Youth Groups Connecting Through Faith and Compassion: Interfaith youth groups cement relationships which intend to enlighten members of the various religions represented. One such group, based in the Washington, D.C. metro area is made up of Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Islamic members. They came together in 2011 to serve dinner at a women’s shelter in Washington, D.C. and decided to form an organization called Capital Area Interfaith Friends (CAIF) to learn about each others faiths while doing meaningful and rewarding community service throughout the D.C. metro area.
Interfaith youth groups cement relationships which intend to enlighten members of the various religions represented. One such group, based in the Washington, D.C. metro area is made up of Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Islamic members. They came together in 2011 to serve dinner at a women’s shelter in Washington, D.C. and decided to form an organization called Capital Area Interfaith Friends (CAIF) to learn about each others faiths while doing meaningful and rewarding community service throughout the D.C. metro area. Amal Haque has been one of the leaders since 2012, she is a high school junior and is one of the original members. She gave me a detailed account of CAIF’s past and future events, its members and mission. The group is made up of students from elementary through high school, with the teenagers partaking in the majority of events.
CAIF participates in a number of activities throughout the year: in addition to regular visits to the D.C. women’s shelter, CAIF members volunteer their time for the annual 9/11 Unity Walk in Washington, D.C. which takes place every September along Embassy Row. In past years CAIF members have organized booths and given speeches at various locations along the walk.
They are currently planning a community service project open for the public to attend. “Painting Hope: An Event for Genocide Awareness,” is scheduled for Saturday, April 5th at Georgetown University. Amal explains the intent is two-fold: members of the Darfur Alliance will speak on the issue of genocide and participants will create a banner that will be used during a vigil that is held monthly at the Sudanese Embassy for the victims of genocide. The students desire to educate others about genocide stemmed from an event CAIF participated in last year, called One Million Bones; participants from all over the country hand crafted bones out of a variety of materials, which were then laid on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. After the event, a member of the Darfur Alliance described detailed accounts of the Darfur genocide to the members of CAIF. Amal describes her reaction upon hearing stories of genocide victims, “I was very disturbed to think about a girl my age, even myself for that matter, to be stuck in such a helpless situation. I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. It was the sickness that I felt in my stomach when hearing the stories about young girls that made me feel terrible for thinking my life was so hard with school and sports, and I really felt like CAIF was the perfect instrument to making a difference, albeit a small one.”
Witnessing the passion and efforts of our youth is inspiring and comforting. I am not sure if the world we are leaving for them is better or worse than the one handed to us by our parents, but these students are driving change and making an impact. In these days of strife within religions and between religions, it is reassuring to see our next generation, representing different faiths, working together to build bonds of friendship, understanding, respect and tolerance through service to others.
Najiyah Khan is an editor at altMuslimah.
