City
Is a Muslim help line necessary?
Photo: "Hello Yellow" by blogTO Flickr pooler dave_in_t_o.
The CBC is reporting that a new phone help line specifically for Muslim teens will be launching soon in Mississauga, allowing local youth to ask questions and get advice on matters that co-founder Farheen Khan believes other services are not well-prepared to address.
The Aqsa Parvez tragedy late last year increased the media awareness of the cultural and generational divide that exists in many parts of the city, bringing questions of religion, culture, tradition, and upbringing to the minds of many Torontonians.
The new help line, called Naseeha, will be staffed by anonymous peer counsellors and will provide young Muslims with an opportunity to have their voice heard on various matters that affect their everyday lives.
Looking closely, however, it isn't strange to ask: is this help line actually necessary?
I don't argue against the fact that youth — Muslim or otherwise — need an outlet to be heard and to get advice. What I am questioning is why a separate help line needs to be created when services like Kids Help Phone already exist.
Sure, Kids Help Phone may not have the resources or the skills necessary to deal with problems and issues that can be considered "Muslim" specific, but instead of creating a separate service, would it not be best to help established services build their capacity and knowledge?
I applaud the efforts of Naseeha creators to see the lack of outlets available for Muslim teens. Sadly, by creating an entirely separate help system instead of trying to add value and resources to existing services, they run the risk of further excluding the Muslim community at a time when what is needed most is inclusion and understanding.
Of course, I could be completely off-base here, so I welcome your thoughts and opinions. So tell me: is the new Muslim help line a bit exclusionary, or the best way to get out to people who need to be reached the most?
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Perhaps that's the plan all along, however, and Naseeha is just a first measure to bridge that gap.
What do Roman Catholic and Jewish youngsters do? Do they call the help line or do they talk to one of their religions clergy?
I'm almost getting the idea that Muslims want to set themselves apart from the rest of western society--a cultural apartheid, if you will. It seems to this mind that they are setting themselves upon us and our way of live just like the evangelicals want to impose their values on the rest of us.
What the young people's help line can't resolve for Muslims should be resolved by the Mosque and the Imam. Their spiritual comforters should and must respect their confidence. That said, there should be no need for a special help line because the community should be able to solve its own prolems.
I'd be curious to know if the team behind Naseeha thought of these issues: I'm guessing that they did, and they still found a compelling necessity for creating the separate line. I'll try and get in touch with them later this week and ask them a few questions and report back here.
Muslims want prayer rooms in their workplaces and special considerations in company cafeterias to name just two examples.
Now I ask you, what concessions would a Christian get in a largely Muslim nation like Saudi Arabia or Egypt or Syria?
JJ, that's a very valid question. I'll ask them if and when I get in touch with the organizers.
Your points are all valid, but because they seem like they're generalizing a bit too widely, I'd just add a "some" before the word "Muslims" in order to make your comments more sensitive to those of us (and there are a whole lot of us) that don't quite fit the profile.
What do Roman Catholic and Jewish youngsters do? Do they call the help line or do they talk to one of their religions clergy?"
In smaller, closely knit communities, religious leaders do not always, unfortunately, completely respect the confidentiality of people's private discussions, especially in the case of young persons. (In some cultures, parents are considered to have the right to know everything their children do. It is very intimidating to confide personal information to someone who likely knows your parents even better than he/she knows you.) Also, many times such leaders are themselves from another country and culture, and Canadian-born members of the faith may not always connect well with them; in some cases, there is a language barrier as well.
I know that there are certain things which I would never discuss with my own faith-community's leader (though we are very close), as I don't believe that someone with his cultural upbringing would understand my situation in a similar way. However, I also would not always feel comfortable with a 'secular' counselor, who would likely not be able to appreciate the role my faith plays in my life at all levels.
...as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing wrong with a help line if it can help someone or save a life. right?
If you can go back and add the word "some" in front of the word "Muslims" that would rectify and more closely express my views. Sorry for the oversight in that matter.
They call the help line BECAUSE of their religion's clergy.
Although, the implementation of the two of them working together, would definitely be something to consider. I do believe it is needed. Anything that gives teens and youths an outlet when stuff isn't going right is a good thing. I used the Help Phone myself when I was younger and would balk if anybody considered it not a neccessity.
1. Muslims come from all backgrounds, just adding a counsellor who speaks Urdu (as Anupa mentioned) won't cut it for them. The largest population of Muslims reside in Indonesia, with a large population in China, Malaysia, etc.
2. Muslim kids are not looking for a counsellor who speaks their parents' language. rather, much the opposite. They want someone who speaks english without an accent and thats why i think a helpline run by muslim youth without heavy back-home accents is a great idea!
3. David, i've been to Syria and Egypt. And in both countries, I was allowed to drink alcohol, which is forbidden for all citizens. I was allowed to go without a head dress which most muslims wear. Infact, there is a HUGE christian population in Egypt (and a fair size in Syria) and it wouldnt have been had we been tyrannized there. There are many concessions and accomodations for Christians there and I don't see why we can't do the same.
4. Asking for one phoneline to cater to every sector is like asking for one helpline for men, women and children - dispelling the need for phonelines like kids help phone. One helpline can't cater to every facet of our society.
5. I don't think a Muslim help line is exclusion from society. It is much the same as when the jewish and catholic children's aid were established in Ontario, despite the presence of a mainstream children's aid anyway.
Maybe we need to check our own baggages and try to dispel the racism we carry within ouselves. I don't think a muslim helpline is anything new nor is it a way of excluding themselves. Infact, I think I applaud them for taking initiatives towwards taking care of their own like us christians and jews have been.
And of course, I don't find Naseeha exclusionary at all: what I do think is that it runs the risk of portraying an exclusionary image, which is exemplified by some of the first comments that appear on this post already.
Who is training those picking up the phones?
Personally, I spend a good chunk of time within my community and can understand why Muslims would prefer this line. I don't, however, think it should be indoctrinate those calling but should truly give them a helping hand.
Sameer: I don't think Naseeha is portraying itself as exclusionary at all. it's how we take things. we've been so sensitized by media that we find these things potentially harmful for US(!?) if we were worried about institutions being exclusionary, we would worry about the existence of catholic/jewish children's aid, YMCA etc as well.
Guys, what we have to realize is that we're not born out of a mould or die cast. Every race has its traditions and cultures and we have to value them. We can't sit from an eurocentric viewpoint and point fingers at other races/religions/cultures and say we're better. We did that with the blacks and the gays and then we learnt we were wrong. We have our own issues that others don't. Let's not make it an us vs them race, instead encourage other races to give us the best of theirs and instead, let us give them the best of ours.
If you read comments like that of David E above ("I'm almost getting the idea that Muslims want to set themselves apart from the rest of western society--a cultural apartheid, if you will.") you can see that perhaps the public <i>can</i> see it as that, even if Naseeha is not doing so consciously.
Again, I am applauding the efforts of the Naseeha organizers. I am just questioning (because the role of civil society is to question in order to find answers) what the reasons may be to have created a separate solution when existing solutions exist (even though they may not be the best right now).
There is a Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto, a Jewish Family & Child Service of Toronto, and a Native Child and Family Services of Toronto.
Unsurprisingly, each of the three organisations has a rather different history. But each has been accredited as a Children's Aid Society by the government of Ontario.
I think the base reason some are questioning two separate lines is because there is a recognized need for something like Naseeha, but adapting an established service to reflect the changing community might be more effective in terms of getting the word out there, accountability and even funding. That being said, I would like to see what Naseeha will do.
Anupa: i agree, sorry for misunderstanding what you wrote earlier. I just skimmed through it.
Sameer: I didn't read your post clearly and was responding more to the comments. I don't think i was implying that you are racist by any means!
One might ask: Is the Catholic School system necessary? (That too, for newer, better equipped schools than the public school system, using public tax dollars).
This helpline is extremely necessary, and helpful, as recent events have only brought to light the family pressures and struggles that have existed for ages.
Also, everyone should keep in mind that this is a service being funded by the founders OWN POCKETS, not public tax dollars, and in emergency situations callers are immediately directed to the Peel Crisis Centre hotline, as stated in the Toronto Star.
He thinks it is some terrorist conspiracy because the name of the organization is in Arabic. He says "why not Punjabi?" That's an insult to both Arabic people and people of Punjabi descent.
That's going pretty low, even for someone like him.
I can already see that if such a line was funded publicly, it would start a whole new controversy. But, it there is enough demand, they may think of combining their resources and skills and having an option to choose who to speak with. But then, they would need such assisstance for every religion and language and that could be quite the money.
Muslim children who have been brought up in north american society with immigrant parents that have certain cultural traditions and religious teachings (some which clash with each other plus clash with NA culture), it can be quite confusing who to go to ask for advice. Majority of these kids don't go to mosques or talk to the Imams. I think it would be much easier for them to call a number and get help immediately with someone they can be more comfortable with. It not about creating an apartheid -- its about getting help before its too late.
make room for one another's individual needs - comparing ourselves by the practices of other countries (Syria and Egypt were used as examples)doesn't seem very necessary - so if they didn't allow for the freedoms of other cultures we shouldn't either?! why?
why do we need to lump everything together so its homogeneous?
why is it so terrifying to be different?
I really believe if we allow for people to find ways to have their needs met and have a voice, such as the hotline and the separate school debate, places for prayer, etc. that we will be able to only understand each other more and find come up with creative ways to live together in the future.
Thanks for the discussion.