“All Muslims are not like the terrorists on the news.”

INGYouth Workshops Motivated and Engaged Youth this Weekend

NG held two youth workshops this past weekend, one in San Jose, CA and the other in Longwood, FL. Middle and high school students and their parents attended. At the beginning of the workshops, many students brought up their feelings of shame at being identified as Muslim, particularly in recent years. The workshop aims to equip these students with the know-how, resources, and self-confidence to stand up for themselves and to replace shame with pride in their faith.

Comments from attendees affirmed that the day-long workshops accomplished their goal:

“I learned how to stand up for myself and answer people’s questions about Islam.” – Student

“I got a different perspective on how others might see me.” – Student

“This subject matter is crucial, as it would be to any minority group, and especially in light of the political and social impact on the Muslim individual, families, community and population as a whole.” – Parent

To learn more about upcoming INGYouth Workshops, visit our website.

ING Presentations Back in Full-Swing This January

With the New Year and schools back in session this month, ING speakers have been busy with presentations in a variety of venues, including middle and high schools, adult schools, and continuing education classes. ING speakers delivered Exploring Muslim Traditions and Practices to a total of twenty-six 7th grade classes in three different middle schools. Speakers presented Getting to Know American Muslims and their Faith to a class of senior citizens, as well as to seven high school classes in San Francisco, and to three classes at two high schools in San Jose. An ING speaker joined a Catholic priest and Jewish rabbi at an East Bay School to address the topic: Roots of Tension Between the Abrahamic Religions. ING conducted two sessions for teachers at Berkeley Adult School on the topic Understanding Muslim Students: Fostering an Inclusive Environment, and presented Muslim Women Beyond the Stereotypes to a class on the Middle East at City College of San Francisco. Combined, ING speakers addressed over a thousand people in January.

Teacher Testimonial Responds to Presentation About American Muslims

“In wrapping up our unit study on Islam, I asked my students today to reflect on our original driving question, ‘Why should we care about what Islam is and what Muslims believe and do? How does understanding the history of Islam and Muslims’ way of life matter to us in our world today?’ One student brought up the ING speaker’s visit, ‘When we have speakers like her come, we understand that not all Muslims are like the terrorists on the news.’ Keep up the good work!” – High school teacher  

February is Black History Month

Take the opportunity this month to learn more about this important piece of American history, including the fact that Muslims made up a significant percentage of Africans brought to the United States during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in the 18th-19th centuries. ING covers this history in its curriculum, A History of Muslims in America, which can be delivered in a live presentation, downloaded by teachers for use in the classroom, or viewed by young people on the INGYouth website. This little known history also counters the common narrative that Muslims are foreigners to this country and played no part in its development or history.

ING Affiliate News: San Diego

San Diego ISB Director Tehseen Lazzouni was interviewed in the San Diego Union-Tribune on the Paris terror attacks and the American Muslim community. Her thoughts were included both in print and video:

“Definitely for us as Muslims, we were very, very saddened to hear what happened, and then to hear that it was done in the name of religion, or in the name of respect for the prophet. Islam means peace, and the example that prophet Muhammad lived was a peaceful example.”

ING Affiliate News: Cincinnati

Members of the Islamic Speakers Bureau in Cincinnati have been active writing articles addressing Islamophobia and extremism that were recently published by local media outlets. Follow these links to their stories:

Profiling Alienates US Muslims by Saba Chugthai

Extremists, terrorists pose a threat to our community and Islamic faith (story no longer available) by Dr. Baher Foad

Imam warns of danger to local Muslims by Ashraf Traboulsi