(RNS) — Imam Anwer Imam, a Muslim clergyman in Austin, Texas, remembers his wife telling him that he seemed more himself in his sessions talking to college students about their faith. “Even my own parents,” he said in a recent interview, would tell him, “Your jokes are funnier. You look happier when you’re preparing for those sessions. I used to joke, ‘I wish there was a mosque just full of college kids.’”
Now, he leads one — or rather, he allows the kids to do so.
At Nueces mosque, a three-minute walk from the University of Texas at Austin but with no official affiliation with the university, a majority of the congregation is made up of students and young professionals. Under Imam’s supervision the teens and 20-somethings take the lead in the liturgies and even mosque administration.
It’s a community that Inaya Sheikh, a senior at the school and public relations director at Nueces, said most of the students have never had before.
“A majority of religious centers are run by older people who have experience and wisdom but also lack in certain areas when it comes to connecting with younger folks and catering to their needs, making them feel welcome and helping them grow,” Sheikh said.
Filling …