FBI and Community Education Seminar Held at MYSA Youth Center
On Saturday, June 23 rd, 2012, members of the American Muslim and South Asian Community attended a one-day educational seminar hosted by the Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) called “Community Relations Executive Seminar Training (CREST)”. The program is designed to give more citizens the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day operations of the FBI. The CREST program allows the FBI to partner with organizations in the community to develop specialized training seminars that will be helpful to the group and its members and, most importantly, to promote mutual understanding.
Last Saturday’s seminar was held in Culver City at the Muslim Youth Symposium Of America (MYSA) Youth Center. The idea was initiated by Mohammed Khan, Senior Advisor to MYSA. Mr. Khan said, “ It was the vision of Dr. Khalil Al Khalil who was founder of MYSA to promote understanding through educational forums such as this”. The seminar was attended by approximately 30 youth and adults of various ethnicities. Each participant received a certificate for attending the informative forum. Haider Jawaid, one of the hosts said, “Everyone who attended this program had a changed perception of the FBI.”
The program began with Moderator and Chair of the event Mohammed A Khan welcoming the community and representatives of the FBI. A multi-faith invocation was led by Imam Abu Ishaq Abdul Hafiz who read verses regarding peace and justice from the Holy Qur’an, the Torah, the Bible and the Baghavad Gita. Then the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Host Sana Haroon and Malaika Jamal Khawaja.
Diane Gonzalez, FBI Community Outreach Coordinator, and FBI Special Agents covered many informative topics throughout the daylong sessions such as an Overview of FBI History, Training and Surveillance, Extraterritorial Issues and Missions, Civil Rights and Human Trafficking.
The program ended with certificates of completion for the FBI Crest program being given to all participants. Attendee Kim Jones, founder of “Always a Mom Foundation,” said, “It was a pleasure to attend; it gave me a new-found respect for the FBI and I feel safer knowing that their number one priority is guaranteeing our constitutional rights”.
Special thanks are due to Jamal and Fawzia Khawaja. The program would not have been possible without their sponsorship. Dr. Khalil Al Khalil, founder of MYSA, host Arshad Kazmi, host Mohammed Akbar Khan, Dianne Gonzalez, and Tene Carr who followed up on what she initiated.
The Event Host Committee consisted of Arshad Kazmi, Fawzia and Jamal Khawaja, Omar Haroon, Bekim Hasani, Sayed Shah, Imam Abu Ishaq Abdul Hafiz, Samin Faruqi, Arif Mansuri, Sana Haroon, Arshia Ghani, Fatima Sultan, Haider Jawaid and Athia Carrim.
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