place are accessible for people in wheelchairs and provide interpreters, written materials, or other similar resources upon request. Oftentimes people with disabilities will not attend events because they assume no arrangements have been made for them, so it is equally important to publicize that these events are accessible. A phone number should be provided on all flyers or announcements, asking people with disabilities to call if they need any special accommodations. Islamic centers can also include similar announcements in their newsletters, so people are aware that this is a priority and feel more welcome in the community. Some Islamic centers have held potluck dinners or disability pride events to highlight the importance of Muslims with disabilities and their contributions to the community. For example, Mohammed Yousuf ’s organization, the EquallyAble Foundation, joined together with the ADAMS Center in Sterling, Va., for a Special Eid Day. Some families may be reluctant to attend other events with the broader community, so this provided them with a fun opportunity to interact with others with and without disabilities. Most importantly, we can do our best to be welcoming and inclusive toward people with disabilities in our communities. Furthermore, Islam, says Imam Zaid Shakir says, requires Muslims to stop oppression, and to do all we can to promote the inclusion of everyone in our communities, to provide them with access to their God-given right to religious knowledge and practice. ISNA strives to be inclusive of Muslims with disabilities at events like the annual Convention, and also advocates on behalf of all people with disabilities with the federal government. ISNA is a member of the Steering Committee of the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC), which seeks to speak out and take action on disability policy issues with Congress, the President, and society at large. Specifically, IDAC members urge the federal government and local faith communities to take action to promote independence and community living, education, employment, and access to health care for all people with disabilities. To find out how you can get involved, check out facebook. com/InterfaithDisabilityAdvocacyCoalition or take a look at ISNA’s interfaith projects page at isna.net/interfaith.
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Like a Goldfish in a Huge Tank Organization aids deaf Muslims in spiritual learning and growth. By Mariem Qamruzzaman
President of GDM Nashiru Abdulai, Development Coordinator Charles Sterling, Vice President Ahmed Ibrahim and others at a GDM Chicago event.
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efore Nashiru “Nash” Abdulai left Ghana to come to America, a friend asked him why he was leaving the deaf community behind when he had done so much for them, championing their rights and teaching them Islam through sign language. Abdulai made a promise that he was going to do something to continue the cause, and he stayed true to that promise by establishing Global Deaf Muslim (GDM), the only organization representing and run by deaf Muslims in the U.S. Abdulai—the president of GDM—said many Muslims that are born deaf feel isolation from the Muslim community because they are unable to communicate and have only a basic understanding of Islam. “I have to admit that my life is like a goldfish in a huge fish tank,” says Fatima Muhammad, GDM’s marketing director. Describing a family dinner event, Muhammad wrote in an email, “One of my cousins made a joke about something and I didn’t understand what he was saying and everyone laughed so hard except me. I feel pretty much
hurt inside because I want to be able to join and laugh with them as a family.” Islamic education, too, is very limited for deaf Muslims. Abdulai found himself in a unique position because he received regular Islamic education until he contracted meningitis at the age of nine and lost his hearing. He knows firsthand the stark contrast between Islamic resources for the deaf and those for hearing Muslims. After Abdulai graduated from college, he made a commitment to fill that void for the deaf. He teamed up with friends from the Rochester Institute of Technology, which provides university education for the deaf, to establish GDM. His colleagues shared similar experiences, being unable to participate in typical Islamic activities that others took for granted. Ahmed Mohamed Ibrahim, vice president of GDM, grew up with significant hearing loss, but still made an effort to hear the imam on Fridays. “I can assure you that, despite that I am not fully deaf, I would leave the khutbahs on Fridays without understanding anything,”
There’s still a negative viewpoint of the deaf, that somehow God is punishing [the parents] or that somehow the devil is involved so they don’t get their children educated,” Abdulai says.
Maggie Siddiqi is program coordinator at the Islamic Society of North America’s Washington, DC office and can be reached at maggie@isna.net.
Islamic Horizons September/October 2012
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