The Center for Muslim Life (CML) currently serves Baltimore-Washington area college students and general community members by offering services and programs in pastoral care, counseling, mentorship, and educational needs. Our mission is to provide services and programs which nurture the faith and religious identities of Muslim students and our other beneficiaries, address their spiritual and mental health needs and empower them to serve the larger community – one person at a time.
CML aims to foster Muslim identity development on college campuses and general Muslim communities by addressing issues present in the lives of many Muslims in North America such as:
- Erosion of faith and atheism
- Emotional struggles (e.g. non-clinical depression, stress, anxiety)
- Family and social pressures
A high percentage of American Muslims experience significant challenges that undermine their faith, religious identity and well-being.
- There is a serious and growing phenomenon of Muslims leaving Islam
- 58.5% of Muslim students try at least one risk behavior in college (pre-marital sex, illicit drugs, marijuana, alcohol, gambling) (Family Youth Institute, 2015).
- About a quarter of adults who were raised Muslim (23%) no longer identify as Muslim. Out of that 23%, 55% become atheists (Pew Research Center, 2018)
Providing solutions to pervasive issues like these is what the CML team is hard at work to achieve – doing everything in the organization’s capacity to make counseling, mentorship, and support for college students and community members as accessible as possible.
Without doubt, this is an imperative. There aren’t many people engaging in this hard work. The Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) raised the best generation of men and women by spending time with them, by providing a nurturing presence in their lives. Through this investment in his followers, he (peace upon him) made it possible for them to heal and equipped them with the ability to help heal others. Mentorship and counseling are the Prophetic Model. Our team is doing its best to emulate this model by engaging students and members of the community at-large in real relationships built on trust. We want to let people know we care and that they have someone to turn to.
CML funding comes exclusively through individuals who are passionate about supporting programming to help develop more faithful and resilient Muslim youth, families and communities.