Crawley Muslims stand for peace in 10km charity challenge

On a wet, April day, hundreds of members of the organisation as young as five from across the UK gathered in London’s Hyde Park to take part in the ‘Mercy4Mankind’ 10K Charity Challenge.

It challenged participants to walk or run 10km raising money for a range of charities including Barnardo’s, the British Heart Foundation, CLIC Sargent, the NSPCC, Humanity First, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Royal British Legion, The Royal Hospital for Neuro Disability, Bloodwise, and the RNIB.

The annual event, now in its 32nd year, has raised more than £2m for UK charities.

The event is generally hosted in a different location each year, with previous locations including the Tower of London, Battersea Park and the Yorkshire Dales.

The ‘Mercy4Mankind’ challenge is named after the Prophet Muhammad who Muslims believe was sent by God as a ‘Mercy for Mankind’.

The event’s tagline, ‘every act of goodness is charity’ is a saying of the Prophet Muhammad who emphasised and encouraged charitable efforts towards all humanity.

Atif Rashid from AMYA UK said: “The event seeks to not only raise money in support of various UK charities but also to raise awareness about the true message and character of the Prophet Muhammad.

“In an era where Muslims are shown to be disregarding such peaceful principles of Islam, AMYA hopes this event will serve a dual purpose of not only helping charitable causes but also reminding Muslims and non-Muslims alike that Islam and its founder stood firmly for peace and unity within humanity. It is these fundamental principles which form the basis for the charity challenge and the work of AMYA.”

AMYA is the UK’s largest Muslim youth organisation and the leading Muslim youth group challenging extremism in the UK.

For more information about the event, or to donate, visit www.Mercy4Mankind.org or follow @AMYA_Humanity. For more information about AMYA, go to www.MuslimsForHumanity.org.uk or follow @UKMuslimYouth