Excerpt:
To learn more about how government works, some 40 Muslim students are holding a "mock legislature" at the Minnesota State Capitol.
On Friday, the high school and college students debated public policy issues and prepared bills that were presented on the floor of the mock legislature. The event was part of the first Muslim Youth Leadership Conference, organized by the Minnesota chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations.
"Right now in the Muslim community there really aren't many youth that are civically engaged," said Lori Saroya, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota. "That's what we're hoping to do, make sure they have the tools and the resources to be more engaged. We want them to be on the House floor and get a feel for it, how the process works."