Written by Ali Maki 

Columbiaville, Michigan

The Allied Muslim Youth of North America held its second RISE retreat at Camp Taha in Columbiaville, Michigan in late August.  Muslim activists from across North America attended including Montreal, South Carolina, Missouri, Detroit, Chicago, and New York with the common mindset of strengthening leadership qualities and networking with youths of other Muslim communities.

Founded in 2002, AMYNA was the first networking platform for young Muslim activists in North America. The founders of AMYNA hoped that the organization would connect and educate young Muslims across North America through the sharing of resources, online communication, and yearly conferences. AMYNA redefined its mission in 2006, focusing on strengthening youth activism across North America. 

This year's RISE retreat included workshops on self-awareness and communication. Coordinators stressed the fact that they wanted young Muslims to participate in discussions during these workshops, allowing for on-the-spot self-awareness and personal development which would carry on past the weekend. Audience interaction led to discussions about how to handle certain situations such as being praised by an individual and how to handle negative feedback as organizers.

An integral part of the retreat was teamwork and spiritual gain. Teams consisted of a variation of leaders that included vocal leaders, mellow leaders, and listeners. The purpose of the exercise was to build the tallest structure in a fifteen minute span. In that time, the vocal leaders could not speak but could give direction via gestures. The listeners were blind-folded and were the only ones who were allowed to build the structure. Listeners were allowed to direct the blind-folded person verbally. The purpose of the activity was to encourage teamwork and effective communication.

Spiritual gain entailed going into the woods and having meditating sessions. The first meditating session lasted for three minutes and served the purpose of clearing one's mind by listening to the sounds of nature. The second meditating session lasted for four minutes and that dealt with reflecting about Allah.  These sessions encouraged young activists to appreciate their spiritual growth and make it relevant to their activism and interaction among their peers.

The programs consisted mainly of presentation of material and workshops led by young community leaders Shakir Rizvi, Sara Bokhari and Ali Dabaja.  Besides the programs, activities also included swimming, canoeing, playing basketball, volleyball and tantalizing food.  The newly opened Camp Taha with the new facilities allowed for a variability in the programming and much need downtime from the intensive sessions.  A staple of the late night program was the bonfire discussions anchored by Shaikh Rizwan Arastu and Hajj Hassanain Rajabali. 

Here is what a participant had to say:

"I thought the programming was superb... The coupling of spirituality (esp. the discussion of the letter to Malik Ashtar from Imam Ali, and the du'a) with common leadership training was very beneficial."

Article reprinted with permission from Islamic Insights