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Muslim Youth Hopes And Challenges At MAYA Annual Convention
LOS ANGELES (IslamOnline) - The Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) organized its twenty-third annual convention here with the theme of "Our Youths Hopes & Challenges".
More than 2,000 Muslims of all Arab nationalities, coming from Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and California, attended the convention. Most of them arrived at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton November 23rd as early as 10:00 in the morning to register for their favorite Islamic gatherings.
Although the majority of the attendees were from Arabic speaking families, a small number of non-Arab Muslim Americans, most of them spouses of Arabs, were also seen attending a parallel English program.
The English program for adults was in addition to an English Youth program attended by more than 500 young Muslims of all races coming either with families or friends, as Abdel Salam, the English youth program director, told IslamOnline.
"The Arabic speaking program concentrates on Muslim youth issues, their hopes and their challenges, as can be deduced from the convention's name," said program director Hitham Abdel Kareem to IslamOnline. "These issues were presented from different perspectives: educational, fiqh, scientific, Imany and Daawy."
During the three day convention, Muslim scholars and sheikhs presented different issues affecting Muslim youth in the U.S. Issues discussed included, how Muslim youth can lead a religious life and protect Islam, and how parents should raise their kids not just to be good Muslims who can differentiate between halal and haraam, but also to be true callers to Islam.
The program stressed how youth should understand the Islamic message in life and learn their responsibilities to spread Islam on earth. It also emphasized the importance of the Arabic language in understanding the Qur’an and parents’ responsibilities toward children in teaching them the language.
The conference also dealt with the importance of Islam as being a religion for all nations with the need to find ways to convey the message to all cultures worldwide.
Other topics addressed during the convention included the responsibility of young Muslims as individuals and as part of a greater community (gamaa) or nation (umma).
Islam and sex education was also an important issue raised during the meetings, as was the question of how to we protect the Muslim family from separation and violence problems.
Jerusalem was a hot issue heard throughout the convention halls and Muslim scholars presented the dilemma concerning the city from different point of view.
Questions concerning Jerusalem included how to support al-Aqsa, peace from Islamic point of view, the future and facts of the city, a Qur’anic perspective concerning victory and defeat, and what the al-Aqsa youths have taught us.
These issues led to discussions concerning the role of Islamic organizations in strengthening Islam’s presence and profile and their responsibility in educating youth to better serve Islamic communities and respond to community needs.
English youth programs and activities were another aspect of the convention, presented to both teenagers and college students. Most of these lectures were completely separate from the Arabic program, and although the same issues were discussed, the discussions were placed in a different light to accommodate the audience. Most of the speakers were in real touch with youth activities, with some of them very close to them in age, giving the program a sense of reality.
MAYA is an established and respected organization that has served the Arabic speaking population in the U.S. for the last twenty years.
Mohammed Radwan, MAYA executive director in the U.S. said to IslamOnline, "We at MAYA feel obligated to serve the Arabic-speaking Muslim families in the U.S. and Canada. This year we tried to bridge the gap between two generations and shed more light on our youths, and on our hopes."
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