By Zainab Chinoy | Contribution to Saudi Life

THE middle of May in Riyadh: an ominously long summer was dreadfully being sensed; months of hot winds and arid skies and confinement to air conditioned spaces – but there was one thing young girls here dreaded more: what this long summer had to offer for their parched minds.

We had had it. Enough of just reading about women’s intense intellectual participation in and contribution to society in the Golden Age of Islam and helplessly, desperately longing for its revival. Something had to be done about the millions of minds that were becoming increasingly barren with every summer, harvesting nothing but the destructive weeds of an extremely idle life. Living as expats, our social life dependent completely on the work timings of our dads for most of us, young girls in Riyadh especially from particular communities are hardly able to participate in any enlightening, stimulating activity – inevitably selling their minds to the television or the internet or to far more negative paths of an idle mind.

We’d had enough of the shocking nonchalance with which a Muslim girl’s intellectual development is viewed even today by some Muslim communities, and just too many parents conveniently accepting their daughters’ intellectual stagnation as ‘part of living in Saudi Arabia’ or viewing their dimness as a part of femininity!

Determined to disprove stereotypes of women’s lives in Saudi Arabia and to start stimulating Muslim girls intellectually and spiritually, a group of young women formed an endeavor called the Young Muslimah Project – to inspire, enrich and change Muslim girls individually and collectively.

The Young Muslimah Project conducted its first-ever program, The Young Muslimah Forum 2011 on May 19^th 2011, in collaboration with the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, Riyadh. Attended by more than 150 young girls, the Forum’s aim was to enable Muslim girls of ages 13-25 to rediscover and proudly live their true identity, as well as to understand true success and identify the ways of attaining it.

Tickets were distributed at various schools and universities and rapidly sold out – with many mothers insisting to attend, but were politely declined as the event was solely for young girls to freely express their concerns and seek solutions.

The Forum consisted of three main segments: first being a talk on the Muslim girl’s identity, titled ‘The Muslimah Dilemma: Who Really Are You?’ by the internationally acclaimed best-selling author and educator Umm Zakiyyah. The speaker captivated the audience as she began by leading them through a descriptive poem of a teenage girl’s view of life and the ‘restrictive’ role Islam plays in it. Having mesmerized the audience with a resounding depiction of adolescent life that was all too familiar to those listening, Umm Zakiyyah moved on to some powerful verses from the Qur’an that described the temporariness of worldly life, its dwellers and their pursuits. Her moving recitation and lucid elaboration established the single most important criterion that distinguishes a Muslim girl in every aspect from others: her pursuit of Paradise. A girl whose focus is to succeed in the Afterlife can never be like or live like her counterparts whose focus was worldly success – because their priorities, life choices, interests and struggles necessarily had to be different. In the subsequent Q&A session, the accomplished author offered profound pointers to her fascinated audience on developing strong Muslim identities: righteous friends, prioritizing Salah, frequent remembrance of Allah and striving to be ever conscious of Him.

The half-day Forum’s second segment was an exciting nasheed competition called ‘Rhythm of the Muslimah’ that witnessed talented young Muslim girls rendering heartwarming performances. Moods heightened and the audience sang along, roars of applause broke out when some of the youngest performers came out as the winners.

‘You Can Be a Legend!’ was the Forum’s third segment, an inspiring talk given by Dr. Arjumand Warsy, Professor of Biochemistry at King Saud University for the past 34 years, who also conducts inspiring classes several times a week for women of all ages on the Qur’an and Islam in general. In her talk, Dr. Warsy cited legendary Muslim women from the past including the Prophet’s (s) wives, who were excellent businesswomen and scholars and social workers, yet they prioritized Islam and their obligations towards it, because of which they also attained ultimate success in the Afterlife. Dr. Warsy showered the audience with every possible practical step they needed to know to leave behind a legacy that would be rewarding in both worlds. Self-awareness, elevating Emaan, sincerity and perfection in action, time management, seeking knowledge, introspection and constant character development, aiming high and working hard were amongst the many experiences and guidelines she enlightened her eager audience with.

The last segment of the Forum was a colorful art activity called ‘Out of Your Mind’ where the audience was invited to share their thoughts and dreams on a large canvas – with paint, markers, glitter and anything else they liked.

The event was interspersed with ice-cream and salah breaks and short videos on Paradise and the importance of prayer. There were stalls that sold insightful Islamic books from Darussalam and IIPH, as well as trendy Muslimah T-shirts and mugs. The event ended with burgers for dinner and immense requests for more, more and even more of the Young Muslimah Project, Alhamdulillah!

On popular demand, the Young Muslimah Forum was repeated on the 27^th of May 2011 with yet another great turnout of more than a hundred eager young girls. Umm Zakiyyah and Dr. Warsy graced the Forum once again, this time accompanied by active Da’eeyah Rasheeda Drayton. Their wisdom, humility and accomplishment enriched their listeners, inspired action and rejuvenated hundreds of hearts, minds and lives.

Zaynab Chinoy is co-founder of the Young Muslimah Project

Event Review: Community Event Inspires Teen Girls