April 2023 Volunteer Highlight: Muna Ahmed
A team of Muslim community members from various sectors and backgrounds came together with the desire to address the prevalence of ongoing racist attitudes within Muslim communities, spaces, and institutions in the Edmonton area, forming the Anti-Racism Muslim Collaborative (AMC). The intention is to contribute to the fostering of inclusive Muslim spaces in Edmonton by addressing anti-racism, especially anti-Black racism, through community empowerment, advocacy, and education. The building of the strategy has been facilitated by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.
Muna Ahmed is one of the AMC project volunteers and has helped move forward AMC’s vision of an inclusive, anti-racist community where Muslims feel a sense of belonging and dignity in all Muslim spaces. Recently, Muna shared a bit more about how she got started as a volunteer with JHC and the impact it’s had on her.
How are you involved with JHC as a volunteer?
Anti-Black Racism in Muslim Spaces (AMC); also as a Human Rights Facilitator.
How and why did you first get involved with JHC?
I was initially introduced to JHC in 2020 when they began supporting the Edmonton Muslim community anti-racism initiatives. After that I got curious with other work JHC does and began attending trainings, community events and programs.
What are your (volunteer) activities and what do they involve?
As part of the Anti-Black Racism in Muslim Spaces group volunteer, activities include attending group meetings, hosting community dialogues and events, as well as managing the socials for AMC. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how we can best connect with our community and all the other organizations doing similar great work.
How long have you been a volunteer for this initiative (and for JHC as a whole)?
2.5 Years
What is it like to volunteer for this initiative?
It feels like I am connected to my community on a deeper level. When we get together as a group with a single goal in mind, there is often a strong sense of community that deepens the quality of our connections.
What has surprised you most about this role?
How much I am learning about myself is really surprising. I feel like this role is helping me to do good for others and the community, which gives me a sense of accomplishment and contributes to my sense of belonging and self-worth.
Are there any learnings/ challenges you have experienced through this work?
The chaotic nature of community is a sign of transformation. We are being forced by this chaos to develop our mutual commitment to each other. It's all of our responsibility to contribute to spaces where people may participate in this mess and grow as a community by interacting with one another.
The Anti-Racism Muslim Collaborative (AMC) prepared and designed a series of Community Engagement Sessions and from this a report was recently published. The objective of the dialogue was twofold; to gain a better understanding of how racism manifests in Muslim spaces, and to collectively identify and design ways to move specific anti-racism actions forward. The intention of the report created from this is to contribute to the education and transformation of those Muslim spaces in the City of Edmonton.