ShahnazZ
Striving2BeAStranger
:salam2:, I hope you're all in the best state of health and iman.
For those who don't know, I work with young Muslim girls from the ages of 13-20 at a nonprofit agency that works with domestic violence victims in the NYC Muslim community. Since I'm in charge of the youth program, one of our goals is to encourage and promote Muslim youth to work for social justice and perform community service. One of the ways we used to do this was by partnering with Muslims Against Hunger, a North American network of volunteer communities who aim to help the hungry and homeless in our collective backyards by providing hot lunches and dinners to hungry, homeless and poor families and individuals (in my case, New York City). We partner with a local church, where we meet them on Saturdays, help them prepare meals and serve them to the hungry and/or homeless individuals that come.
As Muslims, we've worked side by side with people of other faiths to help feed the hungry. I've come across so many amazing individuals of different faiths and backgrounds who are willing to help contribute to the greater good and it's an amazing feeling to unite and come together in this cause. I also feel that this is a great way to do dawah as the current atmosphere in NYC is suspicious towards Muslims. To see Muslims taking part in such an amazing community effort, in my eyes, not only shows people that we are also productive members of society but that our morals and values uphold the aspect of community service as well as taking care of our neighbors.
However, I'm facing an issue regarding this now.
In the past, while volunteering with them, when it came time to serve the food to the hungry individuals there were times where I felt uncomfortable with the level of proximity I encountered with those that I was serving. Many of the men were leering at me and although they were all polite and respectful, some of them made comments that indicated that they found me attractive. Additionally, the seating is arranged in such a way that the seats are pretty low and crowded together. I felt some discomfort moving between the tables as it would bring me pretty close to the individuals. The women were one thing, but being that close to a strange man to the point where he can easily reach out and...uh.... grab me is pretty unnerving.
Yet I am confused then when I read such statements by Muslims Against Hunger to promote volunteering at the soup kitchens:
"It is an Islamic tradition to feed the poor and needy. Serving at the Soup kitchen gives the Muslim community an opportunity to participate in the "Act of Righteousness" and show the community-at-large the true and compassionate face of the Muslims and Islam."
http://www.muslimsagainsthunger.com/
I'm not sure what to do now. Alhamdulillah, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has given me respect in this world, to the point where many of the young Muslim girls that I come across or work with, start to view me as their role model and look up to me to provide the right example of a Muslim woman for them. Although I am grateful to be considered such, this can be an enormous burden on me. I have to constantly check myself to make sure I'm not doing anything that contradicts Allah's Commands because I know these girls are always watching me. I don't ever want to misguide them in any way or teach them to do something that goes against Islamic values.
When my mother found out that we were planning on visiting the soup kitchen again, although she appreciated the gesture, she questioned whether I was doing the right thing by taking young girls into an area where they would be "studied" and scrutinized by non-Muslim men. Although there are women present, there are some men are not discreet about their appreciation of women. I don't want the girls with me to be uncomfortable nor do I want them to be subjected to this type of scrutiny where they're the objects of someone else's eye.
I have still felt an immense sense of reward at having contributed to serving the less fortunate and when helping to serve these individuals, I have been pleased to see that many of them responded so positively and appreciatively to having a Muslim group serve them. We definitely swayed hearts and minds and the Muslim teenagers that have participated enjoyed the experience. They also learned how to contribute to their communities as well as the enormous sense of satisfaction one experiences when giving back to those less fortunate.
Bottom line: Do I sacrifice all for the greater good? Or do I have to limit contributing to the greater good because of my discomfort and the possibility that I may be instilling the wrong behavior in the youth that look up to me, thus taking the responsibility of their behavior on my shoulders?
For those who don't know, I work with young Muslim girls from the ages of 13-20 at a nonprofit agency that works with domestic violence victims in the NYC Muslim community. Since I'm in charge of the youth program, one of our goals is to encourage and promote Muslim youth to work for social justice and perform community service. One of the ways we used to do this was by partnering with Muslims Against Hunger, a North American network of volunteer communities who aim to help the hungry and homeless in our collective backyards by providing hot lunches and dinners to hungry, homeless and poor families and individuals (in my case, New York City). We partner with a local church, where we meet them on Saturdays, help them prepare meals and serve them to the hungry and/or homeless individuals that come.
As Muslims, we've worked side by side with people of other faiths to help feed the hungry. I've come across so many amazing individuals of different faiths and backgrounds who are willing to help contribute to the greater good and it's an amazing feeling to unite and come together in this cause. I also feel that this is a great way to do dawah as the current atmosphere in NYC is suspicious towards Muslims. To see Muslims taking part in such an amazing community effort, in my eyes, not only shows people that we are also productive members of society but that our morals and values uphold the aspect of community service as well as taking care of our neighbors.
However, I'm facing an issue regarding this now.
In the past, while volunteering with them, when it came time to serve the food to the hungry individuals there were times where I felt uncomfortable with the level of proximity I encountered with those that I was serving. Many of the men were leering at me and although they were all polite and respectful, some of them made comments that indicated that they found me attractive. Additionally, the seating is arranged in such a way that the seats are pretty low and crowded together. I felt some discomfort moving between the tables as it would bring me pretty close to the individuals. The women were one thing, but being that close to a strange man to the point where he can easily reach out and...uh.... grab me is pretty unnerving.
Yet I am confused then when I read such statements by Muslims Against Hunger to promote volunteering at the soup kitchens:
"It is an Islamic tradition to feed the poor and needy. Serving at the Soup kitchen gives the Muslim community an opportunity to participate in the "Act of Righteousness" and show the community-at-large the true and compassionate face of the Muslims and Islam."
http://www.muslimsagainsthunger.com/
I'm not sure what to do now. Alhamdulillah, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has given me respect in this world, to the point where many of the young Muslim girls that I come across or work with, start to view me as their role model and look up to me to provide the right example of a Muslim woman for them. Although I am grateful to be considered such, this can be an enormous burden on me. I have to constantly check myself to make sure I'm not doing anything that contradicts Allah's Commands because I know these girls are always watching me. I don't ever want to misguide them in any way or teach them to do something that goes against Islamic values.
When my mother found out that we were planning on visiting the soup kitchen again, although she appreciated the gesture, she questioned whether I was doing the right thing by taking young girls into an area where they would be "studied" and scrutinized by non-Muslim men. Although there are women present, there are some men are not discreet about their appreciation of women. I don't want the girls with me to be uncomfortable nor do I want them to be subjected to this type of scrutiny where they're the objects of someone else's eye.
I have still felt an immense sense of reward at having contributed to serving the less fortunate and when helping to serve these individuals, I have been pleased to see that many of them responded so positively and appreciatively to having a Muslim group serve them. We definitely swayed hearts and minds and the Muslim teenagers that have participated enjoyed the experience. They also learned how to contribute to their communities as well as the enormous sense of satisfaction one experiences when giving back to those less fortunate.
Bottom line: Do I sacrifice all for the greater good? Or do I have to limit contributing to the greater good because of my discomfort and the possibility that I may be instilling the wrong behavior in the youth that look up to me, thus taking the responsibility of their behavior on my shoulders?