Articles

Support Group Connects Inside and Outside Muslim Community

by Rosalyn Dailey Shareef
Special to Faith And The City

The Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam offers an outreach program, the Community Support Group, which counsels and supports Muslims and non-Muslims. The faith-based organization advises clients on problems including marital issues, substance abuse, financial difficulties, post-traumatic stress, health crises, and youth-related challenges.

"We're all human and we have our human frailties, and they sometimes cause us to struggle and toil in our relationships and experiences," said Khayriyyah Faiz, a counselor with the Community Support Group, a professional mental health administrator, and an Atlanta Masjid member.

The idea for the program first arose in the late 80s when two Atlanta Masjid members, Sabreen Mateen and Aaliyah Bilal, were in a regular Sisters study group. Mateen, a nurse, and Bilal, a prison chaplain, made a "call out" to fellow believers to put their expertise and experience together to form a support group for Muslims.

"Persons would come to us with different scenarios and issues that they were dealing with, and we just quite naturally offered advice," explained Mateen, adding that the results were positive and those counseled felt solace both personally and spiritually.

The vision for an organized group became a reality in 1993 when Mateen and Bilal officially founded the Community Support Group. The organization's original mission was to offer counseling with a spiritual base and the teachings of Islam as a guide. Nearly a decade later, the support group stands on the same principles. "[Islam teaches us] to give back to humanity what the Creator gives to us," Mateen said.

Several passages from the Quran, the holy book for Muslims, serve as references for group members. One is found in sura (chapter) IX, ayat (verse) 16:
Or think ye that ye
Shall be abandoned,
As though Allah did not know
Those among you who strive
With might and main, and take
None for friends and protectors
Except Allah, His Apostle,
And the (community of) Believers?
But Allah is well-acquainted
With (all) that ye do.

This ayat, according to Faiz, assures believers confronting life's challenges that they are not alone, that God is always with them.

The Community Support Group relies on as many as 12 volunteer counselors from diverse professional backgrounds, including several who are employed fulltime by other organizations as drug rehabilitators and religious leaders. In the initial meeting, the counselor comforts and befriends the client, who, in turn, develops confidence and trust in the counselor. Sessions may occur in the counselor's office, a study room at the public library, or in the client's home.

Approximately 120 first-time clients are counseled each year. Many return for follow-up consultations. Typically, multiple sessions are required for husbands and wives having marital problems. "One spouse may not understand the other," explained Mateen. "And both may not understand or be aware of the inner conflicts that may be affecting their relationship."

The Community Support Group counsels clients of other religions that share Islam's belief that there is only one God. "The sensitivity that we have to other faiths enables the members of our group to counsel Christians and others effectively," explained Faiz.

The Community Support Group also offers help through its Community Support Quarterly, a publication that reaches out to those who may be reluctant to talk face-to-face about certain issues, such as alcoholism or spousal abuse, for example. The group is funded by the publication's subscribers and advertisers and by personal donations.

Perhaps the best indicator of the program's success, according to Mateen, is the fact that "many people call on us. People pick up the phone and say, 'I need help.'"

The Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, under the leadership of Imam Plemon T. El-Amin, is located in the southeast section of the city and serves 2,200 members. It is one of 24 mosques addressing the spiritual needs of more than 75,000 Muslims in the metropolitan Atlanta area. For more information on the Community Support Group, contact the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam at 404-378-1600, Sabreen Mateen at 770-593-1350, or Aaliyah Bilal at 404-212-1081.

Rosalyn Dailey Shareef, a freelance writer in the Atlanta area, can be reached at yomashareef@hotmail.com.