Proud to be Muslim

I have been invited to deliver an opening address to Perdaus' MIC camp on Sat 15 Mar 08. Perdaus' madrasah has introduced experiential-based learning and assessment including project work as an alternative to conventional examination.

This 2-days 1-night camp is organised and run by Secondary Four students of Madrasah Perdaus as their Semester One assessment for Aqidah, Akhlak and Hadith.

This camp will also provide students (as organisers) hands-on learning experience to apply knowledge and lessons in class to the everyday life of a typical Singaporean teenager.

What's the title given to me?
A simple title, yet a challenging task to say the least.
The title -- Proud to be Muslim.
The audience -- students about to go to post-secondary institutions, hence 16 to 18 years of age

Since the audience are teens who may not be terribly excited over a formal address -- I have decided to play the music video by Sami Yusuf (below) to set the stage for the opening.

The music video will show the singer performing everyday's life activities: travelling, working, playing the violin, playing football with the young, etc. to demonstrate his active participation in society and vibrant attitude to life.

A close and careful observation of his actions will also reveal his close relationship with Allah and his good character.

There are also several attributes demonstrated in the video --

A Muslim that is:

Pleasant, cheerful, helpful, fun ...
Multilingual --- English, Turkish, Hindi, Arabic
Cosmopolitan --- at home with different cities, from London to Cairo
Multiskilled -- corporate executive, violinist, teacher, craftsman

So how do we make our teenagers feel and act proud to be Muslim?
Not an easy question to answer,
but I hope the video will stimulate responses from the audience
for their insights on how they can be, and are Proud to be Muslim.