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UNIVERSITY
GROUPS, National (North American)
Led by Emily Hedges
 Emily
Hedges launched the first Sufi Youth International college campus
organization at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).
She designed an internship course with the assistance of a spiritually-minded
professor in the Spring Quarter at UCSC. Her professor has helped
her with logistics and will continue to assist in the planning stages
of SYI through the summer.
The
college groups has three primary functions: community service, spiritual
reflection, and community building. Community service programs include
tuturing, providing food and supplies to homeless women and children,
and literacy work in underprivileged communities. Members participate
in spiritual reflection study groups and maintain spiritually-minded
journals. For community building, the college groups have gatherings
and picnics to strendthen friendships and build trust.
Sufi
Youth International has launched groups throughout California and
hopes to launch college campuses throughout North America. Emily
will help interested individuals establish an SYI College Group
at their University. Each group participates in local community
service programs and builds bonds with student members. Please contact
us for more information on how to establish an SYI College Group
at your university.
COMMUNIY
SERVICE GROUPS, National (North American)
 Sufi
Youth International has two primary community service programs:
Habitat for Humanity and Community
Service with an Interfaith Reflection.
As
an official Partner Congregation of Habitat for Humanity - San Francisco,
Sufi Youth International has been invited to increase the role of
religious congregations in the work and mission of Habitat for Humanity.
The three primary ways in which we support the work of Habitat for
Humanity are:
(1)
Volunteer Day: organize a group of young Sufis of all skill levels
to volunteer as a group on a Habitat construction site, in the
office, or on a committee
(2)
Fundraising: encourage Sufi youth to raise money through sponsorship
pledges, fundraising events, and other creative ways in order
to support the mission and work of Habitat for Humanity
(3)
Spiritual Support: include Habitat for Humanity and the families
they assist in our prayers
For
more information about the Sufi Youth International and Habitat
for Humanity alliance, please contact
us.
Community
Service with an Interfaith Reflection is an ongoing project in which
all members of Sufi Youth can gather as individuals or a group to
participate in various service projects and get together to reflect
upon their contribution to their society. In the past, projects
have included feeding and clothing the homeless, visiting senior
centers, volunteering with AIDs charities, and starting interfaith
youth discussion groups. Please contact
us for more information.
RESEARCH
GROUPS, International
Led by David Roper
 As
we begin to work together as Sufi Youth with a growing sense of
purpose, working on research projects together will provide, Insh'Allah,
a valuable opportunity to build a sense of solidarity and to reach
out the global community with useful ideas and information. Many
Sufis work as writers, teachers, and scholars, and coordinating
our efforts can help us save time and energy and become increasingly
available to anyone who seeks the knowledge of the heart. These
three elements comprise a starting point for our joint research
activities:
(1)
Research Exchange - This program will list the resumes/CVs, current
research and writing projects, and ongoing research interests of
the participants. This will facilitate communications between Sufis
working in overlapping areas. The program will be maintained as
a service by Sufi Youth to the broader Sufi community.
(2)
Joint Research Projects - Consisting of shared research endeavors
conducted by the whole Sufi Youth organization, or any subset of
its membership, projects will emerge based on peoples' interests,
career development, and spiritual education. While the subjects
and intentions of these joint projects are open, here are several
major areas of interest for the Sufi community:
a)
The History and Literature of Sufism and Islam (including translation,
interpretation, and scholarship)
b) Sufism, Spirituality, and Science
c) Global Dialogue and Cooperation within Sufism and Islam
d) The Interfaith Movement
e) Spirituality in American History and Culture
f) Global Peace, Justice, and Ecology
(3)
Research Database and Tools - This project is designed to complement
the first two programs. In order to save time and energy and facilitate
successful research, it will become increasingly valuable to collect
a central database of original articles, bibliographies, annotated
website links, research contacts, and information on publication
for websites, periodicals, and publishers. This is a large, open-ended
project that may require financing (commerical or non-profit support)
to pay one or more individuals to devote the time required to assemble
these research tools. Until such funding becomes available, this
program can serve as a supplement to the Research Exchange on whatever
scale time and energy allows. Please contact
us for more information about contributing to the various SYI
Research Projects.
 ONLINE
DIALOGUES , International
Led by Seyedeh Hamaseh Kianfar
Sufi
Youth International has developed an international online dialogue
designed to connect spiritual youth around the globe to discuss
important issues that affect youth universally. SYI is responsible
for maintaining and moderating the electronic dialogue to encourage
discussion among our members. Our list includes active members from
every continent -- all of whom share stories, opinions, concerns,
and research. We hope that the SYI dialogue will be a venue in which
members can form close friendships that transcend cultural and philosophical
boundaries. To subscribe to the SYI Dialogue, email
a subscription request (which includes your full name, email address,
and country location) and let us exchange ideas and share our experiences.
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