Inspiration
HADI stands for Human Assistance & Development International. The inspiration behind each letter, the name, and purpose of the organization is as follows:
“H” is for human, which represents the entire humanity.
“A” is for assistance
“D” is for development, which means to assist in developing in every area and aspect of life.
“I” is for international, which reflects the universal values of peace, justice, freedom, solidarity, and harmony.
Thus, the purpose of HADI is to assist in the development of humankind without any boundaries as to race, creed, or color. HADI inspires to work for the socio-economic, educational, and scientific development of people worldwide.
Formation
In 1991, a group of young professionals with varied educational disciplines and backgrounds including Computer Science (BS), Near Eastern Studies (PhD), Nuclear Physics (PhD), and Management Information Systems (MBA) got together in Los Angeles, California. They were Alumni of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California Berkeley, and Southern Illinois University (SIU). The UCLA campus became a meeting ground for the founders.
The founders of the organization were mostly in their teens when they immigrated to the United States. After getting their higher education, working in industry and academic fields, they felt compelled to contribute back to society. The average age of the founders was 27 at the time of the formation of the organization.
Their goal was to dedicate and contribute knowledge, talent and time for the long term development of people worldwide. With this broad and ambitious objective, they decided to establish HADI. The organization received its 501(C)(3) tax-exempt status by the U.S. Department of Treasury in 1993.
1991 -
HADI is registered as 501 (C)(3) non-profit in the State of California as a public benefit charitable, educational and scientific organization. HADI aims to leverage advanced information and communication technologies to assist in connecting humanity.
Launched Operation ALM (Assistance for Lamenting Mothers) for humanitarian aid to children in Iraq.
Launched Family Income Generation Program for refugees in Jordan (collaboration with Near East Foundation).
Launched Information & Computer Training Centers in Albania, Bosnia & Croatia.
Established IslamiCity media portal on the World Wide Web with a mission to empower, nurture and promote values that affirm human dignity and the integrity of creation while making the world peaceful and more beautiful (reserved islam.org in February 1995, went online in October 1995).
Launched the first Islamic Radio channel online (surpassed 50 thousand total visitors since inception).
Completed digitization of entire online Quran recitation for the first time on the Internet.
1998 -
Received 100 Best Sites Award by Yahoo! Internet Life.
Streamed the first live online broadcast of Ramadan Taraweeh and Hajj Pilgrimage from Mecca (using satellite downlink).
Launched the first online Udhiya/Qurbani program for distribution of meat to the poor.
2001 -
Selected by The Library of Congress for Historic Collection (by Minvera Web Preservation; second archive by LOC in 2003).
2002 -
Featured by Gulf News as “most popular site of its kind in the world”.
2003 -
Featured by MSNBC as “a leading American Muslim Web Site” (surpassed 50 million total visitors since inception).
Featured by ABC News as “Muslims Log On to a Cyber Congregation”.
Launched Earthquake Rehabilitation Housing Program in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and Indian Ocean Tsunami Victims Assistance Program in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Featured by StreamingMedia as “IslamiCity.org is probably one of the best examples of how the Web enables extensive programming at a cost far below satellite or air broadcast”.
2007 -
Established Center for Languages, Arts & Societies of SilkRoad (CLASSRoad) with a mission to improve cross-cultural understanding across and between East and West in today’s world.
2008 -
Launched STARTALK training program with the first online component (collaboration with National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland).
Launched Cultural & Educational Travel Program tours to Spain, China & Turkey.
IslamiCity media portal celebrates its 15 years of service for a global audience (surpassed 150 million total visitors since inception).
2011 -
Featured by Voice of America (VOA) News as “Today, IslamiCity is a sprawling enterprise, aggregating news stories, profiling Islamic artists and thinkers from all over the world, and hosting a lively exchange of views and opinions”.
2012 -
Launched the first fully online STARTALK teacher training program for language training (Arabic, Persian & Chinese)
Started complete revamp of IslamiCity (compromising over 50,000 content items)
Launched Al-Masdar Arabic language essential teaching and learning resources portal (collaboration with Qatar Foundation International, Washington DC).
2014 -
CLASSRoad secured funding from STARTALK and the National Foreign Language Center to create a dynamic website displaying simplified state requirements for world language teacher certification. The LangCred team researched state requirements and procedures, then simplified the information and presented it in a searchable format on LangCred.org.
Launched IslamiCity 2.0 media portal
2016 -
Launched STARTALK Create as a curriculum authoring and sharing platform designed especially for world language educators.
Surpassed 250 million total visitors on IslamiCity media portal since inception in 1995
Launched multiple Children’s Educational Apps (for Apple iOS)
2019 -
Established Student Housing & Internship Program (SHIP) with a mission to provide mentorship, talent development and an environment of collaboration to do social good (property purchased in Culver City, California on August 16, 2019; 15 Dhul-Hijjah 1440).
2020 -
Projected completion of BRIGHT (Balance Resilience Integrity Goodness Harmony Tolerance) Teacher Training pilot program for California Public Schools (collaboration with National Humanities Center & Cal OES).
Advanced the “Shelter in Faith” initiative launched during the global pandemic that offered several new online services for the community.
2022 -
Deployed the first complete Quran on the Blockchain (via NFTs on the Ethereum Network) accessible to everyone and everywhere globally (June 1, 2022).
2023 -
Established and launched the HADI Relief charity (HADI.org) during Ramadan with a mission to provide emergency relief and long-term development programs in countries around the world.