Assalaamu Alaikum,
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. Our beloved sister, Aminah Assilmi passed
away this morning (March 5, 2010) in an automobile accident.
We pray that Allah (SWT) will shower His mercy on this sister and grant her the
highest level of Paradise - Jannat Ul-Firdous - and give her family patience in
this difficult time. Ameen.
Sister Aminah Assilmi, Director of the International Union of Muslim Women,
Author, Advocate of Women’s Rights, and Renowned Speaker died early Friday
morning while returning from a speaking engagement in New York .
Sister Aminah and her son, were in single car accident just outside of Newport
Tennessee where she had been living for just over a year. The car accident
happened just after 3am and it appears that Aminah was killed instantly. Her
son Mohammad was taken to a hospital in Knoxville .
Aminah had some health issues, but still maintained a rigorous schedule of
speaking engagements to many communities around the country and around
the world. She was instrumental in getting the Eid stamp issued in 2001 and
had been planning to start a campaign to have the stamp reissued with a new
design in time for its 10 year anniversary. She was also trying to build a Center
for Muslim Women’s Studies that would serve as a place where converts could
learn about Islam and the basics including how to pray etc., as a retreat, and as
a summer camp for Muslim children.
Aminah was 65 and is survived by her daughter Amber, and sons, Whitney and
Mohammad as well as several grandchildren.
Any donations to offset final expenses or to continue her work with IUMW can go
through the International Union of Muslim Women trough the website at
IUMW.org.
Remembrances can be sent to IUMW@yahoo.com, some of these may be
published on the website
about when the house she was living in was sold and she could not find a place to rent that was within her budget.
She didn't have the deposit, the credit references, or a good support network that could help her out.
In an effort to save money, Aminah became one more of the "serial campers" that move from campground to
campground trying to stretch the modest amount of money they have to fit from one end of the month to the other.
By living in a tent, cutting down on travel and food expenses, and relying on the kindness of strangers who often
share her plight, she has managed to survive.
By now you are probably asking how this famous speaker, this advocate of Islam and of women, the President of
the International Union of Muslim Women, can get into this position.
It is simple, many of our brothers and sisters are just one paycheck away from disaster. If a flood takes out their
apartment or a factory closes down, there is no way for them to start over or move away. Look around your own
community and see if you can identify the student who is so poor that they wear broken glasses or the working
poor family who can't afford the work needed to get their car fixed. It is the same with Aminah. Sister Aminah has
spent the last 30+ years doing Da'wah and working FisbillAllah, for the sake of Allah. It doesn't pay much in this
world, but according to the Qu'ran, the benefits in the next world are GREAT!
When you go online and google Aminah Assilmi, you will find many books, cds, videos and recordings of her work,
lectures and activities. She does not get a cent from any of these items. Some were recorded and sold by their
producers, in a few cases, she has received some copies that she could sell, but these have always been limited
in number. But by and large, the only person(s) who have made money, are the ones that sell these items.
Sister Aminah also does a lot of lectures and in many cases, she has only gotten her travel and hotels paid for.
Sometimes there is a collection taken and that is how she has made her "living." But then there are other cases.
A community that regularly provides stipends or honorariums to its invited male speakers, gave nothing but thanks
to its invited sister speakers. It is hard to pay the bills that way.
Another problem is that with the downturn in the economy, there are not as many communities that have the
resources to invite speakers and pay them any money at all.
PLEASE HELP!
So here it is my Sisters (and occasional brother reading this), since Sister Aminah
Assilmi won't ask, I will. We need a home for the International Union of Muslim Women,
and we heed a place for Aminah Assilmi to live and continue to do the work that helps
everyone. Please go to the contact us page and send an email. Please mail a donation
to the address at the top of the website. Please try to invite Sister Aminah to give a
speech or lecture to your community or to your local university. (She really is very
good!) And within the next few days, the website administrator (that is me) will have an
e-store in place to let you buy some of her books for which she gets ALL of the money.
Thank you and may Allah Bless you for your efforts.
