• Charitable organization affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America

Affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) defines itself as a charitable organization "dedicated to youth programming and issues." Geared to youngsters aged 12 to 18, MYNA’s goals are to: “strengthen the faith and practice of Muslim youth, allowing them to develop an Islamic identity”; “help Muslim youth and communities plan and carry out educational training, and spiritual, recreational, and charitable Islamic activities”; “develop Islamic leadership for the future”; and “establish a positive and healthy image of Islam in North America.”

MYNA was the brainchild of ISNA’s Youth Committee, which in 1985 proposed the creation of a continental organization for young Muslims. The ISNA policy-making body endorsed the idea, and as a result MYNA was formally approved and introduced at the First Annual Muslim Youth Winter Conference in December of 1985. The first programs sponsored by MYNA were held at ISNA conferences and conventions.

MYNA was named in a May 1991 Muslim Brotherhood document --titled "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America" -- as one of the Brotherhood’s likeminded "organizations of our friends" who shared the common goal of destroying America and turning it into a Muslim nation. These "friends" -- which included also the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Students Association, the Muslim Arab Youth Association, the Islamic Association for Palestine, the United Association for Studies and Research, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought -- were identified by the Brotherhood as groups that could help teach Muslims "that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands ... so that ... God's religion [Islam] is made victorious over all other religions."

According to a former official of the Indian government, MYNA is believed to be closely associated with Tablighi Jamaat, a jihadist organization that serves as a recruiting ground for al Qaeda. MYNA's past conferences have featured such radicals as Siraj Wahhaj, who is believed to have been a co-conspirator in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

MYNA's National Advisor is Riyad Shamma, a member of the the Majlis Youth Committee that oversees the operations of ISNA’s Youth Programming and Services Department.

MYNA's Chairman Omar J. Siddiqui is also a member of the ISNA Board of Directors.

Some MYNA members recently initiated "MYNA Raps," a project of Muslim youth “who write songs about Islam and the struggle as young Muslims in America” (sic). MYNA Raps has produced a few tapes featuring the rap songs of numerous contributors. These tapes have been sold internationally, with all proceeds going directly to MYNA, helping to fund the organization's camps and conferences.

MYNA Raps artists use no wind or string instruments in their compositions. Says the project's website: “Some scholars such as Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradhawi say that if the lyrics of the music is Islamic, then any type of musical instrument is permissible. However there are others that say that wind and string instruments must be avoided and only percussion (drums) instruments can be used. There other scholars that say that only the duff (tambourine) can be used. Even others say no instruments at all are allowed. Since this is such a hot debate, we tried to use the least amount of instruments possible and still give the sound most American Muslim youth are used to. … We pray to Allah that our intentions are accepted in this matter and we have made a correct decision.”