Muslim Women's Group Characterized by Youthful Energy, Leadership

July 24, 2006

Source: The Missourian

http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=20747

On July 24, 2006 The Missourian reported, "Despite the heat of the summer day, Fatouma Ibrahima poured herself a cup of steaming coffee before sitting down to take notes at a lecture at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri on Saturday. She’d already had a busy weekend with work and school. 'I haven’t slept in 48 hours, but I need this,' she said of the lecture — not the coffee. Ibrahima was one of more than 20 women who came to the summer seminar organized by the ICCM Women’s Committee. The event included three lectures punctuated by games, two of the five daily prayers and a dinner. 'It’s very enriching to the spirit; it makes me feel at home,' Ibrahima said. 'It’s really interesting stuff, and it’s what we should know as Muslim women.' The Women’s Committee is not new, but it was revived last September when elections changed its leadership. Eman Abdelhadi sat at the registration table Saturday and handed out programs, name tags and bright-red folders for note-taking to women. 'The people who were elected were very young,' said Abdelhadi, who works on the education branch of the committee. 'I mean, I’m 16,' she added with a laugh. Since the elections, the committee has been characterized not just by the youth of the members, but by their enthusiasm. 'This is kind of the first year we are trying to be really active, so everything is the first time,' said Alaa El-Buri, committee chair. In the past few years, the Women’s Committee was primarily responsible for organizing the halaqa, a lecture, on Friday evenings and meals during Ramadan. 'We were willing to do things differently, and not just provide a halaqa,' Abdelhadi said. 'We needed a kind of revolution.'"

See also: Islam, Civic, Women