Building Confidence in American Muslim Youth

Building Confidence in American Muslim Youth!

I am very excited about the new content ING is releasing in 2015. God willing, the effort will contribute to increasing the Islamic literacy of Muslims and all Americans in schools and universities and wherever ING speakers are invited.Building Confidence in American Muslim Youth!

One of the new programs we’re launching nationally through our affiliates is the INGYouth program, which we’ve been piloting for the last few months in different mosques around the country.

The INGYouth program is focused on increasing the Islamic literacy of Muslim students to build their confidence in their religious identity while preventing teasing and harassment in school through their own and their parents’ initiatives.

So far, we’ve held three pilot workshops for over 200 Muslim youth and their parents in Pleasanton and Fremont, California and Dayton, Ohio. The workshop evaluations show that the great majority of participants find the workshops extremely valuable in increasing their understanding of Islam and improving their ability “to answer non-Muslim audiences in a better way.” Several have urged us “to do more of these kinds of workshops with the kids, teenagers, and young students.”

It has never been easy being a Muslim student in a public school, but since 9/11 it has become even more challenging.

INGYouth workshop topics include:

• Understanding Islamophobia, its consequences for the school environment and what to do about it.
• Addressing difficult questions about Islam and Muslims.
• Building confidence as a Muslim through education and engagement.
• What actions to take if you or your child is being teased, harassed, or bullied at school.

We are happy to announce that ING’s new program for youth has been a great success so far with both youth and their parents. The INGYouth Program, which was launched in August of this year, is aimed at increasing the civic engagement and religious literacy of Muslim youth to better enable them to respond to the increasingly challenging environment for American Muslim youth in the face of both rising Islamophobia and militant extremism.

The INGYouth workshops are supported by a dedicated website with multiple resources including a rich curriculum about Muslims and their faith and related topics as well as answers to one hundred FAQs about Islam and Muslims. It also features resources about bullying, including ING’s recently released Bullying Prevention Guide for parents and educators.

You can catch an upcoming INGYouth workshop in San Jose, California or in Longwood, Florida, which will both be held on Saturday, January 31.

To learn more about ING’s Youth workshops, see here.

With your support we can continue to counter prejudice and discrimination against American Muslims through education and interreligious engagement, not only in the Bay Area, but also across the country in 22 states through our affiliates.

We are counting on your support to sustain us in 2015. Donate today whatever you can afford to ensure our continued progress and success. Click here to donate.

Ameena Jandali
ING Content Director