Muslim Matters Newsletter Vpl 1
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Transcript of Muslim Matters Newsletter Vpl 1
Listening is the best way to serve and a great way to learn. Listening Imams grow in knowledge and respect.
Our capacity to motivate Muslims, resolve conflicts and develop a team, all de-pend on how well we listen.
The more effectively we lis-ten, the more we learn.
We might think we already know how to listen. But un-fortunately, most of us pay little attention to the quality of our listening. We usually hear words without paying attention to them.
When you are an Imam or a Khateeb, you talk. When
people ask you questions, you talk. When you perform marriages, you talk. When you conduct funerals, you talk. Talking seems to be the main thing we end up doing. However, it is good to also listen because it enriches our talk and deliver us the most help we need to carry out our responsibilities.
Connecting with Muslim
Youth
Nothing will connect you with Muslim youth more than attentive and respect-ful listening. The more you listen to them, the more they will listen to you. Listen-ing is a process of empowerment.
Mayambala Rashid. Muslim Youth
taking part in the leadership Camp
Are you a Listening Imam?
Engaging youth in conversa-tion, however, is not easy. One way to do this is to ask them questions in response to their question. This was something the Prophet Mu-hammad, PBUH, regularly did in his interactions with others. In one incident, a young man came to the Prophet asking him permis-sion to commit Zina (sex outside of marriage). In-stead of becoming angry and scolding him, the
Prophet responded with a series of questions. He asked the youth, "Would you want someone else to commit adultery with your mother?" The youth responded with a no. The Prophet then re-peated this question in rela-tion to the young man’s sis-ters, aunts and other female relatives. The answer was always the same. At the end of this, he prayed for the young Muslim, who was
now convinced of the ugli-ness of illicit sex.
Our Muslim youth are under tremendous pressure. Some of them are either leaving Islam or connecting with dangerous groups.
It is very important for an Imam, therefore, to engage them. The more he asks for their opinions, the more comfortable they will feel offering their views.
UGANDA MUSLIM YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FORUM Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Volume 1, Issue 1
Are you a listening Imam ? 1
Connecting with Muslim Youth
1
Can a Muslim sister knock
on your door
2
Listening 2
What you can do to Pre-
vent Violent extremism
3
New Muslim Center 3
Do a Youth audit 4
Inside this issue:
Ramadhan
Count down
45 Days to Ramadhan
“Neighbors” is the choice word
for non-Muslims. Listening to
them and praying for them is go-
ing to open doors. Our Mosques
are mostly in mixed communities.
Our neighbors live around us.
Therefore, a listening Imam must
reach out to them.
UMYDF PARTICIPATES AT THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE CVE FORUM
Listen to New
Muslims
Listen ear is a part of faith
UMYDF Team Leader Ahmed Hadji
taking part in the CVE Forum
Listening to the
Muslim Family
“Is someone speaking the
language of extremism?
Look out for the
extremists”
P a g e 2 M U SL I M M A T TE R S V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1
On February 18th -22nd 2015,
UMYDF was privileged to at-
tend the White House three-
day summit on Countering Vio-
lent Extremism (CVE) in Wash-
ington DC courtesy of the US
S t a t e d e p a r t -
ment that brought together
local, federal, and international
leaders – including President
Obama and foreign ministers –
to discuss concrete steps the
United States and its partners
can take to develop community-
oriented approaches to
counter hateful extremist ide-
ologies that radicalize, recruit
or incite to violence. Violent
extremist threats can come
from a range of groups and
individuals, including domestic
terrorists and homegrown vio-
lent extremists in the United
States, as well as terrorist
groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL. A
draft outcome document on
CVE was resolved upon to ad-
dress the root causes of ex-
tremism through emphasizing
Community Led Intervention—
empowering community efforts
to disrupt the radicalization
process before an individual
engages in criminal activity.
The Muslim family is in trouble.
The number one issue is the
crisis in Muslim marriages and
family conflict. Most Imams are
not trained to be professional
counselors. However, we often
end up offering this service.
Sometimes the cases involve
domestic violence as well.
Muslim sisters make a larger propor-
tion of the Ummah. If we are not
listening to them, we are denying
ourselves crucial knowledge to serve
them better.
Can sisters see and hear the Imam?
Imams should take it upon themselves
to improve their sound quality and
visibility so Muslim women can be full
participants in the community.
Can a Muslim Sister Knock on your door
so Muslim women can be full
participants in the community.
Can sisters in the Mosque see
the notice board? If not, install
one in their section and make
one sister responsible for mak-
ing sure it is updated with the
latest events and notices.
Listen to your
Neighbors
Many Muslim converts leave
Islam within about five years.
The absence of support for
new converts in the Muslim
community is the main prob-
lem.
Listening for your
Country
Please keep your eyes and ears
open to what is happening in
your Mosque. Is someone
speaking the language of ex-
tremism? Look out for the ex-
tremists, the vulnerable, and
yes, the agent provocateur.
What you can do to prevent violent extremism
UMYDF CONDEMNS GARISSA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
New Muslim Center | Masjid Musa, Hotel Africa
Say no to terrorism
#WeStandWithYou
#GarisaStudents
the number of UMYDF inspired
and supported Imam Centers in
Uganda
Like the Tororo and Mbale Cen-
ters, Masjid Musa Imam center
will focus on building the ca-
pacities of Juma Mosques with
the aim of transforming them
from just prayer centers to de-
velopment centers.
The latest Imam Resource Cen-
ter to be established courtesy
of the Imam Exchange and
Learning Program, and the
Skills Enhancement Program for
Imams is at Masjid Musa – Hotel
Africana. This brings to five;
innocent university students of
Garissa in Kenya. They also
urged the media to desist from
making generalisation and
sending out divisive information
while reporting on terror at-
tacks, “Some media reporting
undermines the crucial message
of social inclusion by amplifying
xenophobia, eroding trust and
promoting social disharmony,
the more coverage of terrorist
In a press conference held on
4th April 2015, the Team leader,
Mr. Ahmed Hadji and the Senior
P r o g ra m s Co o r d in a t o r ,
Mr. Ndugwa Hassan were
joined by Zulaika Nanfuka and
Shaban Kalema among other
Muslim Youth leaders in
Uganda to condemned in the
strongest terms possible the
barbaric acts of terror by the
Somali based terrorist group on
related issues demonizes Muslim
communities at large, the more
entrenched a victim’s mentality
can become to those targeted
by sensationalized reporting
hence creating more radicals”
said Ndugwa Hassan. Ahmed
Hadji added that, extremists
take advantage of the vulner-
able, unemployed youths by pre-
senting them with limitless opportu-
nities thus recruiting them as terror-
ists.
“Muslim community leaders we have interacted and working with are quite
concerned about Muslim youth. However, this
concern normally does not translate into a plan.”
P a g e 3 M U SL I M M A T TE R S V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1
Violent extremist is a growing threat worldwide and the ac-tions of extremists do not know borders. Everyone is a victim. Attempts to end or curb violent extremism by governments and international organs worldwide have not produced the desired results.
At UMYDF, we are working with other stakeholders to empower communities in CVE and the following are some of the mes-sages we are sharing with our audiences.
Watch out for inflammatory Talk
We use our social media plat-forms, main stream media out-lets and community outreaches to urge Muslims communities to be on the lookout for per-sons spouting violence and extremism in their local mosques.
We also urge them to keep away or report the so called harmless yet hardline clerics. Those who do not issue radical-izing statements but they;
Do not allow women to pray in a Masjid. This is some-thing Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, never did.
Those who do not allow women to speak onstage in front of a mixed-gender audi-ence.
Those who wage small battles against interfaith rela-tions, etc.
Those who consider de-mocracy to be Haram.
Those who find fault only in women Those who issue fake fatwas While we defend the right of all Muslims to practice their faith the way they understand it, we strongly disagree with the prac-tice of forcing other Muslims to follow a certain line of thinking.
Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (UMYDF) is a not for profit, nonpartisan youth-led faith based develop-ment organization based in Kampala district, which exists to provide a link for connecting all Muslim youth across clusters and development policy processes in Uganda so as to promote their active, responsible and continuing participation in local and global development.
UMYDF works to create a socially inclusive environment where all young Muslims are engaged, informed and in-spired to take on the challenges in their development processes as the route to achieving their ambitions and dreams.
We are a dynamic, resourceful and innovative Muslim Youth organization. We realize the need for a fair picture of Islam and the Islamic world during these times. We un-derstand, because we have ourselves experienced the many ways through which young Muslims have been ex-posed to their faith, and the different ideas, aspirations and attitudes they bring with them to a national Muslim space.
Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum
P. O. BOX 4365 Kampala -Uganda,
Plot 2, Agape Close, Ntinda Kigoowa
We are on the Web
www.umydf.org
thing say something” should
be applied in mosques as
well. If you hear anyone talk-
ing extremism, note down
his name and number, and
tell your Imam.
Rethink the Masjid
It is important to create a
welcoming environment for
youth in the Masjid. All
mosques need a listening
Imam. But that is not
enough. We need to rethink
how our Masjids work. Who
It is important to know who
is teaching what at your
mosque. Who teaches
classes? Who is giving the
Khutba? Who is hanging
around the youth? Who is in
charge of youth programs?
What are the existing youth
programs? How do the
youth who attend your Is-
lamic weekend school feel
about it?
Sometimes, an extremist
thrives because no one is
watching. “If you see some-
will implement the plans you
make for youth? If it is all left
to volunteers, there is limit
to their time. Ideally, each
Masjid should have an active
youth organizer.
Address critical issues
that matter for na-
tional security
All Mosque programs should
clearly address issues which
matter in reference to na-
tional security
Do a Youth Audit
UGANDA MUSLIM YOUTH
DEVELOPMENT FORUM