Today, my wife and I had a delightful conversation with veteran St. Louis media radio host and icon - Bernie Hayes on his show. As we spent the time talking and thinking together three questions came up that got us both reflecting and chatting after the show. These questions were so earnest and poignant that I feel the need to address them in a deeper way than we were able to on air. In my Examiner pieces this week I will reflect on these three questions and the role of Islam in tackling some of these topical urban issues

Question 1:
What kind of activities are their in your community for young people?

This question has come up frequently from different people as I move around St. Louis. It is an important question even among members of the Muslim community. In fact it is a question for all faith based and service groups today. In the St. Louis Post Dispatch of today (February 23, 2011) for example, there is an article that describes the fact that young people are not choosing to join service groups as they once did. Many of these service clubs therefore are dying or realigning with other groups in part, due to their inability attract the young.

In the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community we have a vibrant and dynamic youth base. Our youth program is fueled by the Islamic precept that our goal is to be transformed into “models or leaders of the righteous” (Holy Qur’an 25:75). As a leadership training organization our aim is to help individuals change their internal condition and manifest leadership attributes at the personal and community level. For us the question therefore is not “what our community does for young people”, but “how does our faith-based organization prepare young people to become leaders of the righteous?”

When we use this leadership training framework. Our interactions and programs for youth take on a different feel than the traditional gatherings primarily for socializing and entertainment.  At the most basic level the Holy Qur’an does not take the position that young people need to be satiated by “fun” or socially engaging, playful activities. For us youth is a time for establishing a strong relationship with Allah (God) through acts of worship. In Islam, worship means not only the beliefs and rituals of faith; it also means establishing strong bonds of kinship with family and community as well as serving our fellow beings.

In the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the aim of our young men’s organization (www.mkausa.org) as well as our women’s organization (www.lajnausa.net/web), is to promote personal growth and reformation in ourselves. Personal responsibility and ability to grow from life’s experiences are the hallmarks of true leadership. In a recent study published by New Zealand researchers, personal responsibility, intelligence and wealth were the three elements that were found to be significant to a person’s success in life. This study simply validates what we know as Muslims and affirms that the best thing that we can do for our young people is to prepare them to be the leaders of tomorrow.

This is not a trivial pursuit for us. As an international organization the AMC encourages our youth to embrace diversity and awareness by traveling locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Both the young men’s and women’s organizations have experiences that take them to regional and national leadership events. We host an international sports tournament in New York in the Spring as well as regional sports and leadership events. In the last 12 months alone our travel among our youth has taken us as locally as the Bowling Alley in Clayton and as nationally as training events in Zion Illinois, Milwaukee Wisconsin, Silver Springs Maryland.  Moreover our youth had attended international gatherings in London UK and Ghana West Africa.

Our local efforts also involve leadership and community organizing. Our youth plant community gardens, engage in interfaith work, adopt-a-highway, read-ins and mentoring. For us the cliche’ “young and dumb” does not apply, we are engaged and service oriented.

On Sundays we host children from within our community and the wider area in a 3 hour training class. In addition to the religious studies of the Muslims neighborhood children are taught to work together and play together. We promote the use of technology and help with homework and projects.

Even as we use the term our youth, I wish to make the point that all of our programs are open to the public. Typically there is no cost for participation other than good behavior and a positive attitude. All our friends and neigbors are welcome to join us in preparing the leaders of tomorrow.

History and reflection has taught us that to change a community the hearts and minds of the people must change as well. The Ahmadiyya approach is to embark on a sincere and sustained effort of change that involves training youth as leaders. Since we are a national and international movement much of what we do occurs at a local, national and international level.  So much of what I am describing here is not only occuring in St. Louis but across our nation and across the 190 countries in which the AMC operates.

We are leaders who are working to prepare other leaders. This is the gift of Islam to our community and the world. Today especially, we do need to see good leaders. Our aim is to prepare models for moral minded and ethical people and to bring about a new future of righteous leadership.