American practicing Islam, it's good for people to see that, hey, she's a teacher or she's a medical student and that they took a break to come down here."
Hamwi is leading a team of 13 in North Carolina, helping to run the largest shelter in Robeson County, which was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. Here, in one of the state's poorest stretches of countryside, the Lumber River and a web of streams snake through forests and fields of cotton, tobacco and sweet potatoes. After the hurricane struck, the floodwaters rose swiftly.
"Two levees in Lumberton burst. It happened real fast. So people didn't have a chance to gather up their stuff," said Corbin Eddings, a local State Farm insurance salesman who was volunteering at the shelter.
In the first days of the flood, the local high school in neighboring Pembroke held more than 800 people, most of whom arrived by bus after being plucked from rooftops or wading through chest-deep water from wooden homes and trailers.
A sizable portion of the county's population is Lumbee, part of a Native-American tribe that is not federally recognized, and another sizable portion is black. Many people get by on public assistance and small home gardens dug behind rusting trailers set along dirt roads that wind through patches of forest. Even before the storm brought the Lumber River to more than 24 feet above flood stage, some families were living without running water or electricity.
The Islamic Relief volunteers arrived Friday. Most were in their 20s, and they were embarking on their first "disaster deployment." There was a teacher and an occupational therapist, an IT consultant and a handful of recent college graduates. They had gotten the call Thursday and boarded flights from California, Texas, Florida, Oregon and Washington, D.C.
On Saturday, they went out to survey the damage. They saw a collapsed bridge, washed out train tracks and waterlogged cars that would never run again. They saw piles of dead fish in yards where the river had invaded, and they saw people wading waist-deep in a murky brown sea. One man dragged a floating mattress with another person on top.
"It was something you don't expect to see in America," said Hanna Jalanbo, 22, who traveled here from Orlando, Florida, where she is studying for a master's degree in social work.
On Sunday, the group sorted cans of food, clothes and other donated supplies and scrubbed the school's wrestling room so that it could be converted into a day-care center for babies and toddlers.
On Monday, the American Red Cross, which was running the shelter, asked them to care for older children so that overwhelmed parents could seek help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and venture out to assess the damage.
Nasima Chowdhury, 50, of Dallas, who had worked for decades as a special-education teacher, quickly took charge. And within a few hours, a room full of children ages 6 to 10 were stacking Legos with Lina Asfoor, a 23-year-old occupational therapist from Santa Clara, California; reading with Hasana Abdul-Quadir, a 23-year-old AmeriCorps volunteer who spent the past year working in a District school; and playing with Abdussamad Peera, a 55-year-old Pakistani-American IT consultant and father of five from Dallas.
Founded in 1993, Islamic Relief is the largest Muslim charity in America, with about $100 million a year in donations. Most of the money is used for aid operations in and around overseas conflict zones, but the group also responds to domestic disasters with a formal team created five years ago.
So far this year, the charity has responded to eight disasters, including tornadoes in Oklahoma, wildfires in Washington state, floods in Louisiana and Texas, and water contamination in Flint, Michigan. Often, they are dispatched to rural parts of the country, where Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric has received enthusiastic support.
"The coolest thing about it, in the age of Trump, is when we go out, everyone sees our branding," Hamwi said. "So whether someone hates it or loves it, wants us there or doesn't want us there, they get to see that we're Muslim. Which is kind of awesome because we get to represent Muslims in America in a way that a lot of people wouldn't expect."
Among the North Carolina team members, three, including Hamwi, are Syrian Americans, as well as Muslims.
"Right now, those are probably the worst things you can be: A Muslim, a male in your 20s and Syrian," Hamwi said. "Anyone watching the news, until they get to know me and understand what I stand for, I can imagine some might have uncomfortable thoughts."
Occasionally, the organization encounters hostility. Earlier this year, a sheriff in rural Louisiana ordered the group out of his parish when they showed up to do damage assessments on flood-ravaged homes. Last year, the mayor of a small town in Illinois told Islamic Relief workers to leave a flood zone after people complained that they did not want Muslims there.
In North Carolina, the volunteers have encountered mostly gratitude - but also some wariness. Looking at Asfoor's headscarf, one little boy said, "I heard if you take that off, they're going to cut your head off."
Still, the children appeared to be thrilled by the volunteers' attention. They hung off the legs of Salma Alwani, 25, from Claremont, Calif., and took turns combing Peera's thick mane of gray hair. On the second day, the parents showed up earlier and left a larger number of children, even as the shelter's population was rapidly shrinking.
"She had so much fun yesterday," one mother said as she dropped off a 6-year-old.
A 7-year-old girl with a long ponytail told Chowdhury, that she, too, wanted to be a volunteer and wear a blue vest. She pointed to Chowdhury's sparkling pink headscarf, and said she wanted to wear that, too.
Among the other shelter workers - a collection volunteers from the Red Cross, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and the local community - any initial wariness appeared to dissipate rapidly. One local volunteer sorting donated clothes with Jalanbo asked about her beliefs.
"I'll get back to you," Jalanbo said, following strict Islamic Relief policy.
"We are supposed to emphasize that we never proselytize," said Faran Kharal, 24, an Islamic Relief staffer from Los Angeles.
A group of Army National Guard members stationed at the shelter also made an awkward stab at conversation.
"How long have you been in the country?" a staff sergeant asked Peera.
"Uh, since 1980," Peera said.
Earlier, the staff sergeant had asked Peera whether he got "a lot of flak from white people," and Peera acknowledged that he sometimes did. But the sergeant, who had served in Iraq, made clear that he welcomed the Muslim volunteers.
"You guys have done a lot," said the staff sergeant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not have authority to speak publicly.
"It's great y'all are out here. There's a huge stereotype [about Muslims] in North Carolina."
On Tuesday night, the volunteers had dinner at On The Border in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As they were walking out, an elderly white couple spotted them. "Thank you for what you're doing," the couple called out. It happened in other restaurants, too, in the shelter's parking lot and when Hamwi visited the local Red Cross headquarters at the Fort Bragg Army base.
Hamwi said he likes being noticed, likes that his bright-blue vest says "Islamic Relief" in big, bold letters.
"I genuinely think that people don't want to live in fear," Hamwi said. "Which is why I think so many people are excited to see us."
Hamwi said he often thinks about a man he met last winter after a bout of tornadoes sowed destruction through a small Oklahoma town.
"He had a big belt buckle and cowboy boots, and he came up to us all teary-eyed like he was about to break down.
"He said, 'I'm sorry.' And I said, 'For what?' And he said, 'I had the wrong idea about you guys.' "
The Washington Post
Fri Oct 21 2016
![In the era of Trump, Islamic Relief volunteers are ambassadors for Muslim America In the era of Trump, Islamic Relief volunteers are ambassadors for Muslim America](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2016-10/41477054165_RobesonCountry.jpg)
Islamic Relief members and kids dance to hip-hop at the shelter in Robeson County. Washington Post/Abigail Hauslohner
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).
![Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/71709993909_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
![Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/41713876066_TBringgitmalaysia.jpg)
Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup
Pada 6 petang, ringgit susut lagi kepada 4.6745/6790 berbanding dolar AS daripada 4.6725/6745 semasa ditutup semalam.
![Penampilan pertama Trump di konvensyen GOP selepas terselamat cubaan bunuh Penampilan pertama Trump di konvensyen GOP selepas terselamat cubaan bunuh](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721113188_DonaldTrump.jpg)
Penampilan pertama Trump di konvensyen GOP selepas terselamat cubaan bunuh
Donald Trump menghadiri Konvensyen Kebangsaan Republikan pada malam Isnin, penampilan umum pertamanya sejak terselamat daripada cubaan bunuh.
![Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721107129_DonaldTrumpJDV.jpg)
Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya
Bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat Donald Trump mengumumkan Senator Ohio JD Vance akan menjadi calon Naib Presidennya dalam pilihan raya 2024.
![Tiada tempat untuk keganasan politik dalam demokrasi AS - Obama Tiada tempat untuk keganasan politik dalam demokrasi AS - Obama](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721093818_JoeBiden.jpg)
Tiada tempat untuk keganasan politik dalam demokrasi AS - Obama
Kenyataan Obama mengundang kecaman warganet terutamanya istilah 'keganasan politik' yang dikatakan menunjukkan sisi hipokrasi Washington.
![Mahkamah AS tolak pertuduhan tambahan dalam kes dokumen sulit Trump Mahkamah AS tolak pertuduhan tambahan dalam kes dokumen sulit Trump](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721080824_chargingdocument.jpg)
Mahkamah AS tolak pertuduhan tambahan dalam kes dokumen sulit Trump
Permohonan Trump untuk menolak pertuduhan berdasarkan pelantikan dan pembiayaan tidak sah 'Special Counsel' Jack Smith diluluskan.
![Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/61702135893_TBBERITAx.jpg)
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
![Sokongan belian asing dorong Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi Sokongan belian asing dorong Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/61714480297_tbbursamalaysialog.jpg)
Sokongan belian asing dorong Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi
Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi pada hari dagangan pertama minggu ini berikutan sokongan belian asing yang berterusan, dalam keadaan prestasi pasaran serantau yang bercampur-campur.
![Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721019915_JoeBiden.jpg)
Biden seru redakan retorik politik di AS selepas cubaan bunuh Trump
Sudah tiba masanya untuk meredakan retorik politik di Amerika Syarikat (AS), kata Presiden Joe Biden semasa ucapan mengenai cubaan membunuh bekas Presiden Donald Trump.
![Bahan letupan ditemukan dalam kereta suspek penembak Trump - Laporan Bahan letupan ditemukan dalam kereta suspek penembak Trump - Laporan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721018676_ThomasMatthewCroo.jpg)
Bahan letupan ditemukan dalam kereta suspek penembak Trump - Laporan
Pihak berkuasa menemukan bahan letupan dalam kereta yang dipandu lelaki berusia 20 tahun yang didakwa cuba membunuh bekas Presiden Donald Trump semasa perhimpunan kempennya di Pennsylvania.