Mohammed Hussain
Hyderabad: A young American Muslim, Mustafa Hussain has decided to celebrate Ramadan differently. He has started paying for people’s meals at local food joints in New Jersey, US, as a ‘giving back deed’.
The 22-year-old Hussain is a YouTuber, actor, and vlogger based in New York City. He has uploaded his ‘giving back’ videos on YouTube. By bringing his deed into public domain Hussain aims to spread positivity about Ramadan and Muslims among people.
After watching his video on YouTube, Siasat.com tracked down Hussain and spoke with him on the telephone. He said, “Ramadan is all about giving and helping people. We thought this would be a good way to spread knowledge about Ramadan as the Muslims focus on charity during the month.”
“We have done similar work earlier where we paid for peoples groceries. These random acts of kindness leave a positive impact on people,” he added.
Hussain believes, “My personal philosophy is to help people unconditionally when they least expect it. Since the month of Ramadan is all about personal piety, sharing and giving, I wanted to pay for people’s meals. I believe that helping people in any form is an amazing deed that we should all do. It doesn’t have to be something related to money. Doing something like holding the door for someone or complimenting someone can change their day.”
He uploaded the video on May 9. Ever since he has gained a lot of encouragement for his work. His video has garnered more than 800k views, 48k likes, 5k comments, and shares. The comments included queries, suggestions, loads of love and appreciation, from Muslims and non-Muslims both.
His motive is to spread positivity and give back to the community. “Ramadan is all about giving back and helping people. We thought this would be a good way to spread knowledge about what Ramadan is and inform people that the month has begun,” read his description which also carries a brief note about Ramadan and its significance. He also talks about how Muslims exercise restraint while they are fasting.
Hussain is an American of Pakistani parentage. An engineering graduate, he claims he has enough support to fund his YouTube activity and donate a part of his earnings as a charity. He said he has a partner who helps him out. His name is Ahmad Atieh.
