AMI is committed to be a proactive voice for American Muslims. Our actions, writings and talks will be geared to achieve the ultimate goal, where Americans will see Muslims as their neighbors and fellow citizens, committed to fighting violent extremism and protecting the homeland. Within this frame work we are developing a program for the Youth.
Purpose
The purpose of this initiative is to facilitate our youth to be a critical part of decision making process in shaping the role of Muslims in American society at large.
Specifics To succeed we must engage our youth in current issues and work on getting them elected or appointed in local, State and Federal agencies. We will put plans together for our youth to be engaged, involved and possibly seek to be in responsible positions at the White House, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and other departments.
Role Models
Thank God, we have many Muslims to look up to as role models. They have made a conscious effort to be in the right places to do the right things. Just 50 years ago, the Jews in America endured severe humiliation, they were not allowed in Hotels, and they were not allowed to certain jobs. They really went through more difficulties than we can ever imagine. As a community they chose to be ‘un-selfish’ and consciously planned their way out of the jam, and they did it successfully. They are our models.
What does it take to change? We have to be a part of the system, a difficult but not an impossible thing to achieve. Many of the good decisions have been made because a few good Muslims have worked hard to be in the right place. In the last two decades we have seen several prominent American Muslims appointed in key positions and had to go through the rigorous process of Senate Confirmations. I am pleased to mention as many names as I am aware with a promise to complete the list, and they are Ambassador Osman Siddique, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Ambassador Islam Siddiqui, Ambassador Sada Cumber and Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry to name a few.
On an envoy level, we were blessed with the appointments of Farah Pandith, Sohail Khan, Rashad Hussain, Shaarik Zafar, Arsalan Suleman, and Zaki Albarzinji. On policy level we have Haris Tarin, Irfan Saeed, and Sameer Hossain. Insha Allah we will complete the list with almost all the names we can pool. Additionally there are many Muslim Staffers in the Senate and the Congress who are continuously contributing towards enriching our nation.
They are in White House, Departments of State, Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security. We need to work on adding more of our youth leaders into the pipe line. We are blessed with a few great men and women who are willing to guide Muslims youth to pursue careers in Government. Insha Allah, we are working on organizing an informal town hall meeting, if you have youth in your family or among friends, encourage them to consider careers in governance and politics please send an email to
We have great role models to look up to.
Plan:
- Hold a youth networking event as a starting point in December 2016
- Gather youth from around the nation for a full day summit in 2017
- Talk about career goals and what can be achieved
- What does it take to be in the pipeline to be next person to serve
- We are looking for ambitious youth leaders
- Events and things to do for integrations.
- Getting Muslim Youths ready for any mainstream situations.
The other Modules to be developed are engaging in elected offices, civic organizations and public at large. The following articles give an idea of what we are looking for 1. Are Muslims a part of the American Society? mailto:http://www.theghousediary.com/are-muslims-part-of-american-society/
- American Muslim Agenda – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/american-muslim-agenda-a-_b_5528706.html
Mike Ghouse
Executive Director