He found himself in Reseda, California, when the 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck.
It lasted just six seconds but left 57 people dead and more than 9,000 injured. Eventually, the property damage from the disaster was estimated to be around $13 to $50 billion.
He was alone in his car headed to an appointment. Instead of worrying about himself, he thought of the people around him. And that is how the one-man Muslim army began.
This corporate executive for some reason had a small folding table in his trunk. He set the table down on a street side with a pen and a paper asking people what they needed. The government was still trying to figure things out and the Red Cross had not yet crossed the bridge to reach that area.
People started lining up. As the line grew, he wondered how to find supplies where many stores were down. Thank God mobile phone service was still working so he started calling his friends. He told them ‘We need this much baby milk here. We need so many diaper boxes. We need someone to bring gas for cars here.’
Some people who were injured needed urgent care. Others had lost their homes and needed shelter. Everyone needed water and food. And the list went on. Women, children, men, and families all lining up with their ask in front of this stranger on his little table.
The earthquake's epicenter was in the San Fernando Valley, approximately 19 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. That earthquake on January 17, 1994, was the most significant seismic event in the region since 1971. The weather was in its mid-fifties and a bit of drizzle and fog was making it feel even colder that early morning.
In the three weeks following the main earthquake, 3,000 aftershocks were recorded. Additionally, over 11,000 landslides occurred. Several major roads and freeways, such as Interstate 10 over La Cienega Boulevard, the inter-changes of Interstate 5 with California State Route 14, 118, and Interstate 210, were closed due to structural failures or collapses.
But neighbors were in the mind of this one-man Muslim army, not himself or his family.
He had the list and the line of people in front of him. But he had no supplies. Eventually, he was able to recruit others to help. Ten to twelve friends in his own organization, called the Islamic Circle of North America or ICNA, started helping. They, however, were not using their organizational name. Helping people was in their mind, not credit. But the credit eventually did come when this one-man Muslim army was recruited in the government’s relief council, and as the media wrote about Muslims helping neighbors. But that is not what this army was looking for. God Almighty says that when you help the needy, you do that without expecting a return or a thank you (Quran 76:9).
More “soldiers” joined in. They began buying needed items in bulk from nearby stores. Many stores were, however, not open for business. But some of the owners opened theirs because of this one-man Muslim army. Some provided goods for free. May God bless them. The army area expanded further. They were now operating in Northridge, Reseda, and Granada Hills.
Most volunteers had to walk miles carrying the heavy supplies on their heads. All mosques in that area were eventually converted into shelters and people of all faiths were staying there, with food provided to them by the Muslim community.
The second boost to this one-man Muslim army came when Muslim Students’ Association or MSA joined in. Even many young non-Muslim students decided to participate.
At this point, the army had expanded from a folding table and one chair to a camp. When the city rescue team eventually arrived, they were smart enough to work with this one-man Muslim army and his soldiers which was already in place, instead of being the arrogant bureaucracy which often dances to its own tune. They sat with him, organizing the survivors and victims of that earthquake. The Red Cross also came in. They were also thoughtful enough to work with this team. But that is how this one-Man Muslim Army emerged into a broader effort to help people of the suburbs of the Northridge area.
No one was asking who is Muslim and who is not. These were all human beings trying to help the survivors of this major earthquake. They were not debating whether God is punishing people or not, letting the disaster unfold while people suffered. They were just good human beings. This is why a great South Asian Islamic scholar once said that to be a good Muslim, one needs to be a good human being first. In Islam there is no difference of faith when it comes to matters of justice, the rights of the poor, or the rights of neighbors. Allahu Akbar.
This one-man Muslim army was a California CEO named Masood Aijazi. He is a Pakistani-American who has returned to his homeland and is now dedicating himself to make Pakistan a better country. May God bless him with the best in this little blue earth of our galaxy and in the ever-ever lasting world where actions speak much much louder than words.
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