Teaching Youth about Islam – Dr. Mona Islam

Episode 49.
Mona grew up in Texas in the 1980s, the only veiled Muslim girl throughout her school years.  Her faith and immigrant family was seen as strange and unknown, yet she was dedicated to her faith, even starting to veil by seven years old, which is earlier than required.  Despite or perhaps because of this extreme minority experience, Mona has dedicated her life to education, most passionate about teaching youth about Islam, and helping them to develop good characters grounded in Islam.  She takes pride in the long list of courses and books she has created, while acknowledging that future generations will approach life differently than her generation has, due to the increased social diversity, among other things. 


Highlights:
00:06:26 Identity struggles as a young Muslim in Texas.
00:11:29 Courses for adolescents in Southeast Houston, including religious and secular subjects, taught for 20 years.
00:23:16 Youth work challenges and solutions during COVID.
00:30:02 Multicultural center helps refugee kids access programming.
00:34:46 Religion not welcome in public schools, diversity encouraged.
00:40:32 Young people navigate future with right decisions.
00:42:43 Focus on common ground, appreciate differences.

Social Media links for Mona:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmonaislam/
Website – Dr.MonaIslam.com
Facebook, personal – https://www.facebook.com/mona.islam.9619/
Facebook, professional – https://www.facebook.com/dr.monaislam22/
MCC Texas – https://www.facebook.com/MCCTexas
Multicultural Center – https://www.multiculturalcenter.net/
Rabata – https://www.rabata.org/board-of-directors/
The Islamic Seminary of America – https://islamicseminary.us/

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:   https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/13586018-teaching-youth-about-islam-dr-mona-islam


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Transcript

Dr. Mona Islam transcript

Teaching Youth about Islam

Meli  [00:00:05]:

Hello, and welcome to Living Our Beliefs. A home for open conversations with fellow Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Through personal stories and reflection, we will explore how our religious traditions show up in daily life. At work, at home, in the community, in good times, and in bad. There is no one size fits all right answer. Just a way to move forward for you, for here, for now. I am your host, Meli Solomon. So glad you could join us. This is episode 40 9. And my guest today is Doctor Mona Islam. She has been deeply engaged with the American Muslim community in Houston, Texas for the past 30 years. Mona is passionate about developing Muslim women and youth. A committed lifelong learner, Islamic Studies teacher, and tarbiyya facilitator, she has studied under Dr. Yusuf Zia Kavaci and with Shaikha Dr. Hanaa Gamal, among many others. She currently serves as vice president of the multicultural center in Houston, a leading humanitarian center where she leads the education department. She has founded a girl scout troop, which grew to over 160 members, and co-founded a boy scout troop, which now has over 320 members. She regularly contributes to and publishes Islamic Studies book for students in middle and high school. During the COVID pandemic, she offered over 200 online sessions for youth which included teaching the Quran cover-to-cover twice, seerah, hadith sciences, and Purification of the heart. Dr Islam holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Houston. She lives her husband and five children in Houston, Texas. Her social media links are listed in the show notes. Hello, Mona. Welcome to my Living Our Beliefs podcast. I'm so pleased to have you on today.

Mona [00:02:24]:

Thank you so much. Hello. I'm so happy to be here.

Meli  [00:02:27]:

I'd like to begin with my usual first question. What is your religious and cultural identity?

Mona [00:02:34]:

I am a Muslim. I am a Sunni Muslim and culturally, I'm Southeast Asian, but 1st generation immigrant.

Meli  [00:02:44]:

When you say Southeast Asian, what country are your parents from?

Mona [00:02:48]:

My parents are from Bangladesh, and so we've lived here for 42 years. So I'm a mix between my immigrant identity makes me American but Southeast Asian in my background as well.

Meli  [00:02:59]:

But you were born in the US.

Mona [00:03:01]:

I was actually born in Bangladesh, and I immigrated when I was two years old.

Meli  [00:03:05]:

Oh, thank you for that correction. I misunderstood. And you live in Texas.

Mona [00:03:10]:

Correct. I live in Houston, Texas.

Meli  [00:03:12]:

Have you lived there all of your life, or is this a more recent place?

Mona [00:03:17]:

I lived in Oklahoma the first five years that we live in America. So from age two to age seven, I was in Tulsa. Then, the majority of the rest of my life has been in Texas other than three years when I lived in Michigan. Yeah. So I was in Dallas from age seven to nineteen. And then I moved to Houston, you know, in 1998, stayed till 2001, moved to Michigan for three years for my husband's training and came back to Texas during the active duty military years. So ever since 2007 until now, I've been back in Houston.

Meli  [00:03:51]:

Oh, that's right. You'd said, your husband is in the military.

Mona [00:03:55]:

He was there for 23 years, and now he's considered retired.

Meli  [00:03:59]:

It's a lot of years. Well, thank him for his service for me. Have you been a Sunni Muslim all your life?

Mona [00:04:07]:

Yes. I have. I was born into a Muslim family.

Meli  [00:04:10]:

Has it changed much for you?

Mona [00:04:12]:

Definitely, it has. I grew up in a certain household with certain values and environment. Then I went to public schools, which really challenged my, beliefs and understandings, of course, you know, I went to public schools all through high school, whether it's getting married, being involved, in society more or even in marriage, being, you know, part of a of another family that has its own unique values, really, you know, my beliefs and my practices were constantly questioned. You know, I questioned how I would apply my religion. And over the years, you know, there's those aspects that that have stayed the same that I've held onto by choice There's aspects of it that I've questioned and, you know, come in and out of some things that I'm learning even at this age. So it has changed. I would say, you know, there's some that's stayed the same and their settlements changed.

Meli  [00:05:09]:

Does your husband also come from a Bangladeshi family?

Mona [00:05:13]:

He does.

Meli  [00:05:15]:

Okay. So you're you're at least on the same wavelength in in that regard. I'm I imagine that makes things simpler.

Mona [00:05:22]:

It can be simpler. It can also be more complex. We have the Bangladeshi commonality in our in our parents’ generation. But bringing religion into it is a different ballgame, which I've learned through ex life experience now. You know, people have different understandings of religion and where they are, acquiring their religious knowledge and understanding. And so, my parents actually took a little bit of a different path and, you know, and and my in-laws taken a diff a little bit of a different understanding of things. And I've been able to really, strengthen, you know, my own understanding It seems like it would simplify things, but it actually sometimes makes things a little more complex as well.

Meli  [00:06:02]:

You've made a nice entree into the next set of questions. I'm interested in hearing a little about how it's been to be an active, an observing Muslim woman. You wear a headscarf. So you are clearly identifiable as a Muslim woman. How was that in Houston to live in that way?

Mona [00:06:26]:

Absolutely. So I started wearing a headscarf by choice at age seven. Even my parents told me: ‘Mona, you don't have to begin so early according to our religion’. However, I think that I became very aware of my surroundings and aware of myself being different when I went to public school, you know, starting with kindergarten, I realized, you know, I was different. I kind of questioned why I was different. On one hand, I was being taught religion from home and from the local mosque, but then I would go to the public schools. And there was very good values there, but clearly, you know, there was a difference. In my identity with those around me. And in Houston, at that time, of course, this is way pre, 9/11. I really started going to school in the eighties. So in Texas, in general, people didn't know what a Muslim really was, and I went to a public school that was demographically I would say 95% white and upper-middle class. I happen to be not only Brown and minority, but I was, you know, an immigrant family that was still getting settled even financially and economically. So I was grappling with that identity piece. I think that the first time that we felt a big difference in people around us knowing or or that I felt the difference in people around me knowing about, Islam, and Muslims was really the whole 9/11 turning point. Prior to that, even in Texas, it was you you still really were a different, you know, a different person from those around you if you're, wearing a scarf and and being Muslim. So, definitely, as you mentioned, you know, I am in Texas. It makes it a little bit different from, perhaps being in New York or one of the places where there is a more diverse community. Even in high school, I was the only female Muslim wearing a head scarf in high school. My class had about 650, and yet I was still the only Muslim wearing a scarf. You know, and I'm a class of 1997. Things have changed so much since then, but that was back when I was growing up.

Meli  [00:08:24]:

Were you harassed in school? You were, obviously, I mean, you're you were visibly very different. Were you harassed for that in school?

Mona [00:08:34]:

There were times when I was harassed. So in elementary school, there would be some very childish comments made at times. You know, are you wearing a table cloth on your head or, you know, what's wrong? You know, maybe my ponytail would be sticking up under my scarf, and they would say, you know, is that your back bone. Now mainly, you know, why are you wearing that on your head? That did take place sometimes in elementary school. Middle school, I did have a couple incidences I remember one 8th grader when I was in 8th grade who, I think, tried to pull my scarf and set a few things, but as soon as I told the Assistant Principal he did immediately go after him. And then in high school, I don't think people were as open about, name calling and things, but there were times when you might feel excluded from something.

Meli  [00:09:22]:

Right. Well, kids can be astonishingly cruel. That's why. So 9/11, big shift for the country, especially for Muslims, and anyone who like the Sikh, you know, some folks who didn't know any better got didn't understand the differences. So where were you at 9/11?

Mona [00:09:44]:

I was in Michigan. I had one child at that time. I was taking classes at a local college. And I remember being a little bit afraid of going out to my class. It was a night class. I I literally remember what I was wearing. I remember what was on the television screen when things were unfolding. The 1st week was was really kind of scary just to go out you know, and just do your daily business of of grocery shopping going to school, that sort of thing.

Meli  [00:10:14]:

Seems completely reasonable. But I'm not hearing that there was some immediate onslaught to your family.

Mona [00:10:24]:

Correct. When I lived in Michigan, my household consisted of myself, my husband, and my first child who was, like, one at that time. So there was nothing that happened to my family at that time. In Texas, the environment was a little bit different. And you would hear about threats to, like, the Islamic senators and various things like that. Yeah, which then gave birth to the open houses and things like that that took place after that in order to, you know, remedy some of the misunderstandings.

Meli  [00:10:55]:

I'm grateful for you, really, and your family that you did not receive any really awful harassment after 9/11. There was so much of it. I'd like to talk about the education and course work you do. I understand you provide courses at several different locations Could you just give a a quick rundown of where you do these various courses and and who your audience is?

Mona [00:11:29]:

Absolutely. So the majority of my courses are for adolescents in Southeast Houston, It would be, you know, for middle and high school children. A lot of it is, in the form of girl scouts and boy scouts, a lot of it is courses that I have developed. Some of the scriptural courses are about the Quran, about the hadith, about the seerah. There's also spiritual courses such as Purification of the Heart. There are historical courses such as seerah. There are also, non-religious courses, socio-emotional life skills courses, which I've done for the Southeast Houston community, especially the multicultural center, There's another course, the, Wheels of Change mentorship program. This is mainly non-religious but there's a little bit of religion in there. There's some religious programming in the form of Muslim Youth of North America. Or the young Muslims is another one. The Muslim American Society is another one. And then I do have, you know, courses I teach for adults. Such as through the Islamic Seminary of America, I teach Effective Youth Work, which is a graduate level course. I do professional development with the Islam, which is Islamic School's Leagues of America, using character.org, which is a secular framework. I also teach through Rabata. So one, you know, I'll do workshops for teenagers through Revitas. So these are some of the examples of the courses that I've been developing and teaching over the past two decades or so.

Meli  [00:13:01]:

Sounds like it's mostly about working with adolescents, teens. Is that accurate?

Mona [00:13:07]:

Absolutely. That is where my passion lies.

Meli  [00:13:09]:

Well, let's talk about that passion. So passion for helping adolescents, I also get the sense that the passion is mostly around Islamic education. Is is that accurate?

Mona [00:13:23]:

Yes.

Meli  [00:13:24]:

Okay. So let's hear more about that. What are you wanting to teach these adolescents?

Mona [00:13:31]:

So there's a few things. I think that learning to be a good person in society is extremely important to me, but also, helping these adolescents feel comfortable in their own identity and deal with daily issues, you know, daily issues of just life skills. I'm I'm trying to teach character building, really. And I think that that is just so important for each youth individually, but it's important for the world to have young people who have good character. So at the end of the day, I want teenagers to have good character. And that is sometimes done in a secular package, and sometimes that's done through a religious package. However, at the end of the day, I feel that's really important.

Meli  [00:14:15]:

Yeah. Absolutely. What would be the top three or five Islamic values that you would want to make sure to get through to an adolescent?

Mona [00:14:25]:

Islamic values would be sincerity to God and to everything outward. Sincerity is the number one. The second one would be giving full measure. The word is haqq in Arabic, but everything has a full measure. Everything has a right. So that is a kind of unique concept, but this is extremely important. That each thing around you has its right and to give everything and everyone around you its right is extremely important. Honesty would be the third one. Not just honest with those around you, but it to be honest with yourself, the idea of giving is extremely important. Selflessness and giving. I think that's extremely important. And obedience, obedience to God, I think if since we're talking about Islamic values, you know, obedience would be one of them as well.

Meli  [00:15:19]:

So what I hear is sincerity, giving full measure, honesty, generosity, and obedience.

Mona [00:15:29]:

Those are five very important qualities that I would like to instill in young people.

Meli  [00:15:36]:

How do you think that those values mesh or conflict with American values?

Mona [00:15:45]:

Meshing and conflict. So that would be two different aspects. So in some ways, they do mesh with the idea that you need to have good morals good citizenship. You need to do right to others. You know, a lot of the American values are, very parallel with what Islam teaches the idea of giving rights to each other, this is an extremely American value, and it it, I would say America really follows this better than many Muslim countries and many Muslim societies. When you think of basic things in our American societies such as everyone has a right to vote, well, that's giving everyone their rights, making people equal to each other. And in majority of the world, you know, you won't find this fairness, right, this justice. But then there's a lot of areas where it conflicts as well with with American values. This idea of self centeredness or this idea of individualism, your individual rights, and your individual opinion, I feel sometimes is valued more than perhaps what might be morally right in some cases. So I I would think that that balance between, like, individualism versus, like, some of these values that I mentioned, I think that's where the conflict would happen.

Meli  [00:17:04]:

Yeah. Interesting. You just mentioned individualism because as, as you were starting to speak, that was one of the words that I wrote down. That really this – the US is an extremely individualist country. It's really one of the foundations. It can be problematic. I’m Jewish. I attend a conservative synagogue. One of the things that I value about Judaism is that it's a very communal religion. There are certain things that you cannot do in a service, like reading from Torah and saying Kaddish, which is the prayer for those who have died, you must have ten adult Jews. The orthodox would say only men, but everybody to the left of that also includes women in that count. And that's because the community is so important. You know, when you're grieving, it's not something to do alone. And this is something that I wonder about in the Muslim community. I have heard that mosques don't really operate quite the same way as churches and synagogues. That it's it's not so much about you become a member of the congregation. So then I wonder about the community aspect. Can can you shed some light on that?

Mona [00:18:30]:

Absolutely. So there are obligations, as you mentioned, that an individual has to fulfill in the community. So, for example, men are required to go to the Friday congregational prayers. There's a Friday prayer, which is obligated. But then the five daily prayers, they're highly, highly recommended and encouraged. Women, they're not required to. Now as you mentioned, the membership issue, I know there's a bit of a difference because I do work in various communities, Christian, and and Jewish communities as well. That is one of the reasons we we have established many Islamic organizations that do have membership. And so it's not necessarily the mosque that you're a member of. Anybody is welcome to enter into a mosque and pray. You don't have to be a member and the donations are to the mosque itself, the donations are voluntary. There are donations that Muslims are required to do, and that's a separate story. I mean, that's just to the poor in general. But membership of choice can be to a variety of Islamic organizations, and that helps with anything to do with, you know, the benefits of membership. And, you know, regarding the communal obligations, it can also sometimes feel like a hardship at times, but then you see the wisdom of it later. Right? So as you mentioned, there's some obligations that we have that are communal, maybe family related. Right? So you don't always want to do some of the things. They're they're not always easy things. And that's why God promises a reward for the hardship because sometimes it's just easier to go be an individual. Right? It's those communal things that can also be a hardship. But then in the end, the idea is things that are obligated usually have more benefit than harm if I can state it that way.

Meli  [00:20:20]:

I'm not quite sure I'm following you on that ‘more benefit than harm’. Benefit to you as the person doing the the activity?

Mona [00:20:29]:

There there are times when communal obligations or communal things are required. So in that case, it would be for the group or for the community but those have some benefits to the individual as well. You know, your individual needs are always a factor. So I'll give you an example, which is the pilgrimage that you do once in your lifetime, if you're not physically or financially or mentally sound or capable, you are absolved of that obligation.

Meli  [00:20:56]:

Judaism has the same kind of allowance for difficulty. So on fast days, for instance, pregnant women and children and the elderly or anybody who's not feeling well is let out of that obligation. So, yeah, interesting. And interesting about this mosque versus the Islamic Center. So am I hearing you correctly that anyone can go to any mosque? I have heard that people don't tend to have a tight affiliation with a certain mosque. They just go where it's convenient. But that the Islamic Center is quite a vibrant center of activity and community. Am I am I hearing you correctly?

Mona [00:21:41]:

You're correct in that you can go to any mosque. Any mosque – technically, to be a mosque, you're opening yourself to every Muslim. And majority of Muslims are Sunnis. So any Sunni Muslim can walk into any Sunni mosque, and any Muslim can walk into any mosque. However, sometimes, you know, there's reasons why people may congregate to mosques that may have a demographic breakdown that is a little more similar to their own. That's a separate thing, but there's no membership required to enter any mosque. There are Islamic organizations. So so not like centers, but Islamic organizations, which you can be a member of, and that's not you know, an obligation religiously, but it you can fulfill religious obligations sometimes through membership to some organization. And you can be part of multiple organizations, if that makes sense.

Meli  [00:22:32]:

Sure. And I think I think people of all kinds of religions could say that. Okay. I'd like to steer us back to your course work. So you're doing lots of things. Passion is with teens and adolescents, mostly around Islamic education. 

Mona:

Correct. 

Meli: 

The last several years with COVID has been really challenging for education in particular I'm guessing that before COVID and hopefully now again, you are teaching in person, and I'm wondering what kinds of challenges during COVID and perhaps at other times have you faced and how have you overcome those challenges?

Mona [00:23:16]:

Absolutely. So there has been a lot of challenges when it comes to youth work and, you know, youth courses there's some challenges that apply across the board before and after COVID, and there's some challenges we had during COVID so I can speak to both, if if that's okay. One of the challenges with creating course content and course work for young people when it came to the, you know, Islamic community is, you know, generational because I mentioned that, you know, when we came to this country, I automatically felt like I was a different person from those around me. I mean, now that I look back, it was a lot easier to teach religion, to someone who knows they're already different. But when it's my kids generation and they're a lot more similar to everyone around them, it actually gets a little bit tricky because they don't feel that automatic difference, so they're actually questioning more why they should accept some of these religious values. So there's some generational differences. Relevance for youth is a huge obstacle that I always have to overcome. And then we have cultural issues. So I I touched upon this earlier when I said that let's say two people, simple example, you know, let's say I'm married to somebody and we come from the same original country, and yet there's a difference between the culture and the religion. So just cultural differences. And then in America, there's an entire generation of of young people where the parents are from all different countries all over the world. You got Arab American Muslims. You got Pakistanian American Muslims. You have African American Muslims. You have Chinese. So then sorting through what is culture and what is religion is a huge filter and obstacle that you actually have to go through consciously. There are social challenges because within the Muslim community, there are pockets. Even though Muslims adhere to certain basic common tenants, there's still pockets within the community that that adhere to things a little bit differently. May not be as simple as liberal versus conservative, but it may be due to various reasons. There's just different ways that people wanna practice their religion. There's political correctness and social correctness on how much you can really teach and then applying religion to our times as well because the final prophet for Muslims is Mohammed PC of hunting, but that was 1400 years ago and applying something that was apparently revealed at that time to our current times This is always a challenge when it comes to young people. So those are some challenges that I always have in creating content just making it relevant for the youth in this environment, and then COVID added to that. So, basically, usually, teenagers or young people will be attending a public school And getting together with their Muslim peers in a physical space has very therapeutic and good outcomes getting together with those of of like identity, that's healthy. And so this idea of where they felt isolated and alone and minority a lot of that would be taken care of by getting together on on the weekend or or whatever. And so suddenly when COVID happened and nobody could get together anymore, suddenly the kids felt isolated again. And so there was a lot of fear of these kids like losing their sense of identity and losing confidence and losing their support system of Muslim peers and mentors, which would normally be strengthening their faith and all that So certainly that was there, and we tried to overcome some of that. So let's say with COVID, one thing I did is I took a lot of the programming that I would do in person and try to put it online. Obviously, you can't put everything online. You can't put all those experiences online. Like, you can't put a a sleepover or a camp or a service activity online, but you can put some of the interaction online. So I put about, 200-plus really accessible courses, 200 sessions or so online over those couple of years. So that's one way I overcame the COVID issue. And, that was a very successful time, and I think it was, extremely therapeutic for the youth out there. And for our community, it was, like, a real great bonding and unifying factor. And it really created some regularity in their day and had something for everyone to, you know, look forward to. And it it was an opportunity for them to really regain a connection with their religious beliefs and identity as well, especially through such a trying time. Sometimes these trying times are when we have an opportunity really reanalyze, you know, our wise and, you know, our motivations and question ourselves and question, you know, why we do what we do. And so it was I think there was a lot of positives to that.

Meli  [00:27:53]:

So it sounds like you had quite a store of programs that you could put online and have freely available. Also, it's it's an interesting point you make, which completely makes sense that in the trying time, there's there's a bonding. You know, we're we're in this together kind of feel And that can be a good outcome, actually, that rather than sink into the anxiety and the depression of being isolated, you have these points of connection, however, remote, however, virtual where your sense of identity and a bit of group connection and cohesion can be maintained or or even created. I mean, maybe new kinds of connections were made.

Mona [00:28:46]:

Absolutely. One of the programs that we took online, the arise socioemotional skills course was an intentionally non-religious content. It was a course that I created with 8 months of research. The school district actually put it on their website. The 1st year it was piloted in person. When COVID happened, we took it online. The beauty of taking it online is that we we actually reached the refugee population which would otherwise, you know, not be able to come to our center. The arise program included topics such as self-esteem communication, mood management, social tolerance, anger management, conflict resolution, goal setting, disciplinary skills, and bullying, and we intentionally kept religion out of it. And by doing so, we were on the CCISD website so that any student was welcome from the school district, we were able reach the refugee populations, and we're actually able to reach anyone who had online access coast to coast. So there are some, you know, silver linings, you know, in this situation as well.

Meli  [00:29:51]:

Yeah. Fantastic that you reach the refugee population. So you're saying refugees in Texas or in your local area, or are you saying nationally?

Mona [00:30:02]:

I mean, in Houston, we at our center, we we try to think of everyone that's in the community. So we we became aware of refugees that were coming to Houston. They live considerably far away because the multicultural center happens to be in a middle to upper class general area. So we're a little bit away from where the refugees settle. So there was a challenge that we had because we wanted some of youth programming to benefit not just our well-to-do sort of kids, but also kids that really did need it even more. But every time we'd have even the volunteers and we would have the programming ready, the kids from the refugee area couldn't even make it to the program because they don't have a car. They don't have someone to bring them. So they were missing out. So we had that challenge the 1st year. And then when COVID happened, we were able to deliver this to the screens One person, even if they didn't have, like, a laptop or a television, perhaps one person could arrange to provide, like, a screen and get the refugee kids together, and then suddenly they were able to access some of this really important programming and some of it was so good. Like, the mood management, the anger issues, people were really facing some of this more in COVID being stuck at home. So that was definitely a little win right there.

Meli  [00:31:19]:

And what countries were these refugees coming from? What were you dealing with there?

Mona [00:31:24]:

Syrian refugees Afghan. There was actually, some from Africa as Meli. And then Southeast Asia, those are some of the populations that happened to be flowing in at that time. And it was usually a result of some kind of political conflict that was going on, you know, in that part of the world. Houston happened to be one of the locations where a lot of the refugees were allowed to come. And you will even see in the Houston ISD, they actually had like some languages that were added in. There's areas where, like, Arabic is actually added into the HISC programming because how much refugees were coming into that area. So you know, that that's that's an example of how how much, you know, they were, like, kind of impacting the local community here.

Meli  [00:32:10]:

I know from personal experience, it is extremely challenging to deal with bureaucracy in a foreign language. You know, even in your own language, it it can be hard to deal with. And, of course, a refugee is bound to be under a tremendous amount of stress, and they don't have very many resources, and it's just it it all the challenges really add up.

Mona [00:32:31]:

I didn't mention the Rohingya and the Burmese refugees. That was another a pretty large group that, especially in the heroin area, they, you know, that they really settled in over the past few years, over here in Houston.

Meli  [00:32:44]:

Has your Muslim community engaged with that group? They've been under such stress. Are they finding relief with you?

Mona [00:32:53]:

I tried to take my youth group girls over there and, you know, pestle collected blankets and food. There's organizations that do try to remedy that. So there are a couple of organizations here helping hand to relief and development. There's also the Islamic Circle of North America, which they do try to do whatever they can do. So that's definitely good. But there's other ways people have taken mission trips, such as my husband and my kids. So 1 year, they went to the Rohingya refugees. This summer, they went they went to Jordan and helped out, like, the Syrian refugees and the Turkish that whole area. So people try to, you know, help in whatever way they can. My, girl scouts actually raised $12,000 as well as a lot of clothing that they collected 22 boxes of clothing. But just the girl scouts, at that point, they were in middle school. They raised enough for many, many water wells to get clear drinking water for the overseas refugees. And, you know, 22 boxes of clothes that were donated there. That was just one of the projects that the girls did. People do what they can do, and and there's always more to do. But that, you know, definitely there's an effort going on.

Meli  [00:34:05]:

Okay. We're coming to the end of our time together. I'd like to just touch on one more area Earlier today, I was listening to a podcast about a Catholic charter school that's getting paid for with public dollars. So I am really wondering about how religion in the public schools in your area is looking, and is it an issue? It sounds like you offer some programs in the public schools but I think the arise, you said, was not religious. How does religion play in the public schools in your area if at all.

Mona [00:34:46]:

Yeah. That's a good question. So it is still not really welcome. At all to bring religion into the public school's fear. It but, this is a issue that I always have to think about. Here in Houston, they really do try to keep it separate. People are very passionate about their own religious beliefs. You know, we live in the bible belt area. Whatever religion you do have or don't have, you know, you most people are very passionate about whatever they believe. And so they try to keep that out of the public school system. The public schools also really welcomes diversity in that my children are very active in the Muslim Students Association. They're really okay with you having, let's say, a Muslim students association. In order to enjoy your own space, but not to bring it into, like, the classroom classroom. Diversity is becoming more welcome but don't try to tell anybody else what they should believe in that sort of thing.

Meli  [00:35:39]:

How does that sit with you? Would you like more religion on the school?

Mona [00:35:43]:

Honestly, I don't know if I would want more religion in a public school. How would you decide whose religion to go with? In private schools, I think it works great because there's already a consensus on what you're adhering to. But once you're in a public school, I think that it would be really difficult to put religion in there. I don't think there should be anti religious beliefs either. So I think that there's a spectrum. You know, sometimes they teach things that go against a lot of religions, and I think that's where you feel like you're missing the benefits of religion. But then to remedy that, you also have to respect everyone around you as Meli. Right? That's a good question. I I've never really considered it if we did put religion in there. How would we then decide, you know, what part of the religion or which religion to even put in there?

Meli  [00:36:31]:

You mentioned that there are elements of anti-religion. Can you give me an example? I I don't know what you're talking about with them.

Mona [00:36:39]:

The the more open values that are in society. Some of that goes against certain religious teachings in different religions. Right? So then once schools are teaching this idea that everything is okay and that we accept everything. What happens is those children who their families are trying to teach them to adhere to certain religious beliefs that creates a lot of questions in those kids' minds. You know, it's not that it's directly saying, you know, religious is wrong, but they're saying everything is basically acceptable in right. So then that creates, you know, its own issues right there.

Meli  [00:37:18]:

Could we get a little more specific?

Mona [00:37:20]:

The right to perhaps, you know, make any sort of decision with your body or make any sort of decision with your life. I don't wanna really be, like, very concrete about it, but I I I do think that, you know, sometimes kids are not necessarily ready to make these sort of decisions until they're at least closer to adulthood. It's just a developmental thing. You know, I think sometimes, kids are being told that you can really do anything you want at any time, you know, with any aspect of your life, and that they may not have a full understanding of of life itself until they're a little bit older.

Meli  [00:37:56]:

Right. I appreciate you don't wanna get too specific, but I am guessing by you. By your language that you're talking about trans and gay issues?

Mona [00:38:06]:

Well, I mean, it I don't know if it just is limited to that, but, you know, I I haven't given that, like, on it. I honestly have not given it that much thought in in that particular way, but, I mean, I think everything from diet to you know, how you relate with elders, how you relate with, you know, everything around you. I think it's a little bit more general. I don't know if I'm very, you know, I I haven't really given it, specific thought. I just think that sometimes, you know, kids are just too young. They don't have enough knowledge and experience in life. To necessarily make certain decisions. Maybe it could be like guns. It could be what they decide to eat, what they decide to, you know, just just in general, you know, it's nothing really too specific.

Meli  [00:38:47]:

At a broad level, I agree with you that there are developmental issues and There are stages in life where you are then ready to make certain kinds of decisions. That's an extremely individual thing. So this is, I think, exactly where a school system or a society a community in general really has a hard time leaving religion out of it, even. People develop at different rates. And depending on how much support they have at home or how good their education is. I mean, there are so many variables that it is an extremely challenging point. The only element that I want to gently push back on is this idea that anything goes. I think that there is a misunderstanding in the society in general that those of us on the liberal end of things, politically liberal end of things believe that anything goes, and we make no kind of discernment about appropriate behavior or appropriate stages of life to do things. And I just wanna say in this venue that that is absolutely not the case. It's just a matter that those of us on the liberal end of things have different ideas about when and how and what the nature of the conversation is. These misperceptions are really dangerous and and damaging. Okay. So closing question, What are your hopes for the future?

Mona [00:40:32]:

My hopes for the future are that, young people are able to make good decisions in their own circumstances. With the right values. The circumstances are changing quickly with the world changing everything from technology to our natural resources and future policies. You know, we don't know what things are gonna look like when we're not here anymore, but I just really want young people to make decisions in a way which is good for themselves and the others around them. So I I do wanna see young people being able to navigate life with good life skills, that are relevant to their environment, and that might be a different decision than what I make, but it needs to be something that's harmonious to themselves and others. I want young people to be, you know, equipped to be able to do that in their circumstances, but then, you know, have enough of a reference to go back to. You know, as the world becomes more and more globalized, yes, these young people have to have to have a common ground, right, to to go on. So maybe the generation after my children is gonna look very different from my generation. And that's certainly it it will and it should. But hopefully, they will see the world based on their commonalities and based on the common good rather than seeing the differences. Hopefully, they will be equipped to navigate the world, you know, in in a effective manner.

Meli  [00:41:55]:

Yeah. So, really, what I'm hearing is Having young people have a sense of discernment with the foundation.

Mona [00:42:02]:

Yes.

Meli  [00:42:03]:

The only challenge I hear in in what you were just saying, Mona, is this business of what is appropriate for you and what is appropriate for those around you are not necessarily gonna be the same thing. And that's, I think that's exactly where being able to talk with people across differences as we are doing right now is so important to try to understand what does the world look like? How how do things operate in your world? And where are the strengths? Where are the challenges? And increase in understanding of each other is is really important at any age.

Mona [00:42:43]:

Exactly. Exactly. And that is why I like to visit various, if we're talking about religion, I I visit churches and synagogues. I take part in those activities. I was just at a synagogue for – the rabbi was stepping down after 28 years, and and I want to appreciate the common ground that we have the common human ground that we have. There's so much good that we can focus on, you know, and we can focus on our common ground and move forward. Life is too short to focus on our differences. But, you know, not everybody is going to step out of their comfort zone and go do those things because they're just living their, you know, comfortable life. But I think, you know, we want our young people to be able to go and, you know, mix and or act and have that understanding with each other so that so that we can understand how common we all are. And have mature conversations, you know, so that they can come to their own decisions, knowing that there are some differences, we need to get to that point.

Meli  [00:43:41]:

Amen to that. Well, those are fine words to end on. Thank you so much, Mona, for coming on my Living Our Beliefs podcast. I really appreciate your time and your thoughtful answers to my questions.

Mona [00:43:53]:

Thank you so much for having me and for what you do. I think it's a great example for everyone.

Meli  [00:43:59]:

Okay. Thank you so much. Take care. Bye bye. Thank you for listening. If you'd like to get notified when new episodes are released, hit the subscribe button. Questions and comments are welcome and can be sent directly to info at talkingwithgodproject.org. A link is in the show notes. Transcripts are available a few weeks after airing. This podcast is an outgrowth of my Talking with God Project. For more information about that research, including workshop and presentation options, go to my website www.talkingwithgodproject.org. Thank you so much. Until next time.