Breaking Barriers (Disability)

In the Australian community, people with disabilities are often poorly supported and stigmatised for uncontrollable conditions and circumstances they experience. These experiences are even more prevalent in the Muslim community as Muslims with Special Needs and their families are often secluded from actively participating in regular social and educational activities, congregational worship and more. If you think about it, how many of our Mosques cater for disabled people? Or have a wudhu section that is disabled friendly?  

The Breaking Barriers program is designed to raise awareness, address and resolve the challenges facing Muslims with Special Needs in our community. We will work with mosques, government agencies and other organisations to support and build programs that address these challenges one-by-one, to  provide a higher quality of life as Muslims than what they currently have. Through this program, we also aim to support the education of the general public about disabilities, special needs and how to be more supportive of Muslims with Special Needs.

The Breaking Barriers program is to assist Muslims with Special Needs as well as their carers, families, legal guardians and/or facilities caring for them. Support provided through this program is not limited to financial means but can also be with regards to assistance in various aspects of living through services such as private tuition in academic and Islamic studies, mentoring, community care, support activities for youth and children, and more.

Another exciting component of Breaking Barriers is our Masjid Certification program for Mosques & Prayer Facilities in Australia, based on the facilities they provide for disabled Muslims. This is a revolutionary step that we will be implementing in Australia, based on a MUHSEN Masjid Certification framework in North America. This will now enable our Mosques to be more inclusive and allow those with disabilities in our community to start attending prayers in Mosques when they have long been denied this facility.

If you are someone or have someone under your care with Special Needs, or belong to a Mosque committee and are interested in the Masjid Certification program, please submit your application and find out how we can assist you.

The application and validation process is done by the NZF Team with confidentiality. Any information given will only be used to determine the best way we can help you.

If you are an individual, company, business, service or organisation, you can become a Program Partner by financially supporting and funding our programs, either through the means of Zakat or Sadaqah.

You can also become a Service Partner by providing essential services such as Quran classes, counselling, mentoring, tutoring etc. for our programs.