American Imam shares Muslim history, current reality in USA with Ouagadougou students
During guest speaker Imam Yaya Hendi’s visit to Burkina Faso, he spoke at Lycée Privé Daroul Houda. This school is a partner with the US Embassy in Ouagadougou for the Access English Microscholarship program. The Access English class of 19 students was joined by over 60 of their schoolmates as Imam Hendi took them on a fascinating journey through the history of Islam in the United States of America. By playing a guessing game, he also gave them many key statistics on Muslims in the USA, including how many mosques, how many Islamic schools, how many Muslim members of Congress, etc. Finally, Imam Hendi took the opportunity to exhort the students to study hard and read a lot, impressing on them the importance of education as a key to development. He urged them to dream big and believe in their potential. He also called them to take responsibility and be good citizens. He issued them a challenge to do this through concrete actions like cleaning their school yard. For Imam Hendi, pursuing excellence as taught by Islam should not be limited to studying or worshipping but is for all aspects of life. The students of Lycée Privé Daroul Houda were very excited and pleased to welcome Imam Hendi to their school. In addition to the Access class and the schoolmates who squeezed into the large classroom, many other students pressed in at the windows to watch and listen to Imama Hendi’s talk. This event fostered increased understanding by Burkinabe students of Muslim life and the Islam religion in the United States. Answering Imam Hendi’s quiz questions was challenging for the students, pointing to a limited knowledge of Muslims and Islam in America. This exchange then was a great opportunity for them to learn more about Islam and religious plurality in the USA.
