Stigmatized: Disability & Islam | Disability Advocates Joohi Tahir & Hana Khan
Channel: Muslim Community Center - MCC East Bay
Date: 2021-10-26

Disability Advocates Joohi Tahir and Hana Khan giving spiritual and practical insights into how American Muslims can meet both the spiritual and personal needs of Muslims living with disabilities in our mosques and community.

Sr. Joohi is Executive Director and cofounder with Shaykh Omar Suleiman of the national organization of the Muslims Understanding & Helping Special Education Needs (MUHSEN). Sr. Hana is MUHSEN Operations Manager. 

In this webinar conversation "Supporting and Centering Muslims with Disabilities," they talk about disability and Islam, the stigma of disability in the American Muslim community and give the perspective of a special-needs parent and caregiver on how to design masjids and Islamic communities of Ihsan.

- More Muhsen co-sponsored events at MCC: https://mcceastbay.org/muhsen

According to Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), roughly one in three of every community studied has a member of their immediate family with a disability, and this includes Muslims.

This live talk was delivered at the Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California on October 27, 2021. It was sponsored by Muslim Community Association (MCA Bay Area) and MCC East Bay.

MCC & MCA are a proud to be a certified special-needs friendly masjids in the Bay Area. 

Learn more about MCC is privileged to accommodate our special needs community: https://mcceastbay.org/accommodating-disabilities

Muhsen is a non-profit umbrella organization serving the community to establish a more inclusive “Special Friendly” environment for people of all Disabilities. Muhsen will advocate, educate, train and implement programs and services nationwide, specifically to improve access for those with Disabilities in a faith based setting serving these Special Needs individuals as well as creating acceptance and inclusion by the community in all aspects. The organization was founded by Joohi Tahir and Dr. Omar Suleiman. Learn more at http://muhsen.org

About the Speaker
Joohi Tahir is Executive Director of a revolutionary nonprofit organization founded by Shaykh Omar Suleiman called MUHSEN (Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs). With her own family and daughter being affected by disability, she started with small community initiatives, talks, and support groups, leading up to speaking to our Scholars about the need for our communities to be more aware and be made more accessible for our loved ones with Disabilities. Muhsen's goal is to provide a “Special Friendly” environment and build “Masjids of Ihsan” which will be welcoming environments for all. Whether physical, neurological or cognitive disability, we are collectively responsible for caring for these individuals. As a leader of this organization, Joohi advocates and markets the needs for which MUHSEN builds programs and services across N. America. With these efforts, MUHSEN strives to eventually re-mosque so many families who have become un-mosqued through Awareness, Accommodation and Acceptance for all, now serving a very underserved new market and being their voice. Joohi lives outside Chicago, IL with a very supportive husband and is the busy mother of three daughters.

From ISPU: 
Disability in Muslim communities is seldom studied, nor is the communities’ perception of disability examined in an evidence-based manner. ISPU aims to discover the facts about Muslims with disabilities in the United States, examine the challenges faced by those living with disability and their families, provide information about the social climate that individuals with disabilities and their families live in when seeking support, and provide a case study of an organization who worked to create better understanding of disabilities within American Muslim communities. Learn more: https://www.ispu.org/disability-in-the-muslim-community

One in Three Muslims Has An Immediate Family Member with a Disability
October 28, 2021 | BY DALIA MOGAHED

An estimated 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability, and roughly one in four of adults in the US have some type of disability. Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, American law prohibits “discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local governments’ programs and services.”

And, though the law goes a long way to protect the rights of people with disabilities, the lived realities of families with members with disabilities are rarely centered when we discuss the American Muslim community.

Learn more at : https://www.ispu.org/disability-in-the-muslim-community

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