KUWAIT -
British preacher Amina Blake confirmed that her project to house new converts called "Houses of Eden" contributed to saving the lives of many women after they converted to Islam and lost shelter.
Blake indicated - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net during her stay in Kuwait - that "The Houses of Eden" is a center for sheltering new converts and those who enter Islam in Britain, and also provided shelter and emotional and relief support to many women and their children after they were expelled from their homes - by their families. and their families - because of their refusal to convert to Islam.
The British preacher hopes to be able to expand “Aden Homes” as one of the promising projects of the famous Islamic care home in London, noting that it seeks to establish branches for “Aden Homes” in London, Manchester and Birmingham, despite the presence of 4 homes in Britain.
Blake reveals that the role of "Eden Homes" does not stop at providing food, drink and housing only for new converts, but rather they are trained and qualified to learn some skills such as nursing, sewing and cooking.
The following is the text of the interview:
What is the Eden Homes project?
What is the intended benefit of the new converts?
Aden Houses is a promising project from the famous Islamic Care Home projects in London, and it provides hosting, emotional support and clothing for women and their children after they were expelled from their homes - by their families and families - because of their refusal to convert to Islam.
Currently we have 4 homes, but we also have a waiting list and various difficult cases;
Therefore, it is important for them to find a safe place of support to go on with life, feeling that their Muslim brothers are by their side in their time of need.
But what if these homes are not available?
If we do not provide them with the support they need in a timely manner - especially for new women in Islam - two things will happen: Others may jump to fill this void for other goals, or this segment may move away from Islam, and then we will be responsible for that before God because we did not do our best.
We have to build new homes on land we already have and make them available for children and women who need care.
How long have you been working on this project?
Since 2014, his idea came from a Muslim woman who had to leave her home, and I met her because her family said to her, "We don't agree with you becoming a Muslim, you will be a terrorist soon, so get out of the house."
I hosted her in my house, and this is what I was doing on a personal level, but because I have been working in da’wah for about 25 years, I wanted to do something more, and it remains after my departure to God Almighty.
Blake confirms that "Aden Homes" is a promising project of the Islamic Welfare House in London (Al-Jazeera)
In the end, I have a limited number of rooms in my house that I can give to the needy, so I suggested to the director of the house, my brother Tawfiq Qasmi, that there are sisters of ours who need help, and I cannot do this alone all the time;
So what if we set up a project to help these women and their children, and he agreed immediately and quickly used the computer, and we are still on the plane to Kuwait and I wrote the plan, thank God, to a benevolent family from Kuwait, and she said, “We will build the first house,” and thank God that was done in Birmingham.
Then the coming cases against Islam increased and the expulsion from the homes increased;
So we thought about building more homes over the next 10 years in every big city, and now thank God in 2022 we have 4 homes, but we need more in London, Manchester and Birmingham.
How many have benefited from your project so far?
I imagine about 400 women and children, and possibly more, I have to go back to the records to answer accurately.
When women leave homes with their children, where do they go?
We build for them a new life in more stable places, after we help them and qualify them to get jobs. Beit Aden is an emergency transit station for healing the wounds of life, and some of them return to work with us as volunteers.
During this time they spend in Beit Aden eating and drinking only?
No, we train them to be actors. We have educational and work programs that we apply carefully after studying each case, and we see their skills, for example, in nursing, healthy cooking or sewing.
Beit Aden is an integrated program even for physical health rehabilitation, and we believe that if we continue to help without development, it will not be good for them.
Are you still in contact with some of those who have left home?
Yes, I continue to communicate with them via phone calls or WhatsApp, and they tell me if they get married to congratulate and pray, or if they encounter problems and want support, and we must say that some cases have relapsed, and these are normal things.
What about your current expansion project?
We have land for construction and we hope to build 12 residential studios on it for needy sisters, and this is done with the support of benefactors in Kuwait as usual.
What about your Islam story?
Is there a link with this project?
In fact, when God guided me to Islam, I was leaving my house, and a friend in my teenage days hosted me with her in cafes, and because I was the daughter of a university professor (adopted) I searched in her apartment for a book to read and found only one book, the Noble Qur’an, so I read the stories of the prophets that I loved to read in The Bible, so I was surprised by facts I did not know, then I asked for more, so my friend introduced me to her Muslim neighbor who explained to me through a sheikh who knows the miracles of the Qur’an in scientific issues that were proven true more than 1400 years after it was revealed to the Messenger, peace be upon him, then he gave me a videotape of a movie “The Message.”