EDMONTON—A Somali-Canadian university student has formed a new sports program for Muslim youth in Edmonton which he says combines education and religion with an activity they love: basketball.
Abdulwali Hassan is one of the people behind Edmonton Brothers Basketball, an initiative to provide opportunities for young Muslim boys between the ages of 14 and 18 to play basketball and then discuss the importance of school and their identities as Muslims.
The boys get together every Saturday at the main gym of Queen Elizabeth Composite High School in north Edmonton at 3 p.m. to shoot hoops and have discussions.
“We thought let’s just occupy them and keep them away from influence of individuals who are up to no good,” Hassan said.
It all started through Hassan’s work at the Alberta Somali Community Centre, where he says several parents over the past year have complained to him about their kids’ behaviour.
“Too many Somali parents were coming to me and saying my kid is doing this, my kid is involved in this or my kid is in trouble, so I was thinking what can I do to help my people?” he said.
“One incident recently actually, the mother came up to me and said her child decided to drop out of high school.”
Hassan said a number of times he has had to visit schools with parents to advise young boys on listening to their parents and staying in school. Instead of talking to one student at a time, Hassan decided to tackle the issue as a whole.
Hassan says that while there are other youth programs in the city, their group has a better chance of attracting membership because it’s created by community members who are known to the kids and their families.
“One thing that gets them closer to us is that we are Somali and we are Muslim … that kind of invites them to us,” he said.
Adam Alas, a Grade 10 student, joined the program to benefit from the discourse.
“Instead of going to the club, or going partying, we are just going to shoot hoops,” he said.
“We are getting together and doing something we like and we are learning about our religion and that is better and more beneficial for us.”
Alas said although the program was created by and for Somali Edmontonians, the program has attracted young Muslims from Arab and Pakistani backgrounds as well.
“We are all Muslim and we share one thing in common, but we have perspectives so we can see from each other’s points of views and all that,” he said.
Hassan insists that having students like Alas in the program helps because the “at-risk” children can have a better example to look up to.
“They go to the same school, they have the same connection so we hope they see them and they say ‘oh wow Adam (Alas) for example is doing really good in school and he is coming to the basketball program,’” he said.
Ever since the program started during the first week of January, attendance has grown from 15 students to more than 40 kids that have been coming in every Saturday recently.
Although students have to pay a fee to attend, Hassan says he hopes he can provide it for free in the future so more youth can benefit from the program.
“We are trying our best not to charge them but unfortunately we have to pay for the space,” he said.
“Once we start getting funds and support from the community, then we are planning on turning it into a free program so they can benefit.”
The program will run until end of April.