Tufail Ahmad has lived many lifetimes in his 85 years and has contributed to numerous worthy organizations, but perhaps his most significant contribution to our community has been in the last 20 years representing the Montgomery County Muslim community.
Ahmad was born and raised in India and graduated from university. In 1958 he moved to Pakistan and joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in the Auditor General’s office. This job included four years at the United Nations and he often visited the Pakistani embassy in Washington. He eventually left the government, moved to the DC area and in 1977 established his own private shipping company there. After his three children had settled their own lives, his family encouraged him to leave his business and start doing what he loved.
What Ahmad loved was being active in local and state Democratic politics. However, after 9/11 the Muslims he knew in the community became afraid to leave their homes for fear of reprisals. Ahmad felt that staying isolated was a huge mistake and encouraged everyone to get involved. In 2002 he led a Muslim group collecting food from three restaurants and feeding more than 800 homeless people residing in a shelter near Union Station. “In Islam feeding the hungry and helping those in need is everyone’s duty, and we had to go beyond just saying this to others,” he explains.
This focus continued through the years to 2006, and members of the Islamic Community Center of Potomac started collecting food from Giant, and then donating Christmas gift baskets that included toys and other holiday presents. Following the traditions of the Muslim religious holiday of Eid-ul-Adha, which celebrates generosity and hospitality, they donated 400 pounds of meat to the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg.
In 2007 he worked with Ike Leggett, then the county executive, to form the non-profit Montgomery County Muslim Foundation (MCMF). The county supported this effort by extending $80,000 in grants allowing Ahmad and his volunteers to rent an office and hire part-time staff. Today the foundation serves as a multi-purpose location for collecting/distributing food and clothing to the needy, assisting recently arrived refugees, conducting senior activities (exercise and yoga classes), and youth programs (including SAT prep and coding classes). During the depths of COVID-19, MCMF and its volunteers distributed much-needed food to many families and also supported local hospitals and police/firefighter departments.
Ahmad hopes to continue expanding these efforts. Recently, the foundation raised funds to provide five $1,000 scholarships for young ladies to attend universities. Spurred on by the Black Lives Matter Movement, MCMF also raised $50,000 from its members to sponsor African American students in academic programs, including vocational training.
For Ahmad, it's a family affair – his three children and seven grandchildren, as well as his beloved late wife Sajida, supported him and follow his example by volunteering and making financial donations to MCMF. “It makes me so happy and it is so important to be helpful to others,” Ahmad concludes.