(Ismael Mukhtar) Mentorship: Mentorship of the youth is critical for their healthy growth and development. Youth need to be given opportunities to lead, to participate, to take greater roles; however, this must be accompanied with adequate mentorship and training. Mentorship isn’t censorship nor is it killing the creative and innovative intuition in the youth. Mentorship is a process of training young people to take greater roles by way of equipping them with the essential skills, the proper ethical framework and the tools necessary for unleashing their potentials.  (Reproduced with author permission from: Manitoba Muslim Magazine, November 2009 issue. Click here to download a PDF version of the article.

(Ismael Mukhtar) Respect: Respect is pivotal for healthy growth as well as fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness among the youth. Respect is not mere talk, but more importantly, a sentiment, an attitude, a relationship that is expressed in subtle and overt ways as well as by way of omission and commission. Communities that are conscious of the needs of the youth show their respect of their youth, by being youth friendly, youth sensitive and youth inclusive. A center that has sports facilities for the youth would send a more youth friendly message than a center with no such facility. A center where announcements and sermons are conducted in a language clearly understood by the youth would be friendlier than a center where the language is foreign or poorly spoken. (Reproduced with author permission from: Manitoba Muslim Magazine, November 2009 issue. Click here to download a PDF version of the article.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praises and thanks are due to Allah, and peace & blessings be upon his Messenger. I pray to Allah that this letter finds you in the best of health and iman.  I just wanted to remind you all that Muharram starts this Friday (inshAllah) and that we all should *try* to fast this month. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah (Muharram,) and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer at night." Although every day and every month belongs to Allah, and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has mentioned that Muharram is Allah’s month. In addition, it is important to fast on the day of Ashura (tenth day of Muharram).

(Ismael Mukhtar) Recently I gave a short talk during the Taraweeh prayers in the month of Ramadan. The topic of my talk was “Muslim youth”. My talk was nothing out of the ordinary, according to my judgment; however, the response I received from the youth who were present was overwhelming. Not only did they welcome the talk, but they expressed a sense of relief that an exclusive talk was dedicated to their issues and concerns. One of the youth commented: “we are always told to respect elders, but rarely do we hear similar talk of the need to respect the youth”.  (Reproduced with author permission from: Manitoba Muslim Magazine, November 2009 issue. Click here to download a PDF version of the article.

Sister Suraya M. recommends this video lecture by Yaser Birjas: "This is great lecture that we can all benefit from as a community.  Please watch! Jazakum Allahu khair." Click here.