The charity said about 50% of the UK’s Muslim households live in poverty, compared to 18% of the UK’s general population. Its partners report a significant increase in the use of food banks compared to the last two lockdowns, with the crisis being exacerbated by rising cost of living and the pandemic. Bushra Begum lives in a small room in east London with her husband and three children under the age of six. He told Sky News that the refrigerator is broken and a hole in the wall behind it lets the rodents in. “They come in at night, not just one, two or three. “I have no choice but to stay here. “The rent is so high. “Even here, we give my husband’s entire salary to cover the rent just for this single room. “And now they are increasing the electricity bills. It has become so difficult.” Picture: Bushra Begum lives in a small room in east London with her husband and three children Ms. Begum’s room is in a building that houses many others like her. Everything shares a kitchen and a bathroom. “Sometimes my kids want to use the bathroom, but they have to keep waiting because other people use it.” With no money left after paying the rent, she relies on local food banks to feed her children. The rapid rise in the price of basic household items has severely affected household spending, with analysis by the Resolution Foundation showing that households could be £ 1,000 20 worse in 2022. Tufail Hussain, director of Islamic Relief UK, said: “Families across the UK will suffer as a result of record inflation and rising energy prices due to the war in Ukraine. Image: More people rely on food banks to feed themselves and their families “We urge the UK Government to reconsider this decision and to take the necessary steps to prevent families from being impoverished. “This is especially important as Muslim families begin to observe the holy month of Ramadan. “Many will be fasting from sunrise to sunset and there is a real risk that families will not have enough food or will not have enough to feed their children.” Fahim Dahya, logistics director at food bank Sufra NW10, told Sky News he expected a pandemic crisis. “The bills are not going to hit until the end of this month, so we are preparing for a big explosion,” he said. “After the pandemic hit, within a few months, we had a 400% increase. It has changed the way the food bank operates, he said, with less time now even to talk to their guests. “It used to be a relaxing experience – people would come, get some food, talk. Image: Food bank officials say there is less time to talk to users now because demand is so high “We talked to them and learned about their situation, we tried to offer help. Now they just feel anxious and uncertain.” Usually, Muslims tend to give more to charity during Ramadan, including paying zakat – a mandatory donation of a percentage of wealth by those who can afford it to those who need it. “One of the key things is that zakat should be spent in the area where you live,” said Sohail Hanif, chief executive of the Zakat National Foundation. “There are a lot of struggling families in the UK. We really see that now.” Commenting on the rising cost of living on Friday, Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said: “While no government can control the global factors that increase the cost of daily commodities, we will definitely do what we can to mitigate the rising cost.”
