Transcript Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow

Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow
American Society for Muslim
Advancement
In partnership with
Cordoba Initiative
What have we learned so far?
In Nov. 2004, 100 emerging young Muslim Leaders MLT’s were gathered from across North America
for a retreat on the experience of being Muslim after 9/11 in challenging times in the US. The
following was learned from the conversations that took place and evaluations submitted after the
retreat:
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Their fears: Extremists defining the entire Islamic agenda & mass media over representing the
extremists ideology.
Their concerns: How the west relates to the global Muslim community; Inability for future generations to
integrate into Western society, absence of role models in Islamic leadership, rigidity of some outdated
attitudes towards women’s role.
What tires them: Remaining silent and passive. Being judged by others. Irrelevant issues dominating
Islamic thinking. Lack of civil dialogue to express and debate differences..
What excites them: Expression of one’s faith in the modern era; Revival of the variety of opinions once
present within classical Islam. Development of a western Islamic identity.
What must be done: Carve their own path by rising to the challenge and becoming change agents.
Consolidate the MLT network to create a western Muslim identity that engages in political and social
mechanisms for the betterment of the community.
Why must we continue?
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Young Muslims in the West find themselves in
a time of enormous challenge and
transformation on issues of: religion, identity,
dual loyalties, assimilation, etc.
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Left unaddressed, these issues are leading
to alienated and socially marginalized youth
that are falling victim to violent ideologies, as
we see in the wake of Madrid, London, and
Paris.
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Acrimonious attitudes are developing at the
deepest levels of both Western and Muslim
societies, it is imperative to:
 Empower a constructive movement amongst
young Muslims to reject and marginalize the
fatalistic worldviews promoted by extremists.
What and how do we want to do it?
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Create a transformative experience for a highly diverse group of young
Muslims, varied per gender, ethnicity, religiosity, and individual politics
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Utilize a workshop oriented approach to ensure “a high level of focus on
key issues” to extrapolate a deeper cross pollination of ideas.
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Facilitate continued and active exchange of ideas through creation of a
network of MLT conference participants:
 Create communication website and hold regional conference calls for
periodic discussion.
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Circulate resulting conversations widely, so the MLT conference efforts
can have a global impact and be replicable
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Development of the participants into prominent leaders.
What issues do we want to break
through?
An MLT focus group deliberated on various break through issues. The following discussion
points were recommended for the upcoming MLT conference to be held in London. .
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Is faith an important aspect of identity and sense of belonging? Why is Islamic faith
transformative to some and to others the cause of insecure identity?
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What leads to alienation? Is it hidden discrimination, policies of integration or the
individuals inability to reconcile faith with culture of origin and or birth country.
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What does secularism (church state separation) mean to western Muslim communities?
• What is an ummah (unified Muslim nation). Is it defined by borders or individuals with a
similar worldview?
• Do Muslims need a caliphate as an alternative to the lack of central authority?
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Who is qualified to render judgments on issues of Shariah? Is gender a barrier?
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Are differences in intergenerational norms causing tensions with respect to social,
religious, political and artistic forms of expression?
Where do we go from here?
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Select 100 young emerging Muslim Leader from US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands,
Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Bosnia in London, as a central location in Europe
 Recruitment & selection for MLT participant from North America is completed
 Recruitment for MLT candidates in Europe is targeted to be completed April end.
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The US conference coordinators are evaluating potential partners based Denmark to help with the
organization of the conference.
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A Steering Committee of former MLT’s (Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow) has reviewed the
implementation strategy in terms of vision, process, approach and media outreach.
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Project budget has increased by 30% due to conference being held in London and to
accommodate the higher cost of venue & accommodations.
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Based on a budgetary assessment additional funding of $ 75,000 is required. The additional
costs will fund advertisement and marketing, special receptions and catering, appropriate venues
for the conference.
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The conference date is July 7-10, 2006.