Backed by prominent patrons including UK property investment expert Zuneth Sattar, Muslim Hands was founded in Nottingham in 1993. Created in response to the war in Bosnia, the organisation started life with a small number of volunteers collecting clothes, medicine, and donations.
Over the years, Muslim Hands evolved to from a grassroots movement to an international aid agency, working through regional offices all over the world and collaborating with partner organisations to distribute aid effectively, efficiently, transparently, and accountably to make a lasting difference in communities.
Muslim Hands is dedicated to addressing the root causes of poverty, providing not just immediate relief, but implementing long-term initiatives to support communities.
Over the last 27 years, Muslim Hands has:
- Raised more than £200 million
- Sponsored more than 50,000 orphans
- Provided more than 2.5 million individuals with clean water globally
Inspired by Islam, Muslim Hands’ vision is to tackle poverty at its root cause, creating a fairer world for all. The organisation stands for equality: the belief that all human beings have the same basic right to food, clean water, family, community, education, and a means to support themselves.
Rather than simply providing short-term relief, Muslim Hands strives to empower individuals in the long-term. Approaching each situation on a case-by case basis, Muslim Hands aims to find appropriate and sustainable solutions, making a targeted and lasting impact and a real difference to people’s lives.
Since 1993, the generosity of UK donors has helped transform communities all over the world, improving the lives of thousands of people.
Domestically, issues faced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and Muslim communities continue to demand the organisation’s attention. Since 2008, in addition to its global activities, Muslim Hands has also tackled domestic issues faced by Muslims and BME communities.
Muslim Hands’ ultimate goal is to expand opportunities for members of underachieving communities, enabling them to a life free from exclusion, exploitation, and poverty. Muslim Hands engages with community organisations by providing practical support, assisting with capacity building, funding, and network-expanding, further benefiting more community members.
Through its community kitchen in London, Muslim Hands tackles domestic food poverty. Its Open Kitchen provides rough sleepers and low-income families struggling to find food with daily nutritious meals.
Since 2008, Muslim Hands has encouraged children to expand their creative reach and communication skills through its flagship youth development programme, the Young Muslim Writers Awards. The initiative delivers writing workshops at various venues across the UK, inviting children aged between five and 16 to submit poetry and short stories to the annual writing competition.
In the UK today, 46% of Muslims reside in England’s most deprived areas and 14% of prison inmates are Muslim. Since 2012, Muslim Hands has supported more than 16,000 individuals across the UK, empowering young people, promoting prisoner resettlement and rehabilitation, supporting marginalised women, and tackling poverty at a grass root level.
