Archive for the ‘Asma Saroya’ Tag
Rebuilding a Legacy
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American Muslim history, American-Muslim identity, Asma Saroya, cair, CAIR-MN, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids Muslims, Flood Relief, Imam Taha Tawil, Iowa Muslims, Mother Mosque, Mother Mosque of America, Muslim youth
Comments(2) By Asma Lori Saroya, Engage Minnesota
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| Flood damage at the Mother Mosque. |
On our first visit to the Mother Mosque of America, my family and I were greeted by an eager imam. He came outside to welcome us.
Imam Taha Tawil, Executive Director of the Mother Mosque, showed great passion for history and for the American Muslim identity as he gave us a two-hour tour of the tiny mosque. We were presented with stories, history lessons, photos, documents, and other artifacts from–with the exception of the slave trade–some of the earliest Muslim immigrants to America.
We returned, many times. My family and I attended monthly halaqas there and, as a teenager, I always found that Imam Taha boldly fielded my questions. I attended meetings in the Mother Mosque with Muslim youth from across the state.
I gave tours to visitors, who watched us pray in shifts in the small prayer area. I got married there. Read more »
Abia Ali: Youth Hero
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Abia Ali, activist, Asma Saroya, children, Minnesota, Police, Somali, Volunteer
Comments(2) Woman Becomes First Somali and Muslim to Win Police Volunteerism Award
By Asma L. Saroya, Engage Minnesota
Last summer, I volunteered as a camp counselor at a week-long summer camp organized by the Muslim Youth of Minnesota. At one of the camp sessions focusing on heroes, I asked the kids to share the names of their heroes with the group. I was expecting the typical answers: mom, dad, a teacher, maybe even a basketball player. But when we had made a complete circle around the group, half the kids had said their hero was Sister Abia.
Abia Isse Ali is a Twin Cities Somali activist who focuses her work on the youth in her community. On Wednesday, Feb . 20, she will become Minneapolis’ first Somali and its first Muslim to win an annual Minneapolis Police volunteerism award. Minneapolis Chief of Police Tim Dolan will present Abia with the 2007 Teresa S. Ruhland Youth Award, an honor that recognizes adults who reach out to young people to build a better future for all city residents.
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