Muslims/Turks in the U.S. Most Turks are Muslim. America's Muslim population is estimated at about 6 million. There are about 200,000 people of Turkish descent in the United States. Most are in the New York-New Jersey area.  ALSO: Quake engineering: Building for future on lessons from past U.S. rescue team arrives in Turkey Turkey scrambles to aid survivors as quake toll mounts Rescue team ready to roll when disaster strikes  GALLERIES: A country lies shattered The story of a rescue INTERACTIVE: Chronology of major earthquakes over the last 20 years  MESSAGE BOARD: Turkey Quake VIDEO CNN's Frank Buckley reports on how the Turkish community in the New York area is coping with the devastation of the earthquake Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Ben Wedeman reports on the devastation in Turkey (Aug. 19) Windows Media 28K 80K Rula Amin looks at the plight of survivors (Aug. 18) Windows Media 28K 80K

August 19, 1999
Web posted at: 11:39 a.m. EDT (1539 GMT)

In this story: 'I can't get an answer' Georgians killed 'Everyone wants to help' RELATED STORIES, SITES

NEW YORK (CNN) -- At the Fatih Camii Mosque in Brooklyn, the faithful pray for friends and family in Turkey, where thousands of people have died and thousands more are unaccounted for after this week's devastating earthquake.

Among those seeking divine mercy is the imam himself. The prayer leader's own wife and children were vacationing in Turkey when the quake hit.

Hilmi Akdag has tried repeatedly -- and unsuccessfully -- to reach them on the telephone. "The waiting is very difficult," he told CNN. "I never sleep, maybe an hour, two hours. I try to call, try to call, but I can't get an answer."

Getting information has also been nearly impossible for Sabiha Genc of Paterson, New Jersey, whose brother and other family members live about 30 miles from the quake's epicenter.

Wiping tears from her eyes after watching Turkish television accounts of the tragedy, Genc is frustrated that she can only observe, not act. "I want to go there myself," she says through a translator. "I want to search for them myself. But it is impossible. I cannot."

Genc's daughter, Berrin Koskar, says waiting for word about the fate of loved ones has left the family devastated. "We can't sleep... We are very sad," she says.

The waiting is over for Babur Kilic, but the news received by the Georgia resident was not good.

Four of his children -- two sons and two daughters ages 9 months to 6 years -- were killed in the earthquake while on vacation with their mother and Kilic's parents.

Kilic's father died, too; his mother and wife, Jan, were hospitalized.

Muslims pray for family and friends in Turkey at the Fatih Camii Mosque in Brooklyn

Another daughter, Natalie, age 3, was unhurt.

Kilic, a Marietta anesthesiologist known to his friends as Bobby, is "trying to be strong," said his sister-in-law. "He's very upset, but he's also thankful that his wife is alive and one of his children is alive," Cigdem Kilic said.

Jan Kilic, who owned a Marietta contracting firm, her children and in-laws were vacationing in the resort town of Yalova, 90 miles southwest of Istanbul, when the five-story building in which they were staying collapsed.

At the Toros Diner, a Turkish-owned restaurant in Paterson, waitress Nazli Bayram said she was worried about her brother in Turkey. Then came the phone call.

It was him, reporting he was OK. "I was happy. My mom was happy. We were, like, screaming, but I still feel bad about the others," she told CNN.

Natalie Kilic is the only one of five children in her family to survive the quake

While most Americans of Turkish descent live in the New York metropolitan area, Islamic groups throughout the United States have tapped the Internet, solicited blood donations and sent pleas to mosques across the country in a coordinated effort to bring relief to earthquake victims in Turkey.

Some Muslims say the campaign demonstrates the growing prominence and organization of one of America's fastest-growing faiths.

"The outpouring of support from the American Muslim community is huge. Everyone in the Muslim community wants to help," said Dalell Mohmed, a spokesman for the Holy Land Foundation.

The relief group, based in Richardson, Texas, has raised thousands of dollars for earthquake aid.

Islamic Relief, based in Burbank, California, has raised $20,000 in donations for Turkey, and organizers expect the figure to rise.

Nazli Bayram was worried about her brother in Turkey until his phone call assured her he was alive

Mosques and Islamic groups from New York to Detroit to Los Angeles -- all cities with large Muslim and Arab populations -- have also started accepting donations, some sending their appeals by e-mail and fax, organizers said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington said it contacted 2,000 mosques nationwide for offers of assistance. The New York-based Islamic Circle of North America began collecting medicine to send to Turkey.

"We've gotten hundreds of calls from all over the U.S. and Canada," said Secretary-General Zaheer Uddin. "Muslims everywhere are asking how they can help."

Correspondent Frank Buckley, CNN affiliate WAGA and The Associated Press contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris.

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