clarifying and moving on

Lubabah said, “i pray that we're all guided to wisdom in some form or another..” AMEN to that.

Her perspective is very important and her e-mail was very informative. But, her e-mail also showed me that she had an incomplete picture. The issues she brings up are good. AND As you will see, they WERE being addressed. I want to counter some of her assertions about MYNA, and the work that we were doing to reform and revive the organization. She may disagree with what I present, but please read it with an open mind and know that I only desire more knowledge and better understanding on all sides. I’m not sure, but I suppose that somewhere along the line, her father may have asked her about her thoughts on what we were doing. Something seemed to have made him apprehensive of supporting our effort. If she had told him what she told me, I’m sure this could’ve been a major cause of the misunderstandings that existed. misunderstandings that made things end badly.

* One problem she mentions is this:It seems to have lingered in the background and caused much confusion, and frustration...- youth involvement in the reform process...

When we, the MYNA board of advisors, presented our ideas at the Majlis meetings, we received no questions, comments, critique from Hana, Lubabah's father Shk. Nur, or Shk. Idrees about any other issue as much as this one. It’s why I will address it from many angles....

* The cause... It can’t be miscommunication. Or maybe it can? I never had a chance to talk about it with Lubabah, Shk. Nur, or Shk. Idrees in detail. So, I know she doesn’t know my own views on this subject. But I did talk about it with Hana at the ISNA convention and at other times, I totally understand her perspective, and maybe she totally understands mine. In the end we didn’t agree. So, it appears, it could be a clear difference of opinion about the reform process, or the nature of the organization. I can argue either side, so I know I understand the problem.

* What I don’t understand is the problem with hiring a staff; eventually the ISNA EC ordered us to fire them (an order that angered the entire board). very very disappointing....

I don’t get it. Hard work was undermined, work done by temporary part-time staff persons Inayet, a former MYNA president, and Iman. They’d been hired by the board for the short term only, to do work we could not leave to volunteers. Eventually we wanted to replace them with ONE full-time director to keep the revived organization and its services running. An idea that the Majlis approved. We received no criticism about this idea at the Majlis meeting when we presented it....

I only mention this because Lubabah seems critical of our decision to hire a staff. Maybe we could have asked her or Hana, to build a MYNA archive, build a MYNA database, establish a toll-free #, create MYNA promotional materials for us to have at the ISNA convention, visit cities with old MYNA chapters, follow up with all the people who sign up for more information at the ISNA convention, update and maintain the web-site, etc, etc. Not just say that these things SHOULD be done, like we all do, but actually DO them... All before December of 2003 when we were planning to bring back the winter leadership training program! She would have said that she did not have time. I definitely did not have the time. Neither did the other members of the board....

* No volunteer youth has been able to maintain these things. I’m not talking about a committee of youth organizing a national conference; I’m talking about maintaining a national organization....

She should ask the local youth group here in Miami (called “MYNA Miami” since 1989), if they’ve been contacted by any MYNA president to see how everything was going or update contact information or request items to add to the national archives. They would answer No. I’m sure the number of still active youth groups that were official MYNA chapters at one time is less than 25. But no one really knows, because these volunteer youth never kept up....

Let’s look at it realistically; youth volunteers have limited time and limited knowledge about the resources available to do such things. We wanted real progress and we needed people who can do what needed to be done immediately. We only had one year to show results; to show that we were serious about making the new MYNA a reality....

MYNA had money. This work would help MYNA. Why not let us spend our money towards making it happen? ISNA’s Majlis approved our plan after we presented it; and its own accountant did not see any problem with it. If some ISNA EC members had concerns, why not talk to us about them; why not discuss them when we presented our ideas at Majlis meetings; why order us to stop before the work was done; why make us jump through hurdles when our effort was at such an early and critical stage?... The answers are not clear. Maybe they began to have doubts about us. But why, how, who, I can only guess. If ISNA really felt that it is a priority to start working for youth, I’d imagine the removal of hurdles, more encouragement, and more trust in those who are willing and able to tackle the work. Am I wrong?...

* Anyways, it’s good that a few things now exist for any future effort; I hope she and others who care about youth services get a chance to read them, If not let me know and I’ll e-mail them to you:...

#1-a study and proposal for reform commissioned by, I think, the then MYNA President Khurram Siddiqui, and carried out in the late 90’s by Aimen Mir, Waheed Mustafa, and Jawad Abdul Rahman and then revised in 2000....

#2-the beginnings of a strategic plan and an action plan to make the proposal a reality, crafted over a year and a half, through weekly meetings by this last Board of Advisors led by Monem Salam and submitted to the ISNA leadership....

#3-a long overdue Horizons article we commissioned about the history of MYNA, its rise and fall and what led to our reform effort....

End of part 1... Part 2 about past reform...