For this year’s Merit Badge University’s “Citizenship in the World” session, Committee Chair Randy Kurtz recruited CSU Masters candidate Lamine Kane, who in turn recruited three assistants from CSU’s Muslim Student Association.  Kane was born in Brazzaville, Congo, of Congolese and Senegalese Muslim parents, and immigrated to the US as a child, finishing high school in Summit County.  During the MBU sessions, Kane, a naturalized citizen, showed an understanding of the history, provisions and workings of our US democracy far exceeding most US-born college graduates.   Thus, was the formation of this week’s program.  

This Wednesday, MBU Chair Randy Kurtz will introduce two CSU students recruited by Rotary Scholarship winner and Muslim Student Association President Hadeel Abdel-Ghany and Kane.  Mohamad Haroon Abasy, from Afghanistan and Naif Jamaan of Saudi Arabia will discuss the purpose of CSU’s Muslim Student Association, why they joined the organization, and share personal experiences as Muslim students on campus.  

Mohamad Haroon Abasy is a Fulbright scholar from Afghanistan working towards an MBA.  His goal is to provide employment opportunities for the world’s marginalized through entrepreneurship.  He has worked with BBC and been involved with several social, educational and entrepreneurship projects.  He believes studying at CSU, volunteering at events, and joining the community of Fulbright students are great opportunities to improve his knowledge, skills and life experiences.

Naif Jamaan, from Khobar, Saudi Arabia, is studying Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice at CSU.  Naif spent two years in Philadelphia before moving to Fort Collins two and a half years ago.  In his spare time, Naif pursues photography and videography projects, this past semester filming and editing a video for the Muslim Student Association used at multiple events.