WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Nov. 27, 2018 — West Liberty University students will have a chance to learn about leadership from an average guy this Thursday. This guy though, just happens to be the creator of an anti-terrorism cartoon known as Average Mohamed.
“We will talk with Mr. Mohamed Amin Ahmed, the founder of Average Mohamed, via Skype and he will share his unique style of leadership and education,” said Megumi Maruta, who is a WLU graduate assistant for Community Education enrolled in the Master of Education program with an emphasis on Community Education: Research and Leadership.
The talk takes place at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29 in College Hall and is open to the public.
Ahmed is internationally known and leads an organization that promotes ideas of counter terrorism through the use of popular culture and cartoons. Spreading the message of anti-extremism is at the core of its mission.
Ahmed migrated to the United States 20 years ago and has played numerous roles in both civic and corporate worlds. At the onset of the 9/11 attack, he joined the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism, and has since been the Chapter President for Minnesota.
His counter terrorism mantra is: “It takes an idea, to defeat an idea.” His website, YouTube, Facebook and other social media sites, feature a series of short cartoons countering the extremist media that many Muslim young people encounter.
Cartoon titles include “A Muslim in the West,” “The Bullet or the Ballot,” and “Identity in Islam,” among others.
He currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife and four children and is currently a student at the University of Minnesota pursuing his bachelor’s degree.
“My goal is to introduce students to different styles of leadership and I’m hoping students will use what they learn in class and share it with their home communities,” Maruta said.
A native of Japan, Maruta has been in the United States, studying at WLU for about six years. He earned his undergraduate degree in Community Education, double majoring in Teaching English and Global Education and Sports, Recreation, and Wellness, and went on to work in Pittsburgh for a year before returning to WLU to earn a master’s degree.
“I met Mohamed at the Global Ties U.S. National Meeting in Washington, D.C. He won an award there and talked to him afterwards. We became friends and I am grateful that he is taking the time to meet with us,” Maruta added.
“This Skype talk is a perfect addition to our Leadership in Community Education classroom curriculum and I’m looking forward to our students participating in this opportunity,” said Dr. Miriam Roth Douglas, who is a professor in WLU’s College of Education and Human Performance and co-teaches the community education class with Maruta.
The Skype talk also is part of WLU’s observance of International Education Month during November.
For more information, please call 1.866.937.8542 (WESTLIB) or follow WLU on social media. To view more about WLU, please visit westliberty.edu/youtube.