(ATLANTA, GA, 9/7/17) — The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced that a dozen mosques across the State of Georgia plan to serve as temporary shelters for Georgia and Florida residents fleeing Hurricane Irma.
Starting Friday afternoon and continuing through the end of the storm, mosques as far north as Marietta, as far east as Savannah, and as far south as Macon are encouraging travelers, evacuees and others displaced by the Category 5 storm to check the listing of participating mosques, and seek refuge in the one closest to them.
“When Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, dozens of Houston mosques served as shelters for residents left stranded or homeless by the disaster. Georgia mosques stand ready to provide the same service to our neighbors of all faiths and backgrounds,” said Hamid Qureshi, executive director of the Atlanta chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), one of the nation’s largest Muslim charities.
“Because most Georgia mosques contain expansive, carpeted prayer halls, our houses of worship can easily shelter large numbers of people,” said Dr. Khalid Siddiq, a member of Al-Farooq Masjid, the largest mosque in Georgia.
Travelers who need help identifying the closest available mosque should call 404-940-4430 or email info@alfarooqmasjid.org.
Anyone who would like to donate their time as a volunteer to assist evacuees can sign-up here. Anyone would like to make a donation of goods can sign-up here. Anyone who would like to make a monetary donation can do so here by selecting the option, Charity to Support All Masajid in Atlanta Hosting Hurricane Victims.
For a regularly updated list of shelter locations open from Friday, Sept. 8th for evacuees of Hurricane Irma, visit the website of Al-Farooq Masjid. So far, participating mosques are:
Atlanta (Metro Area):
Al-Farooq Masjid of Atlanta
442 14th Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30318
Marietta (North/NW):
Masjid Al Furqan
1018 Powder Spring
Marietta, Georgia 30064
East Cobb Islamic Center
1111 Braswell Rd
Marietta, GA 30062
Gwinnett (NE):
Darul Huda Masjid
2755 Centerville HWY
Snellville, GA 30078
Masjid Maryam
3650 Savannah Place Dr.
Duluth, Georgia
Alpharetta (North):
Hamza Islamic Center
665 Tidwell Rd
Alpharetta, GA 30004
Cumming (NE):
Masjid Al-Rahman
1235 Peachtree Parkway
Cumming, Georgia
Macon/Warner Robins (South of Atlanta):
Islamic Center of Macon
2131 Vineville Ave
Macon, Georgia
Islamic Center of Warner Robins
2501 Elberta Road
Centerville, Georgia
Savannah (East)
Islamic Center of Savannah
1030 Dutchtown Road
Savannah, GA
CONTACT: Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, emitchell@cair.com; Hamid Qureshi, 404-940-4430, hqureshi@icnarelief.org