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Human Development Matters

March 6, 2023 | Ahmed Aljaberi
North Dakota State University

Participatory Action Research, New American Muslim Youth, and Literacy in Refugia

When New American Muslim Youth (NAMY) come to the USA as refugees, they try their best to integrate and assimilate in their new communities. Generally, many NAMY might lack adequate literacy or formal education due to personal or societal factors that made them flee their homelands and seek refuge in other countries. While many NAMY may already be literate in…

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August 22, 2022 | Amaarah DeCuir
Amaarah DeCuir, American University

The (Re)Visioning of a Muslim Students Association Faculty Advisor

Many college campuses across the United States have a Muslim Students Association (MSA), a student-led club that is formed to build a Muslim student community that engages in spiritual, social, and university activities. Like other campus clubs for students, they often identify a faculty advisor who will provide advice to adhere to university guidelines. After two years into my faculty…

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August 8, 2022 | Osman Umarji
University of California

How Do Teachers Motivate and Nurture Relationships that Support Students in Islamic Studies?

The human being is hardwired to form relationships (Kline, 2008). Our neurobiological systems predispose us to cultivate nurturing relationships, as our brains and hormones react to facilitate deep bonds with other human beings. Healthy parental and peer relations have been known to be essential for positive youth development. In addition to parental and peer connections, strong student-teacher rapport empowers our…

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How Do Teachers Motivate and Nurture Relationships that Support Students in Islamic Studies?
July 25, 2022 | Dr. Zahra S.A. Rafie
NVCC

Youth Empowerment, Holistic Education, and Islamic Weekend Schools

“Verily, I have only been sent to perfect righteous character.” --Prophetic Tradition The call for a holistic, student-centered, and justice-oriented education in public schooling (Miller 2019) has necessitated a reexamination of the approaches to Islamic education both in the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Educators have come to realize not only the need for change, but the importance of transformational learning…

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July 11, 2022 | Yusuf Öğretici
The Ministry of National Education, Türkiye

Meaning-making through Music in Religious Education

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND Once upon a time, according to a traditional story, there was a meeting of the nobility at court. Then, someone dressed poorly was invited by the King to sit in the best corner of the hall, while others marvelled at this. To justify his actions and to show that person's…

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June 20, 2022 | Eman Abdelhadi
University of Chicago

American Muslim Communities: Who Stays, Who Goes and Why?

American Muslims are split between those who attend the mosque at least once a week (45%) and those who attend only for Eid or even less (40%) (Pew Research Center, 2007, 2011, 2017). To explore why some Muslims are engaged in their communities—what I call embeddedness—while others stay away, I conducted life history interviews with 80 adult Muslims in 2016/2017…

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June 6, 2022 | MADIHA TAHSEEN

Coming of Age as a Muslim American: A Review of Research on Muslim Youth and Well-Being

Who am I? Where do I belong? These are the existential questions faced during adolescence by all youth—and become particularly important questions for Muslim American youth as they come of age in a heated sociopolitical environment. What helps Muslim youth thrive as they try to answer these questions and become the best version of themselves? What promotes their healthy well-being…

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May 23, 2022 | LINDA FOGARTY
International Youth Foundation

The Power of 40 Compassionate Seconds

Photo by Somiyah Elhassawy A fellow researcher, from Envision Kindness, where I found most of these beautiful photos, reached out recently about my 20+-year-old dissertation research on compassion. My research showed that in less than 40 seconds a doctor could, through direct words and actions, clearly display compassion AND reduce others’ anxiety (Fogarty et al, 1999). It was that simple.…

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May 9, 2022 | Ilham Nasser
Advancing Education in Muslim Societies

Four Pillars of Education

It is well documented that education is a human right and a necessity in modern societies, especially in emergencies and post-conflict relief situations. It is also known that transformation can happen through authentic, learner-centered, and quality education, hence making education an important tool for change.  A major report by UNESCO (Delores, et al.1996) articulates well the role education plays in…

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