Muslim Hands - United for the Needy is an international NGO working in over forty countries worldwide to help those affected by natural disasters, conflict and poverty. The organisation was established in 1993 in Nottingham, UK. It has faced criticism for its membership in organizations that have been tied to the Muslim Brotherhood but it has been approved that they have no link with The Muslim Brotherhood.
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History
According to the website muslimhands.org.uk, it was the crisis in Bosnia that prompted a community in Nottingham to send aid to those suffering in the conflict, which marked the formation of Muslim Hands.
Muslim Hands work
Muslim Hands has three main points of focus: development work, which tries to lift communities out of poverty with long-term sustainable solutions based on their needs; humanitarian work, assisting those immediately affected by conflict and natural disaster, and more recently; community welfare and development facilitating and developing local community based projects in the UK.
Controversy
In 2008, the Israeli government banned Muslim Hands, along with 35 other organizations for working as "...part of Hamas's fundraising network".
Working in emergencies
They regularly act on behalf of other UK NGOs to deliver aid supplies to areas where they have an existing field office or volunteers.
They have been present on the ground for widely publicised disasters such as the Asian tsunami of 2004, the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the recent Horn of Africa. They have also been present for crisis that have never attracted media attention such as the sub-zero winters in Kashmir, cholera outbreaks in Guinea Bissau and acute droughts in Somalia, Mali and Niger.
Their method of working in emergency situations is to help provide immediate relief, early recovery and long term rehabilitation work.
Locations
Muslim Hands works in over 50 of the world's poorest countries, and has fundraising offices in London and Hyson Green, Nottingham in the UK, and also in France and South Africa.
Awards and nominations
In January 2013, Muslim Hands was nominated for the Charity of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.