At recently concluded “Camp Ramadan” held in the Washington DC area, counselors dealt with the election year by encouraging the school-aged children to make fun of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
In one “leadership skit” put on for parents, for instance, an 11-year-old representing Donald Trump was interviewed on stage by another of the students.
“As a leader, who do you wish to serve?” asked the debate interviewer to the other, who went by the political alias of “Ronald McDonald.”
“I wish to serve my very fantastic self,” answered the 11-year-old, Amir-Abbas, to the delight of the audience, adding that money is the key to great leadership, and he has plenty.
“I’m trying to make America great again by kicking out Mexicans, Muslims and African Americans,” he added.
“By the way,” he said, sweeping a hand over his dark head of hair. “This hair is real.”
The camp organizer, Iranian-American Mona Eldadah, started the project four years ago as a week-long crafts-based camp at the end of the month of Ramadan, so that Muslim kids could fast together while also doing other activities.
This year, the camp rented the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda for the 101 students, aged 3 to 16, who wished to participate in the week’s events.
Campgoers engaged in a variety of activities, from hiking to a nearby cave to learn about how the prophet Muhammad visited a cave outside of Mecca, where he heard the voice of Allah, to singing a cover of “Old MacDonald” (“Old Mustafa had a farm”) populated with animals from the Qur’an.
According to the reports, Muslim summer camps are enjoying great success in the United States and Canada, and seek to reinforce the Islamic identity of North American Muslims.
“Turning Islam back to talking about leadership qualities, going back to morality and ethics — I think that’s something they really value,” Eldadah said.
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