Lake Co. woman hopes to form Muslim Moms group

Eaman Shebley is a mom who simply does not want her children to lose sight of their Islamic culture.

Growing up as a Muslim living in a large Arab and Muslim American community in Dearborn, Mich., she benefited from being surrounded by others who practiced their Islamic faith and cultural beliefs.

By starting a Muslim Moms group, she wants to ensure her two children have a similar learning experience.

“My children are second generation here, and I want them to have the culture,” Shebley said. “I feel it is my obligation to help them understand as much about our religion as possible.”

As a regular attendee of a Libertyville Moms group, she gladly answered questions about wearing a hijab (Muslim headdress) or anything else about her cultural background. However, she would like to have a group where Muslim mothers and their children not only mingle informally, but also where mothers share recipes and child-rearing challenges and the Muslim religion and culture with their children.

“My goal is to do a celebration for every holiday,” she said.

Making the faith and culture fun at a young age for children instills in them the importance of their culture, Shebley said.

“You have to build core values from the beginning with children. I'm afraid if I don't provide it while they are young, they may lose it when they get older. It can be psychologically daunting for them not having a firm religious identity,” said Shebley, who learned how to plan events as part of the Young Muslim Association in Michigan.

With the Islamic faith, members bear witness that there is one God (Allah) and the prophet of Islam is Muhammad; do daily prayers as part of submission to God, as well as fast during Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic calendar); give to the poor; perform a pilgrimage in Islam (once in their lifetime); and treat others as you want to be treated.

Eaman and her husband, Mohamad, are aware of how some people negatively view all Muslims since the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, and they believe the Muslim Moms group could help children deal with that perception.

“If you look at history, Christians and Jews went through religious persecution. Maybe now is a time where Muslims are having a similar experience,” said Mohamad Shebley, a Lebanese research scientist who grew up in Kuwait.

The Shebleys, who live near Libertyville, say they are a typical American family that participates in Christmas celebrations and the faiths of their friends, while also making sure their children learn about their own family's religious beliefs and culture.

For more information about the Muslim faith, go to http://islam101.net/introductory-mainmenu-33.html.

For details about the Muslim Moms group, e-mail Eaman Shebley at ChicagoMuslimMoms@gmail.com.