By New York City, NY- As we blissfully embarked on constructing the most suitable anti-religious extremism curriculum to counter the ongoing self-destructive violence in the name of Islam, through science, technology, engineering, mathematics, democracy, unity, and peace (STEMDUP) in the Muslim World, it is expected from folks with limited understanding of Islam to believe there need be change to the Islamic doctrine to achieve such objective since we’ve been conditioned to associate violent extremism with Islam.
We beg to differ. To the contrary, we need to cease justifying our actions based on the books of our admired scholars and return to our divine source of guidance, the Holy Quran, with correct knowledge, interpretation, contextualization and wisdom. No scholars’ instructions must come before Allah’s as our guidance. For this reason, we believe STEMDUP would be the most relevant self-uplifting curriculum based on the Holy Quran. “STEMDUP is the panacea for religious extremism in the Muslim World and an antidote to radicalization in the West. It is a turning point in the fight against terrorism in the name of Islam without military deployment expenditures and civilian casualties.” Sheikh Musa Drammeh.
As a matter of urgency, a highly competent team of religious and academic scholars is being assembled by Muslim Community Report to construct this universal curriculum. Anyone with expertise in STEMDUP subjects and/or curricula development and interested in taking part in this historic endeavor, please contact us. Solving the challenges of violent religious extremism is an urgent priority.
We need all the support we can get academically, religiously and financially to implement STEMDUP in every school in Muslim countries as well as Muslim schools in the West. Military operations aren’t the solutions to extremism because violence begets more decentralized global violence. Thank you and God bless us!
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This is a statement made by Rabbis Jeson Herman after attending our historic campaign launching of STEMDUP:
I was proud to stand with my friend and colleague Sheikh Musa Drammeh and be an ally in his important #STEMDUP initiative.
Some background: Sheikh Musa (like me) was an investment banker working on wall street. After Sept. 11, Sheikh Musa realized there needed to be a change in Islamic education and hence he left his job on Wall Street and founded the Islamic Leadership School in the Bronx.
Sheikh Musa believes that a big cause of Islamic extremism is frustration among Muslim youth due to lack of opportunities coupled with hatred that is taught by national and religious leaders who are looking to assign blame on others for their own national failings.
Sheikh Musa thus sees opportunity in how education can be transformed in the Islamic world. He wants to pair and integrate the successful emphasis on the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) that was championed by President Obama with a strong civics and tolerance education leading to STEMDUP — Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Democracy, Unity and Peace.
Today Sheikh Musa launched this initiative on the steps of NYC hall, steps away from Ground Zero and he called on the OIC (Organization for Islamic Cooperation) which is comprised of all 57 Islamic nations to adopt this curriculum and deliver the youth of the Muslim world a promising future filled with opportunity, prosperity as well as tolerance and peace.
I was proud to stand as an ally with Sheikh Musa and the institutional partner at the Anti Defamation League. Thank you Melanie Robbins for all your support.
#STEMDUP and ready to go!
