Many of you have probably heard about the controversy that tainted the images of the Minneapolis mosques and the alleged “recruitments” of youngsters to the war-torn Somalia, but I wanted to move my focus to the East Coast, and up in Northern New England region of the United States. In 2009, the months of June and July, summer days have been unusually rainy with perpetual grey skies, which created quite uncomfortable traveling conditions in Maine. But that did not stop a group of dedicated recruiters to visit the central and southern Maine mosques in searching for youngsters to enlist them to their cause. As I was on my own private mission to influence young people, some of them still in high school to follow my footsteps, I was approached more than twice to join efforts with likeminded group, but due to my hectic schedule, I could have never gone along with their recruitments, nevertheless, I always made sure to share with them my strategic plans and to connect them with the mosque officials I knew (i.e. the Imams, and the secretaries) I even asked my wife, an American born convert to Islam to help them reach out to the community, and not surprisingly, the mosque administrators were more than eager to facilitate the whole process. Everything from attracting young people to the mosques, to convincing parents in sending their teenagers to those remote areas for rigorous trainings, obligated on Muslims by their prophet.

The most stubborn recruiter, who goes by the name Mahmoud, was very instrumental in convincing the community members to trust his efforts, he even collected pictures and profiles of those who have joined his cause earlier, and according to him “answered the noble calling to sacrifice their time and energy for something worthwhile” One of the pictures in his slides depicted a group of college students who went a retreat in Canada to meet with like-minded youth for Islamic spiritual awareness. I actually missed one of those retreats because I was out of the country for training, but even when I got back I continued to preach about my experience overseas and the knowledge I gained from my journey. Fortunately, I had generous donors to pay for my entire trip and all the cost that were associated with it, including the plane ticket, and living expenses. Up to this day, I still encourage young people who cannot afford to fly abroad by themselves to find resources to cover their endeavors. That is why I am planning to go to Houston, TX this September for a meeting with the same donors who paid for my trip.

I first met Mahmoud at a local mosque; he later introduced me to his boss and colleagues, and he expressed his deep concerns for the young Somali Muslims that are slipping through the cracks. Mahmoud, who is a devout Muslim, impressed me with his tireless effort to influence young people to take advantage of their abundant energy to serve their God and do something that would please him.

From the title of the article, and from what you have read so far, you are probably wondering where I am going with this, but let me assure you, Mahmoud and his team are not your typical admissions staff, for they took unusual routes to recruit students, and they understood that being a graduate student at the University of Maine, and a long-term fellow of UMaine’s Somali Narrative Project—consisting of  four UMaine faculty from various departments and several Somali-born undergraduate students whose aim have been to document the rich oral literature of the Somali language and culture, and to promote a healthy dialogue amongst the Maine communities—I would be very sympathetic to their objectives,. Mahmoud who is an admission’s councilor at UMaine, spearheaded an effort to bring more talented and interested Somali students to the University of Maine. Thanks to the Director of admissions Ms. Sharon Oliver, Mahmoud’s plan had transformed into an action, and at least three mosques in Maine opened their doors for Sharon and her team to do presentations about the admissions process and the available majors. The PowerPoint presentations were always followed by question/answer sessions, and were held at the end of Friday prayers, when Mosque traffic is usually at the highest. On the other hand, the Imams and community leaders were always very willing to partner with the University to utilize the mosques as spaces where youngsters are recruited for the affordable yet sound quality higher education at UMaine. In the meantime The University of Maine has already established a concrete mutual cooperation with the Muslim communities throughout the state of Maine. The Muslim Student Association (MSA) with help from the student government, has put together events such as the Islamic awareness week, and featured well known speakers such as Napoleon, a former hip hop artist and a member of Tupac Shakur’s Outlawz, who now lectures at universities throughout the world, to consult with youngsters about gang/drugs related problems and dangerous life style in the music industry. UMaine’s MSA, has also been sending dozens of students to the annual Revival of the Islamic Spirit convention, which takes place in Toronto, Canada in the end of each year. Except for my study abroad year at the American University in Cairo, I have been attending the annual trip to Toronto since its inception.

As an alumni representative of the Gilman International Scholarship, I will attend a conference at Houston, TX this fall, to present about proposals in which we can encourage college students of lower socio-economic status to study abroad while taking advantage of this amazing scholarship program. The mosques will definitely be on the list of the places, in which I will reach out for potential scholarship applicants.  Traditionally, Mosques have been the center of gravity, the foundations for learning and the nucleus of the Muslim communities since the time of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and they should remain that way.

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Ismail Warsame, M.Ed. Student Dev in HE– in progress….
BA, International Affairs/Political Science
University of Maine
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