Listening is the best way to serve and a great way to learn. Listening Imams grow in knowledge and respect.

Our capacity to motivate Muslims, resolve conflicts and develop a team, all de-pend on how well we listen.

The more effectively we lis-ten, the more we learn.

We might think we already know how to listen. But un-fortunately, most of us pay little attention to the quality of our listening. We usually hear words without paying attention to them.

When you are an Imam or a Khateeb, you talk. When

people ask you questions, you talk. When you perform marriages, you talk. When you conduct funerals, you talk. Talking seems to be the main thing we end up doing. However, it is good to also listen because it enriches our talk and deliver us the most help we need to carry out our responsibilities.

Connecting with Muslim

Youth

Nothing will connect you with Muslim youth more than attentive and respect-ful listening. The more you listen to them, the more they will listen to you. Listen-ing is a ­­­­­­­­­­­­­process of empowerment.

Mayambala Rashid. Muslim Youth

taking part in the leadership Camp

Are you a Listening Imam?

Engaging youth in conversa-tion, however, is not easy. One way to do this is to ask them questions in response to their question. This was something the Prophet Mu-hammad, PBUH, regularly did in his interactions with others. In one incident, a young man came to the Prophet asking him permis-sion to commit Zina (sex outside of marriage). In-stead of becoming angry and scolding him, the

Prophet responded with a series of questions. He asked the youth, "Would you want someone else to commit adultery with your mother?" The youth responded with a no. The Prophet then re-peated this question in rela-tion to the young man’s sis-ters, aunts and other female relatives. The answer was always the same. At the end of this, he prayed for the young Muslim, who was

now convinced of the ugli-ness of illicit sex.

Our Muslim youth are under tremendous pressure. Some of them are either leaving Islam or connecting with dangerous groups.

It is very important for an Imam, therefore, to engage them. The more he asks for their opinions, the more comfortable they will feel offering their views.

UGANDA MUSLIM YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FORUM Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Volume 1, Issue 1

Are you a listening Imam ? 1

Connecting with Muslim Youth

1

Can a Muslim sister knock

on your door

2

Listening 2

What you can do to Pre-

vent Violent extremism

3

New Muslim Center 3

Do a Youth audit 4

Inside this issue:

Ramadhan

Count down

45 Days to Ramadhan

“Neighbors” is the choice word

for non-Muslims. Listening to

them and praying for them is go-

ing to open doors. Our Mosques

are mostly in mixed communities.

Our neighbors live around us.

Therefore, a listening Imam must

reach out to them.

UMYDF PARTICIPATES AT THE FIRST WHITE HOUSE CVE FORUM

Listen to New

Muslims

Listen ear is a part of faith

UMYDF Team Leader Ahmed Hadji

taking part in the CVE Forum

Listening to the

Muslim Family

“Is someone speaking the

language of extremism?

Look out for the

extremists”

P a g e 2 M U SL I M M A T TE R S V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

On February 18th -22nd 2015,

UMYDF was privileged to at-

tend the White House three-

day summit on Countering Vio-

lent Extremism (CVE) in Wash-

ington DC courtesy of the US

S t a t e d e p a r t -

ment that brought together

local, federal, and international

leaders – including President

Obama and foreign ministers –

to discuss concrete steps the

United States and its partners

can take to develop community-

oriented approaches to

counter hateful extremist ide-

ologies that radicalize, recruit

or incite to violence. Violent

extremist threats can come

from a range of groups and

individuals, including domestic

terrorists and homegrown vio-

lent extremists in the United

States, as well as terrorist

groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL. A

draft outcome document on

CVE was resolved upon to ad-

dress the root causes of ex-

tremism through emphasizing

Community Led Intervention—

empowering community efforts

to disrupt the radicalization

process before an individual

engages in criminal activity.

The Muslim family is in trouble.

The number one issue is the

crisis in Muslim marriages and

family conflict. Most Imams are

not trained to be professional

counselors. However, we often

end up offering this service.

Sometimes the cases involve

domestic violence as well.

Muslim sisters make a larger propor-

tion of the Ummah. If we are not

listening to them, we are denying

ourselves crucial knowledge to serve

them better.

Can sisters see and hear the Imam?

Imams should take it upon themselves

to improve their sound quality and

visibility so Muslim women can be full

participants in the community.

Can a Muslim Sister Knock on your door

so Muslim women can be full

participants in the community.

Can sisters in the Mosque see

the notice board? If not, install

one in their section and make

one sister responsible for mak-

ing sure it is updated with the

latest events and notices.

Listen to your

Neighbors

Many Muslim converts leave

Islam within about five years.

The absence of support for

new converts in the Muslim

community is the main prob-

lem.

Listening for your

Country

Please keep your eyes and ears

open to what is happening in

your Mosque. Is someone

speaking the language of ex-

tremism? Look out for the ex-

tremists, the vulnerable, and

yes, the agent provocateur.

What you can do to prevent violent extremism

UMYDF CONDEMNS GARISSA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

New Muslim Center | Masjid Musa, Hotel Africa

Say no to terrorism

#WeStandWithYou

#GarisaStudents

the number of UMYDF inspired

and supported Imam Centers in

Uganda

Like the Tororo and Mbale Cen-

ters, Masjid Musa Imam center

will focus on building the ca-

pacities of Juma Mosques with

the aim of transforming them

from just prayer centers to de-

velopment centers.

The latest Imam Resource Cen-

ter to be established courtesy

of the Imam Exchange and

Learning Program, and the

Skills Enhancement Program for

Imams is at Masjid Musa – Hotel

Africana. This brings to five;

innocent university students of

Garissa in Kenya. They also

urged the media to desist from

making generalisation and

sending out divisive information

while reporting on terror at-

tacks, “Some media reporting

undermines the crucial message

of social inclusion by amplifying

xenophobia, eroding trust and

promoting social disharmony,

the more coverage of terrorist

In a press conference held on

4th April 2015, the Team leader,

Mr. Ahmed Hadji and the Senior

P r o g ra m s Co o r d in a t o r ,

Mr. Ndugwa Hassan were

joined by Zulaika Nanfuka and

Shaban Kalema among other

Muslim Youth leaders in

Uganda to condemned in the

strongest terms possible the

barbaric acts of terror by the

Somali based terrorist group on

related issues demonizes Muslim

communities at large, the more

entrenched a victim’s mentality

can become to those targeted

by sensationalized reporting

hence creating more radicals”

said Ndugwa Hassan. Ahmed

Hadji added that, extremists

take advantage of the vulner-

able, unemployed youths by pre-

senting them with limitless opportu-

nities thus recruiting them as terror-

ists.

“Muslim community leaders we have interacted and working with are quite

concerned about Muslim youth. However, this

concern normally does not translate into a plan.”

P a g e 3 M U SL I M M A T TE R S V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

Violent extremist is a growing threat worldwide and the ac-tions of extremists do not know borders. Everyone is a victim. Attempts to end or curb violent extremism by governments and international organs worldwide have not produced the desired results.

At UMYDF, we are working with other stakeholders to empower communities in CVE and the following are some of the mes-sages we are sharing with our audiences.

Watch out for inflammatory Talk

We use our social media plat-forms, main stream media out-lets and community outreaches to urge Muslims communities to be on the lookout for per-sons spouting violence and extremism in their local mosques.

We also urge them to keep away or report the so called harmless yet hardline clerics. Those who do not issue radical-izing statements but they;

Do not allow women to pray in a Masjid. This is some-thing Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, never did.

Those who do not allow women to speak onstage in front of a mixed-gender audi-ence.

Those who wage small battles against interfaith rela-tions, etc.

Those who consider de-mocracy to be Haram.

Those who find fault only in women Those who issue fake fatwas While we defend the right of all Muslims to practice their faith the way they understand it, we strongly disagree with the prac-tice of forcing other Muslims to follow a certain line of thinking.

Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (UMYDF) is a not for profit, nonpartisan youth-led faith based develop-ment organization based in Kampala district, which exists to provide a link for connecting all Muslim youth across clusters and development policy processes in Uganda so as to promote their active, responsible and continuing participation in local and global development.

UMYDF works to create a socially inclusive environment where all young Muslims are engaged, informed and in-spired to take on the challenges in their development processes as the route to achieving their ambitions and dreams.

We are a dynamic, resourceful and innovative Muslim Youth organization. We realize the need for a fair picture of Islam and the Islamic world during these times. We un-derstand, because we have ourselves experienced the many ways through which young Muslims have been ex-posed to their faith, and the different ideas, aspirations and attitudes they bring with them to a national Muslim space.

Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum

P. O. BOX 4365 Kampala -Uganda,

Plot 2, Agape Close, Ntinda Kigoowa

We are on the Web

www.umydf.org

thing say something” should

be applied in mosques as

well. If you hear anyone talk-

ing extremism, note down

his name and number, and

tell your Imam.

Rethink the Masjid

It is important to create a

welcoming environment for

youth in the Masjid. All

mosques need a listening

Imam. But that is not

enough. We need to rethink

how our Masjids work. Who

It is important to know who

is teaching what at your

mosque. Who teaches

classes? Who is giving the

Khutba? Who is hanging

around the youth? Who is in

charge of youth programs?

What are the existing youth

programs? How do the

youth who attend your Is-

lamic weekend school feel

about it?

Sometimes, an extremist

thrives because no one is

watching. “If you see some-

will implement the plans you

make for youth? If it is all left

to volunteers, there is limit

to their time. Ideally, each

Masjid should have an active

youth organizer.

Address critical issues

that matter for na-

tional security

All Mosque programs should

clearly address issues which

matter in reference to na-

tional security

Do a Youth Audit

UGANDA MUSLIM YOUTH

DEVELOPMENT FORUM