Welcome
Nafis Salaam
Funded by the American Legacy Foundation, as a partnership of Muslim Consultative Network and Islamic Medical Association of North America, Nafis Salaam (NS) is a new program, creating Muslim-centered cessation and prevention services for the first time in the USA. To communicate the message that Tobacco use is both unhealthy and un-Islamic, we have designed and translated smoking cessation materials into eight languages, and created new media to promote the issue among communities with high rates of tobacco use. We have also surveyed over 400 community members and 30 community leaders to measure needs and perceptions, one of the first demographic studies of Muslim New Yorkers health concerns, to be released in January 2010. A press advisory about this study can be found here.
Voices Against Smoking
At Nafis Salaam we seek to address the apparent contradiction; that though Muslim scholars and imams discourage tobacco use, sectors of the Muslim community have some of the highest rates of smoking. How does the community see this situation? Can prevention and cessation messages be culturally tailored and strengthened to reach this diverse community?
Nafis salaam staff is working with religious and community leaders to speak out (see link) create over an expanding number of new youtube videos for Muslims (see side panel).
Community Education
In addition, Nafis Salaam has focused on reaching out to the diverse 600,000 Muslim residents of New York City by distributing thousands of postcards, prototype YouTubes, blogs and fliers in 8 languages & distributing over 6,000 fliers by hand; 2) Providing workshops to hundreds of community members especially during Ramadan 3) Reaching tens of thousands of area Muslims through advertising in Muslim media, conferences and mosque fairs; 4) Measuring Muslim need and perception through a series of surveys. For more information about MCN's health education activities and bilingual fliers, please also refer to our link. Those seeking to resources for helping family members to quit may also wish to visit our blog at http://muslimsagainstsmoking.wordpress.com
