OLD il-bloop !

Masjid elder: We had a meeting last night, and we are eager to reach out to the youth. We know we need the youth, some of us are getting so old, we are barely able to bend over to pick up our children! We know we cannot do everything, so we need the help of the youth.

Youth: Ma sha’ Allah, that is great. I'll be sure to tell my friends.

Masjid elder: Well, we need a lot of help at the masjid, and we believe you and your friends have a lot of energy and should learn to serve Allah and your community.

Youth: Yeah, that sounds great. I know my friends would really like to get involved in the masjid. I'll tell them to come, in sha’ Allah.

Masjid elder: Get involved? What do you mean?

Youth: You know, ma sha’ Allah, many of us are involved in our schools and are members of various clubs and student organizations. We have developed skills that we believe, in sha’ Allah, we can use to help the masjid run smoothly. That's what I mean by getting involved!

Masjid elder: I think maybe we have a misunderstanding. What I meant was that we need a lot of help cleaning the masjid bathrooms, folding letters, stuffing envelopes, stapling the newsletter, and more. Ma sha’ Allah, we have many knowledgeable brothers and sisters who love to work with the youth. In fact we call them "youth workers," and they will, in sha’ Allah, plan activities and fun things for you to do. Brothers in our community like Omar, Yusuf, and Musaab, ma sha’ Allah, all of them have teenage children and they know exactly what the youth need.

Youth: Yeah, you're right. We do have a mega-misunderstanding. None of us mind cleaning the masjid bathrooms and volunteering to stuff envelopes, but what I meant by getting involved was that the youth would be able to organize activities for the youth by the youth. Even if Uncle Omar, Yusuf and Musaab have the best intentions, they do not really know what we need. We know how to organize ourselves, and all we need is your blessings and your advice from time to time.

Masjid elder: My dear mistaken youth, you cannot give what you do not have. You think you know what you need, but in reality, you do not. It is the arrogance of the youth that we uncles want to bring under control. I wish you would understand.

Youth: No, uncle, I pray to Allah to help you understand.

Read the whole article here.