“The other problem is that some of the imams are letting their own youth down because they are not properly conveying the proper interpretations and the proper message of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad’s message.”
Source/Credit: The Calgary Herald
By Trevor Howell | November 24, 2014
To combat the recruiting efforts of Islamic terrorist groups, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association of Canada has launched a nationwide campaign, Stop the CrISIS, to discuss youth radicalization, de-radicalization programs and foster dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims.
As part of the campaign, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Students’ Association at SAIT will host a multimedia presentation and audience Q&A session with a panel of Islamic scholars.
“A lot of non-Muslims … are sometimes nervous to ask Muslims questions, that they’ll offend us,” said Imam Umair Khan of Calgary’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (Community), one of the speakers at Tuesday’s event. “We say, ‘Look, you ask us any crazy stuff that comes to your mind. We won’t get offended and we will try our best to help give them satisfactory answers.”
Stop The CrISIS will be held 5 p.m. on Tuesdays at SAIT’s Orpheus Theatre (1301 16 Ave. N.W.)
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What is the purpose of Stop the CrISIS?
“It’s basically for two groups of people. One is the non-Muslim folk that are trying to understand Islam better to remove their misunderstandings. And the second is for our own Muslim community to understand that this (violence) is not how the Prophet Muhammad practised the faith of Islam. His ways were by dialogue and by propagating peaceful practices with different community members, non-Muslims, Jews, Christians. That’s how we interacted with people and that’s what we want to highlight.”
How do these misconceptions fester to the point where you see people going overseas to fight for terror groups like ISIS (also known as the Islamic State)?
“Many of the times religion is just used as a means to lash out an individual’s frustrations, sometimes depression and problems that an individual might have. And they sometimes turn towards religion as a last resort and they’ll cherry-pick those teachings according to how they want to interpret it and they use that to get out their frustration to the world. That’s what we’re seeing a lot of times with a lot of these radicals and extremists.
“The other problem is that some of the imams are letting their own youth down because they are not properly conveying the proper interpretations and the proper message of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad’s message.”
Are you concerned the recent terrorist attacks in Quebec and Ottawa could lead to a backlash against Muslims in Canada?
“As a Canadian Muslim, I have been so happy at the way Canadians have reacted, especially the case in Cold Lake (Alberta) at the mosque where it was spray-painted. I think all Canadian Muslims saluted that act of our non-Muslim brothers and sisters who came out and they said, ‘Hey this is your home. You’re part of Canada.’
“I personally think that Muslim Canadians are in a way better situation compared to a lot of the Muslim communities in places like the United States or Europe right now. And I’m really thankful for that. It’s a huge blessing that we’re around nice, educated and understanding people like that here in Canada.”
What do you deal with someone who is considering converting to Islam?
“We actually have a department that takes care of new converts. That means when we see that they’ve stopped showing or if they do not understand something, we’ll sit them down … we try our best to help them in any way.
“And that’s really important because sometimes it is very overwhelming for a convert. It’s a big responsibility on the community and especially on the Imams. We need to be careful. Every time we see someone new here we meet them right away. Because when people convert they are looking for something powerful and strong, something to help their lives. And if that energy isn’t directed properly you see what happens with some of the youngsters going overseas. That’s a huge problem.”
thowell@calgaryherald.com - Twitter.com/TSHowell
Read original post here: Muslim students' association aims to Stop the CrISIS
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