A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Teenager's efforts win her national volunteer awar |
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| jannah |
| 05/28/03 at 04:31:36 |
| BY TRISH ROBB FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER Nothing matters more to Nadia Bazzy, 17, than her family and her faith. So when her mother, Najah Bazzy, urged her to help start an organization for young Muslims four years ago, she thought it was a great idea. Last month, a national awards program agreed. Nadia Bazzy was one of 29 Wayne County teens honored by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The program, in its eighth year, judges nominees on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth. Prudential Financial Inc. sponsors the awards program in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals. More than 24,000 high school and middle school students nationwide submitted applications for this year's program. "The student volunteers in our area are truly incredible and take the passion of community involvement to a whole new level," said Peter Bahner, managing director of Prudential Financial Great Lakes Agency. "It wasn't just me alone," Nadia Bazzy said of the Young Muslim Association (YMA) she helped start. "My mother really had the motivation for me to do this," said Bazzy, who lives in Canton with her parents and three younger brothers. A few young people got together and organized a Friday lecture series. "There were probably about 30 of us at the first meeting, and then it just exploded. Now every lecture the gym is full -- about 200 people. It's been incredible," Bazzy said. Having such a group is especially important nowadays when there are so many misperceptions about Islamic and Arabic people, she said. The war with Iraq has not made it any easier for Arab Americans. Bazzy, who is a third-generation American -- her grandparents were born in the United States -- believes much prejudice against Muslims is due to lack of information. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the YMA started a group called Fast Track to try to change that. Group members went to speak in places like university campuses and churches. "We did a lot of networking, answering questions about our faith. I think you come to the point you have to decide whether to be passive, or proactive. I think you have no room to complain if you're not going to act, to do something," Bazzy said. Bazzy, a senior at Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, two years ago decided to start wearing hijab, the traditional head covering worn by Muslim women. Her father, Allie Bazzy, was concerned that she might be singled out if she wore hijab, she said, but the other students at the all-girl school have been very supportive. Mercy influenced her decision, she said. "The school's motto is 'Women who make a difference'," she said. "I decided I want to emphasize my intellectual side and not my sexuality." She does get stares sometimes, she said, and sometimes is the object of animosity, but having the YMA helps. "I think there's always going to be animosity towards Islam. It's great to know you're not in this alone, that there's other young Muslims going through the same thing you are." |
| Re: Teenager's efforts win her national volunteer |
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| Barr |
| 05/28/03 at 10:13:28 |
| MashaAllah :) Is this the same sister (the mom= Najah) who is a nurse who appeared in the PBS documentry? |
| Re: Teenager's efforts win her national volunteer |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 05/28/03 at 22:01:13 |
he he Barr Masha'Allah good memory!! yupp Canton, MI :-X |
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