Too many times I hear people say “youth are not engaged enough in the community''. For young community leaders like Ahmed Sadiq, the chairman and head of the  Assalam Mosque Youth Department, that undoubtedly is not the case. 

When Ahmed saw a need for a program focused on Ottawa's young Muslims, he sprang into action. In December 2011, Assalam Mosque's Youth Department, along with a group of young, dedicated volunteers, including myself, organized the first annual “Go Halal or Go Home'' Youth Winter Conference.

This year, I was back for more, trekking all the way from the west-end to the east-end to commit my time to a “for youth by youth” initiative that I feel recognizes the real needs of Muslim youth like  myself, who in our teens and early twenties, are struggling to balance the pressures of our daily lives with our deen.