After Dark

Content Coordinator

Orlando, USA
2020

For this Jamatkhana lock-in, I was brought onto the team early to help the STEP teacher create content for both students and parents. With a focus on “Mind, Body, & Soul” I worked to create impactful and meaningful content. On the night of the event, I also coordinated a team of eight volunteers.

Introduction

In order to set the mood for parents and students, our introductory activity adopted the story of Farid ad-Din Attar’s Conference of the Birds. I wrote and performed a spoken-word poem that summarizes the story, while other counsellors acted out tableaus of each scene.

Activity one

We wanted students to dive headfirst into an empathetic mindset. We set the mood in darkened classrooms with a slideshow of some current events. We used music and imagery to set an introspective mood. Afterward, we shared stories of personal struggle with different age groups. I wrote both stories, one is presented here, acted out by a friend of mine.

We then asked the participants to create questions that they could ask other people. We then traded questions to see how they could be answered from another point of view. Pulling from an activity called “He Said, She Said” from when I was a participant in Camp al-Ummah, we then traded questions between the parents and the students. After reinforcing the idea of empathy, and being able to see things from perspectives different from ours, the students and parents joined together to share their thoughts and feelings with each other, in a forum that (we assumed, but it was later confirmed by participants) they hadn’t had before.

Activity Three

For this event, we needed to have a specifically religious activity approved. In order to continue the theme of personal expression, I designed an activity based around the Asma alHusna: the 99 Names of God. After introducing students to the significance and origins of the 99 Names, we allowed them time to explore the names, their translations, and their contexts (the Qur’anic verses in which they appear). We asked them to choose one name that resonates with them the most, and they first created an art piece to reflect their understanding of the name. Then as a time to socialize, they participants made tasbihs; the final touch was embossing a headbead with the name they had chosen, so they could keep it with them and contemplate on their connection.