{"id":7875,"date":"2018-04-03T15:34:03","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T14:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=7875"},"modified":"2018-04-03T20:08:57","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T19:08:57","slug":"man-helping-sick-kids-shows-islams-true-face-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/man-helping-sick-kids-shows-islams-true-face-in-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Man helping sick kids shows Islam’s ‘true face’ in US"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Islam\"A 63-year-old Muslim immigrant, who looks after terminally-ill children in the U.S., has said his selfless and inspiring story is helping change negative perceptions about Muslims in America.
\nIn an interview with Anadolu Agency, Libyan-born Mohamed Bzeek said: \u201cMy story changed the way the American thinks about Muslims.\u201d
\nMuslims in the U.S. are seen as \u201ccriminals, killer, we are not good and Islam is just the religion of blood and devastation,\u201d he said.
\n\u201c[But] after my story, I showed them the true Islam. Islam is about love and compassion and sympathy towards other people.\u201d
\nBzeek\u2019s story became public after he was interviewed by Los Angeles Times last year. He has been taking care of abandoned or terminally-ill children since 1989.
\nRecalling the words of an atheist in the U.S. to him, Bzeek said he told him: \u201cAfter reading your story I hope there is god so he can reward you.\u201d
\nBzeek said he had taken care of 80 children in the U.S. since the 90s.
\n\u201cTen of them died; I was holding them [when they died],\u201d he said.
\nSome of the babies he took care of did not even have names, he said, so he gave them Muslim names.
\n\u201cI raise them as Muslims.\u201d
\nTurkey acknowledges contribution<\/strong>
\nThe man with a heart of gold has been acknowledged by Turkey and an award was given to him by the Turkish president himself; even a Turkish filmmaker is planning to turn his inspiring story into a documentary.
\nSpeaking at a ceremony in capital Ankara where Bzeek was given the International Benevolence Award, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said stories like that of Bzeek gave people hope despite the violence and brutality across the globe.
\nAbout the difficulties he faces in helping terminally-ill children, Bzeek said it is not easy to raise children who require special care.
\n\u201cIt is a very hard job,\u201d he said: \u201cThey have a lot of medication, they have a lot of machines.\u201d
\nSome nights you cannot sleep because you have to take care of them during the night, he adds.
\n\u201cThis is my first vacation in seven years,\u201d he added.
\nAn electronic engineer by profession, Bzeek, who himself has a disabled son, remembers his first foster child.
\n\u201cA Mexican girl,\u201d he recalled.
\n\u201cShe was just a month old,\u201d when Bzeek began looking after her. In 1991, she died after living for two-and-a-half years with the family.
\n\u201cIt was very hard and it was my first experience of death with a little kid that you have at home for two years.
\nPeople ‘afraid’ to care<\/strong>
\n\u201cWhen she died it really hit me hard and I was so sad, I was crying for three days,\u201d Bzeek said.
\nBzeek, who is a devout Muslim, said he cares for children regardless of their religion, nationality or skin color.
\n\u201cI just take them as human beings, I consider them as my own children, I don\u2019t think them as foster children,\u201d he said.
\nIn 1995, Bzeek and his wife decided to take care of terminally-ill kids.
\n\u201cI was told that I am the only house in the LA that is taking [care of] kids knowing they are going to die,\u201d he said.
\nPeople do not want these kids because they are dying, he added.
\n\u201cThey are afraid if they take them home and they die in their house it will be devastating for their family and kids. That\u2019s why people don\u2019t like to take kids that are going to die.\u201d
\nHe said children under his care are made to feel at home.
\n\u201cWhen I take them, I make them feel at home. I make them feel they have family, brothers and sister. They are safe and somebody will take care of them.
\n\u201cAnd somebody will be with them until the last minute of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

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