Caring for Ahmad and Other Muslim Youth

To continue the conversation about youth at risk, and how imams and Muslim chaplains can respond, I asked my dear friend Sh. Jamaal Diwan to offer a reflection on the points raised in my article "What Happened to Ahmad: Responding to Muslim Youth at Risk." The following is his insightful response: Since I was asked … Continue reading Caring for Ahmad and Other Muslim Youth

“What happened to Ahmad?”: Responding to Muslim Youth at Risk

“Ibrahim,” he asked, “can you speak with me?”  Ahmad*, 19, was a young Muslim man struggling with peer pressure at his community college to drink and engage in sexual activity. I was not the imam, nor was I a chaplain at this time, but I could see in his eyes that he was desperately seeking … Continue reading “What happened to Ahmad?”: Responding to Muslim Youth at Risk

Mind: The Interpreter

Imam al-Ghazali once said, ‎ "The tongue is the counselor, the mind the interpreter and the heart is what is affected." Ghazali's words present a succinct way of conceptualizing our relationship with the world around us. We are surrounded by various stimuli (including events, people, statements... etc) that, due to our interpretation of them, causes … Continue reading Mind: The Interpreter