Helping the children of Ashabul Kahfi build an Islamic center

Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center is one of our fantastic community organisations that has served the Muslim community and specifically the Indonesian community for over 20 years. Many of Australian Indonesian youth have graduated from the Islamic studies programs run by the Center and Crescent Wealth and Crescent Foundation are delighted to support them in their bid to build their purpose built facilities for the community.

Support Ashabul Kahfi campaign now:

www.launchgood.com/ashabulkahfi

Tell us a little about yourself and why you do what you do?

Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Centre (AKIC) is a non-profit religious organization in Sydney that supports the welfare of the Muslim community in Sydney and various Islamic events for dawaa, and performs the cultural exchange between Muslims and the Australian community in Sydney. Since its establishment (1998) in the Lakemba area, Sydney, New South Wales, the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center (AKIC) has grown rapidly.  Starting with only 6 students who wish to learn to read the Quran, through a branch of the organization, the Ashabul Kahfi Language School (registered at the NSW Department of Fair Trading – Reg. No. Y2814224) has served more than 500 students to study Al Quran, Islamic studies, Arabic, and culture classes. The main purpose of the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center is to take an active role in organizing educational and cultural activities in accordance with Islamic teachings and to show the beauty of Islam to the people of Sydney and its surroundings, where the majority are non-Muslims.

What is the cause you are raising funding for today?

Currently, AKIC has owned two properties which are located at 10 – 11 Edge St, Wiley Park. These two properties have not been optimally used for AKIC activities due to the building permit which is still under residential status (we are located in the residential area). These permit constraints, more or less, have an impact on the operation of AKIC religious teaching and learning activities. For activities such as Friday prayers, tarawih prayers, Eid prayer, and Eid al-Adha; AKIC is still renting or using other buildings in the Wiley Park area. The organization of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha prayers often changes locations and the AKIC Quranic School still uses public school buildings with the permission of the council.

This lack of integration of the locations for many of AKIC activities made it difficult for the member to participate in religious activities held by AKIC. Therefore, with the approval of the permit to build the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center building in 2017, we hope that AKIC can concentrate all its religious activities in one location. The estimated cost of building and developing the Ashabul Kahfi Community Center is estimated to cost AUD $ 2 Million. The construction of the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center will be divided into 3 phases, each of which will cost around AUD $ 500,000 with an additional AUD $500,000 for planning and finishing.

With the deadline for the construction permit at the end of 2022, we are still short in finance to begin the first stage of this project. This is the main cause why we are raising the funding this Ramadhan.

Why does raising funds for this matter to you and the organisation you are supporting? 

 The council issued the approval for development (AD) for AKIC in 2017 and this will expire by the end of 2022. We need to begin the construction before the permit expires. Therefore, this fundraising is highly important for AKIC and our communities. 

How will the funds you raise measurably impact lives? and how many lives? 

Muslim communities that are within the network of Ashabul Kahfi outreach are our direct beneficiaries. Currently Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Centre (AKIC) is part of a larger Indonesian and Malaysian Muslim Communities. At the moment, there are about 500 – 700 community members that live in the greater Sydney area that is within AKIC outreach. The sooner the funds needed are raised, the earlier the center will be developed. 

What’s distinct about the organisation’s work?

 We reach our communities through education. According to the latest census data (2016), there are more than 30,000 Muslim children of school age between 5 – 18 years of age in the New South Wales region. Meanwhile, there are only about 15 Muslim schools that can only accommodate around 4000 children. This situation creates a big demand for Islamic education facilities for children who are not accommodated in Muslim schools. Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center aims to become a forum that not only provides education with an Islamic framework but also includes the Islamic teachings in our community cultures so we can live according to Islamic values. This goal is also reflected in AKIC`s newest program on Community Development and Awareness for Islamic Economics, Finance, and Technology in Australia. At AKIC we believe, with more than 2.5% population of Muslims in Australia, Islamic finance has a great potential to grow and nourish in the Land Under. However, there are still very limited awareness and education for the Australian Muslims to join forces in establishing a proper Islamic financial system. 

Why should we support this cause as opposed to all the other important causes that the world is suffering from now? 

Help us build this center, so we can become the hub for learning and education for Islamic studies in Australia, and with this, we will also produce more young Muslim generation who care and are aware of the world`s problems and are willing to take part to solve those problems and education is always a sustainable solution to the world problem today.

Support Ashabul Kahfi campaign now: www.launchgood.com/ashabulkahfi