Imam and Community Leader Sees Concerning Trends of Mental Health Issues in The Muslim Community

In this episode of Civic Platform, Imam Muhiadin Omar, who is involved in many aspects of the Muslim community, speaks to interviewers Senha Albakri and Yahya Zalem about the issues that he see arising.

Imam Omar has many roles, first as leader of religious services, and also as the Executive Director of Bilal Centre to help Muslim youth, and on a committee involved in wider policy issues at the political level. With such a wide view of the what's happening in the community, he says that he sees some concerning trends and he has many ideas about making things better.

While he knows that there are many challenges among first generation Muslims who have come from all over the world, including the challenges of integrating into Canadian society, dealing with traumas from the past, he said that they are also facing issues that Canadians as a whole are experiencing such as finding a place to live, food insecurity, and the erosion of purchasing power because of inflation. This is causing increasing mental health issues, according to him.

What the Imam finds surprising is that he sees mental health issues steadily rising in second generation youth. He says that he also see that the divorce rate is increasing among younger couples. He is also concerned about the impact of Islamaphobia on people in the community.

He says that the community needs to do a number of things. First, educate families about mental health issues, many of whom don't understand the problem. Second, he says that there needs to be more resources put to help people, and youth in particular, who are trying to overcome mental health issues. He commented that people seem to be very willing to donate money to put up walls, but some of that generosity needs to be re-directed. Third, with respect to Islamaphobia, the community needs to reach out to the general population and educate them about Islam and the culture.

The Imam feels passionately that special attention should be put to the youth as they are the ones that will be continuing the community in the future. Most important, he feels, is that youth are given opportunities to engage and to lead - to be asked to the decision-making table at the mosques and elsewhere. And mentorship is required.

While there are many issues  to be dealt with in the community, the Imam says that there are many positive things in the community, such as its sense of unity, its generosity, and its good relationship with the larger community.

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