CAIR-LA’s Muslim Gamechangers Network Launches in Inland Empire!
This past Sunday, January 24 th, marked the start of CAIR-LA’s first session of the Muslim Gamechangers Network in Inland Empire!
The Muslim Gamechangers Network (MGN) is a comprehensive 4-month social justice training and empowerment program for Muslim high school youth that consists of weekly interactive sessions and field trips centered on themes of identity, history, social responsibility, and community organizing.
The current program is co-sponsored by the Ansaar Academy of the Islamic Center of the Inland Empire (ICIE).
Over 50 high school students are participating in the current program, making it the highest number of registrants CAIR-LA MGN has had thus far!
The main facilitators who will be there every session offering guidance and support to the students for the next three months include CAIR-LA’s Youth Development Manager Sahar Pirzada and Hammad Alam, a 2014 graduate of the UCLA School of Law and former Chaplain of Harvard Divinity School.
Additionally, the interactive sessions feature guest facilitators every week to expose the students to the activists and leaders of the local Muslim community.
The first session was facilitated by Marya Bangee and Ahmed Abdelgany who have been actively involved in Muslim youth programming in Southern California for many years.
The introductory workshop, “Navigating Identities,” created a space for participants to learn more about one another as individuals and began to explore how systems of oppression affect their personal lives and the lives of their peers. The students got a sense for the overall flow of the sessions and set community agreements for the remainder of their program.
Rayyan Misherghi, a Sophomore at Claremont High School who is active in her local MSA and greater IE community, shared her thoughts on the first session. “ I was really impressed with the first session of MGN. I am ecstatic for the rest of the program and I feel passionate about many of the future topics we plan to discuss. Overall, I have a deep appreciation for the work of CAIR and their mission to help empower American Muslims.”
The round of weekly interactive sessions will take place at ICIE every Sunday from 10:00am-12:00pm and will conclude with a ceremony on May 8th.
For more information about CAIR-LA’s Muslim Gamechangers Network program visit www.muslimgamechangers.com .
