The Straight Path Initiative is a long-term campaign aimed at engaging all components of the Muslim American community, with a special focus on youth ages 15-30 as well as people of other faith who are interested in the following cause: Understanding and addressing the roots of religious extremism, the ways in which individuals are radicalized, and the tools needed to address these challenges.
From its founding days, MAS has worked to promote an understanding of Islam which we believe was espoused and actualized by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions through the following three concepts: a) God conscious spirituality; b) comprehensiveness; and c) balanced moderation. We consider engagement on the topic of radicalization and religious extremism in our communities as an essential part of conveying Islam with utmost clarity and preserving the rights of Muslim Americans and their organizations.
Concerns about terrorism becoming popular within the Muslim American community have been more prevalent since the tragedy of the September 11th attacks. Muslims in Europe were said to be radicalized due to political and soci-economic marginalization, while Muslims in the United States have often demonstratedwell-integrated immigrant communities that were immune to the kind of “home grown terrorist activity” taking place in several European countries. The year 2009, however, brought to the fore an unusual number of cases that highlighted the vulnerability of Muslim Americans to the influence of extremist ideology and radicalized thought.
At the same time, a recently published Duke University study entitled “Anti-Terror Lessons of Muslim-Americans” acknowledges the positive impact Muslim American organizations have had on stemming the flow of radicalization and extremism. The report notes the community’s swift denunciation of terrorism, internal self-policing practices, positive community building, and heightened political engagement as examples of practical outcomes of efforts to combat radicalization.
MAS is uniquely equipped– with its chapter structure, youth department, self-development programs, youth centers and MAS Freedom civic and advocacy initiatives– to play a pivotal role in providing programs that will serve as deterrents to involvement in religious extremism. In that light, we have embarked on a plan of action, dubbed the Straight Path Initiative, that includes a number of carefully designed and executed projects focusing on increasing the availability of moderate interpretations of Islamic principles, youth engagement projects, and audio/visual and social networking outreach, among others.
Goals & Objectives
Initiate an honest and open dialogue about radicalization and extremism in Muslim American communities.
Research and pinpoint the root causes of radicalization and extremism among Muslim American youth in particular.
Engage the Muslim American community in monitoring and detecting extremist trends and their impact on vulnerable members of the community.
Make use of modern audio/visual technology in promoting better understanding of challenges of extremism and opportunities for engagement.
Target high schools and college campuses with programs and activities to involve young Muslim Americans in a proactive way that limits opportunities for radicalization.
Train and educate Muslim American community leaders in imparting accurate Islamic principles and interpretations of controversial and often misunderstood issues.
Increase awareness of the benefits of civic engagement, political involvement, and community building in fighting extremism.
Signature Projects
Muslim Youth Leadership Forum: Building Young Muslim Leaders for a Better America
The goal of the forum is to mentor and prepare young Muslim leaders to provide leadership not only to the Muslim community but the greater American society at large. The institutional design focuses on developing and enhancing leadership skill sets of Muslim youth that will impact America’s civic, social, economic and religious life. Youth participants will be placed in a leadership social mentoring network that will allow them to communicate after the initial forum on an ongoing basis with qualified mentors and other forum participants.
iBelong Campaign
The goal of the iBelong after school program is to facilitate positive development in youth by assisting them in developing trusting relationships, challenging them to develop skills and discover talents through offering them developmentally appropriate, yet culturally sensitive programs. The program is piloted in 2011 by MAS Houston and will insha Allah be franchised to other locations in the future.
Interactive Youth Oriented Website
The Internet is the most effective way to reach out to community members, especially young Muslim Americans. An interactive, dynamic website tied to this campaign will include: public service announcement (PSA) headlined by prominent Muslim Americans that youth can identify with, sharing a message promoting moderation, engagement, and community participation, moderated discussion forums and social networking components, resources on contemporary religious issues, profiles of Muslim American youth making a positive impact in their communities, volunteer/job boards that enumerate opportunities for political activism, civic engagement, community service, advocacy, etc.
The Straight Path Public Awareness Campaign
This public awareness-raising campaign is meant to create a “buzz” at high schools, college campuses, and youth centers nationwide. The campaign will make public the issues of concern to the community and attempt to address them through several projects, including lecture series, roundtable discussions, education through art initiatives, and community service projects, among others.
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