1) New Polls Show American’s Attitudes Towards Muslims On The Upswing: Two new polls released this week by the Brookings Institute show that in the past seven months there has been a favorable uptick in Americans public views and attitudes towards Muslim-American people and their faith (yes, you read that right).
2) Muslim Summer Camps Offer Fun and Learning For Kids: Mona Eldadah first started Camp Ramadan with the goal of getting fasting Muslim children off the sofa during the holy month of Ramadan, and into fun activities that were both creative and unifying. “I felt like kids were having this isolated experience fasting at home, and felt like, ‘Ugh, I’m the only one doing this,’” explained Ms. Eldadah, an interior designer and a mother of four.
3) ‘Pakistan’s Mother Teresa’ Leaves Lasting Legacy: Known as “Pakistan’s Mother Teresa,” Abdul Sattar Edhi died last week at the age of 88. Mr. Edhi created a network of social services for his home country of Pakistan – from a fleet of ambulances with 24-hour emergency services to homeless shelters, orphanages, blood banks and homes for abandoned babies.
4) Bassem Youssef Comes To America… And Lands A New Show! Considered the “Jon Stewart of Egypt,” Bassem Youssef’s take on the Daily Show – called “Al Bernameg” – was must-watch television during the Arab Spring. But mounting political pressure took its toll and the comedian left his show (and his country) in 2014, and moved to California with his family. Mr. Youssef now has a new project, a web series debuting July 14th on Fusion called “The Democracy Handbook” which takes a look at American life and politics from a unique point of view (ahem, Mr. Youssef’s).
5) And lastly, New Generation of Muslim Female Athletes Compete On Their Own Terms: A record number of female athletes from Middle Eastern countries are set to participate in next month’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. According to the Washington Post, “with the support of other women and a growing number of men, [these athletes] have widened the cultural possibilities about the role of women in their societies, including standards about when they should marry, how soon they should start a family and what they should wear while competing.”
