A Proposal to Hire a Muslim Chaplain for the Youth at Masjid PDF

Preview

Summary

Proposal to Hire a Muslim ...

Description

1

A Proposal to Hire a Muslim Chaplain for the Youth at Masjid-ul Mumineen, Houston, Texas, USA Motto: Chaplaincy Role in Community Development, A Critical Need in 21st Century! Preamble Our community, the Nigerian Muslim Association of Greater Houston (NMAGH) otherwise known as Masjid-ul Mumineen, has existed for over a quarter of a century. Its origin stemmed from some Nigerians who came to the United States for their college and graduate school studies, who decided to stay in Houston to build careers, develop businesses and raise families after successfully completing their studies. The need for networking, socialization, cultural development and religious fellowship inevitably led to the establishment of the NMAGH. Our community has systematically moved from offering a social/cultural focus to a full Islamic community providing a range of services. The second generation of Nigerian-Americans has come of age. In ensuring that we duly attend to the needs of all age groups in the community, we have developed programs customized for different groups. Consequently, our masjid is now being utilized as a multipurpose community center that serves various constituencies: adults and children have access to Arabic language classes and an Islamic school, respectively; professionals have access to a networking center; grandparents have access to a rejuvenating center; and all groups and associations also have access to a meeting center. Our community is a very diverse one. It is not only Nigerian, but it is also comprised of African Americans who are regularly joining the community. Our population together with other African American is close to 2,000 of which the percentage of youth is 45%. On the whole, youth is well adapted. However, some are in-between, while a few are performing below

2

expectations. So, because of these few individuals that are performing below expectation and those who are in-between, I want to seek the indulgence of the management of this institution, Masjid-ul Mumineen to hire a Chaplain whose responsibility is to coordinate the affairs of our youth, who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Areas of focus Outreach,

Community

Development,

Tutoring,

Branding,

Community

Dinner,

Resources/Materials, Social Media, Instilling Pride in the Community’s Islamic Roots, Cost Implication Outreach It is critical to reach out to the youth in order to protect them from falling into the hands of evil influences. For example, brainwashing of our youth is the major weapon that the enemies of Islam adopt to gain the youth’s attention. All those bad names that we hear making news in the name of Islam all over the globe today can easily manipulate and extinguish the youth, if we do not pay attention to them. So, to protect our youth from becoming terrorists, whether on their own or by joining ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, a Chaplain, who is a trained professional is needed, to always communicate with the youth, in order to help them maintain their faith and avoid indoctrination. Community Development Our community is comprised of various parts that represent specialized functions: academics and Qur’anic studies, healthcare and so on. American youth today are very uniquely positioned because of the vast amount of information at their disposal. But it appears that some young Americans are not so committed to becoming great persons because they feel the least hopeful about their future. Yet there is great benefit in creating a robust environment where these

3

young individuals feel a sense of belonging and have an impact on society. A young graduate from college, who was very active while in school, participated in the Muslim Student Association (MSA). Such individuals need to be given more opportunities to operate at the community level. At times, the community may discriminate against women because of longstanding prejudices.

Such untoward reactions to females in a community need to be

corrected with the help of a trained chaplain who can create opportunities for constructive dialogue. Tutoring The mosque historically is the place where the holy Prophet Muhammad, SAW, spelled out his mission. The Companions also took the baton and continue his good work. So, today, our Mosque should not only serve as a place of worship, rather, it should be all-encompassing, it should be a community center, it should give room for youth programs, offer school opportunities for children, provide forums for women to learn and so on. The Masjid development network built a youth center where people from all walks of life can come in to socialize and worship as well. So, we create timely mentoring programs under the guidance of those who are highly trained professionals, such as Chaplains. Branding If we hire a Chaplain, such a person will create room for new converts to negotiate their faith and identity. We should all bear in mind that a new convert has to leave his or her old familiar lifestyle before reverting to Islam. However, a Chaplain would recognize all those traces and give room for those converts to feel at home. Programs like Mother’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving Day, Labor Day, Veterans day and so on, should not be abandoned. For Mother’s Day, the Chaplain could create a program where

4

the new convert invites his or her Christian mother, gives flower or whatever gift provided, and all worshippers celebrate together regardless of the color of their skin or religious affiliation. Community Dinner The popular adage says, “A hungry man is an angry man.” In the same vein, a hungry soul is equally an angry soul. It is obvious that body and soul make up the human being. When we eat good food, it strengthens our bodies. Likewise, when we listen to the words of God from time to time, it strengthens our faith, too. So, the Chaplain could organize a community dinner: we may call people from other communities or our neighbors who may not be Muslims, to join us in this event. All of these actions will bring more peace and unity into our society. We can learn something from birds: when gathered to eat together to eat, they never get organized, but when going out for a mission, we notice that birds are well organized. So, people of other faiths will not notice us if we are not visible. This community dinner will give our neighbors sense of confidence about who we are and what we stand for. Resources/Materials We need informative materials to be sources of enlightenment for the new convert. The Chaplain would be tasked with making flyers and stickers and displaying them in strategic places around the Masjid. We could also take a step further by placing those materials in some public places so that they are freely available to people visiting the public library, hospital chapels, airport chapels, bus stations and so on and so forth. At least someone can get hold of these materials and learn something about Islam.

Social Media

5

We should utilize social media to highlight and promote our image. Muslim Chaplains have a vital opportunity to serve as source of moral support for the youth in this trying time. For example, Muslim Chaplains have a critical role to play in educating the general public on what constitutes true Islamic teaching through face-to-face Inter-faith dialogues, academic conferences, TV appearance and other forms of communication. Muslim Chaplains have a moral duty to educate and work with law enforcement agents as well as government officials and policy-makers for the common good. Instilling Pride in the Community’s Islamic Roots Muslim Chaplains should instill in the youth to be proud of their origin. For instance, Prophet Muhammad, SAW, was proud of his origin: he always says, “I am from a tribe of Quraysh.” The Prophet also inculcate the habit to his Companions by addressing each one of them by their tribes, e.g., Salman was Persian, Bilal Al-Abashy, Abu Dhar, Al-khudr and so on and so forth. Cost Benefit Analysis It is obvious that hiring a Chaplain will cost money. Payment of salary, maintenance of his office, provision of a budget to execute any of his proposals will cost money. But we still need to remember that all the houses that we build, all the images that we are making for ourselves will not be sustainable, if the youth are not well positioned to carry the baton. It is on this premise that I implore the management to give urgent attention to this proposal, and make it a priority. Long live, Masjidul Mumineen, Long live the State of Texas, Long live the United States of America....