DALLAS, TEXAS May 24, 2022 — Baitulmaal, a Dallas-based international humanitarian nonprofit, was recently selected by a group of pro-Palestinian activists to administer the Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Scholarship Fund that will benefit students studying to become journalists.
The scholarship was created by local community leaders and activists to honor the legacy of Shireen Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American journalist working for Al-Jazeera who was shot and killed on the job in Jenin, Palestine, on May 11, 2022.
According to the scholarship campaign page on LaunchGood, the drive behind this effort is to turn heartbreak into action by converting “sadness and anger into positive energy that does justice to Shireen, defies the occupation, and empowers young Palestinian women.”
Baitulmaal was approached by the campaign’s creators to facilitate the distribution of funds to qualified applicants, according to Baitulmaal’s executive director Mazen Mokhtar. While the details are still being finalized, likely scholarship recipients will be students studying journalism at Birzeit University in Shireen’s homeland of Palestine as well as Yarmouk University in Jordan, Shireen’s alma mater.
“We are extremely honored to be entrusted with ensuring that Shireen’s legacy continues,” Mokhtar said. “May her life shine the light on truth and her death inspire us to justice.”
Baitulmaal is an international humanitarian nonprofit that provides life-saving, life-sustaining and life-enriching aid to people in need around the world. With headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the charity has offices and representatives in: Los Angeles, California; Tampa, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Nairobi, Kenya; Mogadishu, Somalia; Amman and Al Ramtha, Jordan; and Karachi, Pakistan.
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