Instead of being approached top down, we are starting bottoms up! That is, we are asking our members to first generate a discussion on the topic within their communities, before we move to action steps. The first step is very simple: generate a discussion somewhere in your community about the subject, and then share your notes with the rest of the members about the outcome of the conversation. Whether it is a formal focus group, or simply a discussion, what matters is that we get a sense on the feelings and ideas that people have on the subject. What you need the most to do this is a good facilitator. You do not need someone who has all the answers, or can give a great lecture. We want to hear from people their raw ideas on the subject.
The forum can be in any one of the following : in a study circle (usra, halaka, MY Connect, etc…) ; an organizational committee (MSA, Masjid Board, MAS Youth exec committee, Tarbiya exec committee, Chap council, MAS Freedom exec committee, etc…) ; a public forum in the Islamic center with community members ; an invited set of individuals.
To start, you need a good facilitator. This is key. Here are some tips on good facilitation. Note that the individual leading the discussion does not need to be an expert on the subject. Just someone who can get people to share their ideas and thoughts.
The best way to start the discussion is to have someone give a 5-10 minute quick reflection or presentation on the topic. This person will set the stage for the discussion, rather than give definitive answers as to the solution. The next step is to raise a few questions and steer the discussion in the direction where participants want to take it.
The Introduction : setting the stage
In the first 5-10 minute introduction, the speaker (who can be different than the facilitator) can introduce the following topics:
- Terrorism is obviously an issue that has grabbed the attention of the entire world. It has influenced media and policies. It has influenced the lives of Muslims all around the world.
- Islam is a moderate religion which shuns extremism (you can expand on that as much as you want)
- There is a very small group of Muslims who advocate for using violence in society.
- The larger American society perceives this to be a major problem (or a potential major problem) for America
The discussion
After the brief introduction, mention to people some of the questions that the facilitator will be posing. Then have individuals take turn to voice their ideas, concerns, questions, and frustrations. Please refer to the MAS members private blogs detailing some of their discussion notes, videos. and PPT presentations, as a reference. You can use the following set of questions as a starting point to generate a discussion in your community. In the first meeting, you should focus mostly on the first few questions only. Later meetings can tackle more questions.
- What is extremism ? Is there a difference between extremism, radicalization, and violence ?
- Is extremism and/or violence a problem in the world ? In the Muslim Ummah ? In the American Muslim community?
- What fuels extremism? What deflates extremism ?
- What does Islam teach about this topic?
- Is this an over inflated problem created mostly by the media ? why or why not?
- Is there a role that American Muslims can play? Is there a role that others can play? What is that role?
- What are ideas that we can use in order to combat extremism (social networking, writings, blogs, videos, khutbas, etc..)
- what is the cost of extremism to our country, to our community ?
- What are the main arguments used by extremists and how does Islam refute them
- who are some key allies in this front
- How can we channel the energy of young people to effect change in society using positive means
- what can we learn from History (Modern History, Islamic History, American History, etc…) about peaceful resistance
- What is the difference between Jihad and terrorism ?
- what web sites, books, articles, videos that address this subject that can be a reference to our youth ?
- What are some of the obstacles that we may face in this path towards moderation and fighting extremism
- What synergies exist between MAS Youth, Tarbiya, Freedom, and other internal departments that we can leverage
- What synergies exist between different Muslim organizations who can partner on this subject
- What synergies exist that we can leverage in the larger American context in order to help us on this initiative?
- How can we generate appropriate funds and grants to support this initiative
Bring closure
- Inform the audience that this is the start of a campaign in MAS, and ask people to sign up for local teams who will (soon) be engaged in next steps.
- Share the address to this blog with others.
- Summarize the discussion (you can video tape it, or take notes).
- Send the discussion notes to the Straight Path campaign committee in MAS, share it via one of our email lists, or post it on this blog.
- Form a team in order to take next steps
Thank you
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