Students of the M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi® center in Houston, Texas engage in their spiritual journey to self-cognition by attending live lectures on Sunday mornings. Additionally, they carry out the principles of Sufism practically by engaging in various activities that are meant to be a lesson for them while simultaneously giving back to the community. Student volunteers from the M.T.O. Houston center have been providing community service for a number of years.

One highlight of the center’s charity work includes supporting communities throughout Houston in times of need as a result of Hurricane Harvey, but perhaps the most significant of charity events occurred as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, M.T.O. student volunteers converted their former ways of celebrating significant holidays into global days of action. Several Houston students spent hours creating hand-made PPE when there was a national shortage of masks, face shields, and medical gowns. They have been serving critical care organizations such as hospitals and care homes, schools, and nonprofit organizations serving refugees and other vulnerable members of our local communities with donations of personal protective equipment (PPE), non-perishable foods, school supplies, and other essentials as needed.

M.T.O. Houston is committed to our planet’s future sustainability and prosperity, and students demonstrate this through recycling efforts and knowledge sharing. In order to build unity and bonds within the community, M.T.O. Houston students have also hosted several virtual roundtable discussions where local experts are invited to share their experiences and knowledge with others around topics including International Day of Education, International Women’s Day, and International Day of Living Together in Peace.