The Purpose of the Camp
To enrich and strengthen the hearts, minds and bodies of American Muslim teenagers. B'idhni'Llah we will achieve this through Deen education, spiritual training and reflection, arts and crafts, and team work, both at the site and during hiking adventures in the surrounding mountains. Campers come to this camp from all over the United States and Canada. This is a unique camp with many repeat participants and we welcome new campers.

Registration
The camp registration fee is $350/participant until May 21, and $450 thereafter. Mail registration and check payable to Ibn Asheer Institute, C/O Nadina Barnes, PO Box 146, Abiquiu, NM 87510. Currently we can accommodate up to 60 attendees at the camp.

Registration Form (Word Doc)
Registration Form (PDF)

Sponsors
There are families who would like to send children to this camp but cannot afford to do so. If you are willing to sponsor a child to attend this camp, please contact Abdul Aziz Eddebarh at aeddebbarh@hotmail.com

Financial Aid
Some partial aid may be available for those who are not able to afford the entire cost of the camp. Please contact Nadina Barnes at mrsnbarnes@yahoo.com, or (505) 685 4673 if you need financial help. Financial aid, if given, can only cover a portion of the camp fee.

Location
The site of the camp is at Dar al Islam which is on 1357 acres in Abiquiu, Northern New Mexico. The strikingly beautiful mosque-madressa building was designed by the famous Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, and built mainly by local Hispanic and Anglo builders and craftsmen.

Accomodations
Accommodations at the camp are dormitory style. Brothers and sisters are housed separately. All campers need to bring their own bedding (sleeping bag or light cover, and small pillow). All meals are halal. There will be male counselors for the brothers and female counselors for the sisters. This is a cooperative camp, and all will be required to help with food set up, clean up and general maintenance of the camp.
Campsite Details

Travel
Roundtrip transportation between the Albuquerque airport and the Dar al Islam site will be provided. Download the 3-part Registration, Health and Travel Information form by using the registration link on this page, fill it out and return all by mail, along with payment.

Counselors
Applications are being considered for counselors. Download the application form by using the application link on this page. Fill in your responses on the screen and attach to an e-mail to Abdul Aziz Eddebarh at aeddebbarh@hotmail.com
Counselor Application Form (Word doc)
Counselor Application Form (pdf)

Parents
The camp is appropriate for youth between the ages of 12-18. Currently there is no program for parents. We know that for some parents, this will be the first time that they are sending their children to such a camp. Please use your best judgement in determining whether your child is ready to attend this camp. Most teenagers look forward to these kinds of events; and what better place to let them go to than to a Muslim Youth Camp!

Br. Abdul Aziz Eddebbarh
Abdul Aziz has a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Colorado State University, and benefited from a traditional Islamic Education in Morocco. He is presently on the Board of Directors of the North America Interfaith Network, and he is a co-Director and Founder of the American Muslim-Jewish Dialogue. He led a delegation of American Muslims and Jews on a peace-seeking journey to Morocco and the Middle East. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Ibn Asheer Institute for Islamic Studies. In the past he was a Spokesman of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and a member of the Las Vegas Interfaith Council.

Br. Wakeel Declerck
Wakeel is a native of Abiquiu, New Mexico and still resides near the Dar al Islam site. He is an avid outdoorsman with camping, hunting and backcountry experience. Wakeel studied at the world famous Tom Brown School, and will share his wilderness survival techniques with the campers.

Sr. Nadina Barnes
Nadina is a Mid-school teacher with a life-long interest in fiber arts. She will teach campers to create unique scarves and t-shirts, to take home and wear with pride.

Sr. Rosa Rojas
Rosa is a former Olympic gymnast and coach of the Circus Arts. She has trained with renowned companies. She has also studied in Russia and Poland. She has choreographed and performed on television, on Broadway, at the Metropolitan Opera and at New York’s Lincoln Center. In 1998 she founded Albuquerque’s “School for the Circus Arts.” She’ll bring an exciting and unique experience to the campers as she works with them on tumbling, performance arts, and theatrical stage combat. (Matrix-style fight choreography.)

Br. Hassan & Sr. Amina Bilal
Both Amina and Hassan are accomplished archers who have won several awards and they will share their skills with the campers.

When I walk down the road or in the store or just to my next class, I find myself being the center of attention. People tear me apart with their stares. Sometimes I wish I could give it up, take my hijab and throw it away. Then maybe the stares would stop. I would disappear into a crowd of those so-called “normal people.” People would look at me for me and not for my religion.

Maybe then the hate, the whispers and the scared looks would all disappear along with me. Those days seem so far away. I think to myself that that will never happen. People here don’t know the truth: they fear me, but I fear them more!

Sometimes I wonder why I try. I wonder why I should care. Why should I wear it when others don’t?

When I get home and let my hair flow freely I wish to myself that people would start to care. That people would see that I am not the enemy. I feel as if they want me to apologize. Say I’m sorry for what some men have done to hurt America. Say I’m sorry for the Palestinian conflict. Say I’m sorry for every person who calls himself a Muslim, then contradicts it by harming his or her brothers and sisters. Say I’m sorry for what’s going to happen next. Say I’m sorry for what has already happened. I know that I owe no apology. And I will not give one, even if it stopped the stares, because truth is something to fight for.

I wish there was someone to blame for this. Maybe my parents, who want me to be Muslim but moved us to ‘booney ville’ in New Mexico. I wonder why they would want to put me through so much pain. Why they had picked a religion feared by so many. But then I think they only want what’s best for me. They never wanted me to go through soo much pain. Then I try to blame the media. The media may tell us what to think and who to hate. But we suck it all in, and like starving children in a candy store we can’t seem to get our fill. We ask for more. No, we demand more! We need this hate to survive, without it we have no one to blame for our problems. Because, without it, we would have to look at ourselves. And we know we might not like what we see. We need this hate so we grow strong. So we feel safe. So we feel as if we are right and the rest of the world is wrong. So who is left to blame?

The truth is I blame myself. I blame myself for not educating people. I blame myself for not teaching. I blame myself for not telling people why I wear this hijab.

So it all ends here. Now sit tight while I tell you why I wear this hijab: because I can, because God has asked me to, because I want to, I feel the need to. I cover up so that I don’t become another pinup airbrushed puppet on the cover of some teen magazine. I cover so I can be free. I cover to show the world you don’t need to uncover to be free. And that’s why I wear this. So the next time you see me on the road or in a store, remember one thing; I owe no apology. And there’s no way I’ll give one. So go ahead, stare, say how oppressed I look. I know who the free one is. Me.