Responding Positively to Negative Stereotypes – MYLP Workshop Activity
I’ve conducted youth workshops over the course of a few months and parents always seem to ask about topics and discussions. Inquisitive parents sometimes listen to what’s being presented and have their own questions. CAIR-Philadelphia’s model is that youth workshops must educate, empower, and inspire. We’ve prepared the best hands-on, interactive activities for MYLP students. Participants receive practical information that they can use daily, and most importantly, they get their voices heard. We teach young American Muslims that what they contribute is equally as valuable as any other religious group.
Moein Khawaja, executive director of the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that as an American and a Muslim, he cheered when he heard of bin Laden's demise. "My wife and I were watching the Phillies game where they announced his death," Khawaja said. "As people at the game chanted, 'U.S.A.,' we yelled, 'We got him!'"
"As we stated during the original attack on 9/11,” says Khawaja, “Osama Bin Laden never represented Islam or Muslims. In fact, in addition to killing thousands of Americans on 9/11, he and al Qaeda caused the deaths of thousands of Muslims worldwide." 
CAIR-PA Executive Director Moein Khawaja appears on FOX 29's Good Day morning program to discuss his immediate feelings and reaction to the death of Bin Laden. 
CAIR-PA connects CBS 3 Philly with local Muslim leader and students for story on the Muslim American reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden. 
Moein Khawaja, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Philadelphia, who was born in the United States and whose parents are from Pakistan, said: "I'll never forget the day my country was attacked so brutally. I'll also never forget that at the same time my faith and the religion of over a billion people was tarnished in such a manner that one of the most recognized Muslims in the world ended up being Osama bin Laden. I'm confident that my fellow Americans know that Islam isn't and never was bin Laden or his ideology."
Local authorities are on high alert at mosques, synagogues and major transit hubs, watching out for potential retaliatory violence in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death. Philadelphia and SEPTA police both stepped up patrols to discourage any attacks.