Feature

The Islamic Center of Southern California Muslim Youth Group has 80 to 90 members, aged from 13 years old to college age. The Islamic Center itself consists of a mosque and a private school.

Our youth group aims to bring people of diverse thinking together, to encourage them to think more deeply and be able to live as themselves, while keeping their Muslim identity, values, and morals with which they were brought up in an American society. The Muslim and American identities share the common values of human rights, freedom, democracy and more! Hence, it is a Muslim American identity.

Every Sunday morning, we meet at the Islamic Center to listen to lectures on topics such as the founding of the US, current events, or subjects related to the Quran and the founding of Islam.

Recently, a Jewish youth group visited our mosque. We had 65 youths all together. Even though this was a small event, we still learned a lot from each other. We have also had similar contact with other groups from different faiths. I was involved in a Victory Over Violence event hosted by SGI-USA. They came to us after September 11, 2001, and we formed a bridge that connected us, and through them, we met other groups like the Bahá'is.


Reaching Out 

I think we live to learn and expand our knowledge and no matter how much one knows, one cannot know everything. Just by conversing, going out, and attending community events, a person has the chance to meet different people and learn from them. Even through saying "How are you doing? My name is Khaled--what's your name and what group are you from?" I learn something, and begin to build a bridge. 

At the beginning of the Jewish youth dialogue, many people were anxious to learn new things. Later points were put forward that made us realize how similar the Jewish and Muslim religions are. I personally knew a lot about the Jewish religion, as my father is a professor of comparative religions and Hebrew studies. We were sitting there in one room, mixed and mingled together, listening to all the similarities in our religions and realizing how little people know of them. 

Monotheism is one basic concept we have in common, and then there are the Ten Commandments. The manners that accompany both faiths are very similar, and we all tend to have a conservative worldview. Muslims believe in the divine origins of Judaism and Christianity, and in Moses and Jesus as great prophets of God (or Allah). Also, both Judaism and Islam rely on Scripture and Tradition for determining rules of religious thought, laws, culture, and expected behavior. In Judaism, Scripture and Tradition are represented by the Hebrew Bible, the Torah and Talmud, while in Islam they are the Quran and Hadith. We hope that later we might have a chance to visit the Jewish group's synagogue. We'd like to keep the connections flowing.

Yarko and Faraj, two boys featured in "PROMISES," a film exploring the lives of Palestinian and Israeli children, and the few who have crossed the lines to meet their neighbors [Meagan Lara Shapiro]

Young Muslim people living in the U.S. face identity problems as well as problems from their peers, society, and the environment. Los Angeles is the most diverse city in the U.S. and there are many different types of thinking and spiritual levels. There is a great deal of propaganda, and we all have to be intellectually stable enough to listen to others, understand them, and be open-minded. When youths of different faiths are able to sit down together and discuss life issues in a civilized manner, they are one step away from crossing the hurdle of fear--one key away from unlocking the door of ignorance to a room filled with not only tolerance but appreciation as well.

I'm only 15. I don't think I have enough wisdom yet. I learn what I learn mostly from my father and my own experiences. I don't sit around waiting for people to come to me. If I am willing to go out and learn myself and make a difference, then the future is up to me, it's in my hands.

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