About Us
Our Mission
Mission: Emerald Project connects, prepares, and inspires young people to transform, as their self-actualization is the key to liberty and justice for all.
Self-actualization means building the strength, clarity, and confidence required to transform a world that resists change.
When you build self-worth and act from your beliefs rather than your insecurities, you become stronger and more resilient in the face of challenges. You stop waiting for permission and take action.
Our Pillars
5 Pillars: Me, My Community, My Ability, My Responsibility, My Future
Me
Your journey begins with you. Invest the time and self-reflection required to uncover who you are. Liberate yourself from the labels, expectations, and pressures that limit you. Build your self worth and treat yourself with respect. Leverage your free will to make choices that are genuine to you.
My Ability
You are far more capable than you realize. Identify your strengths, talents, and potential. Learn how to apply your abilities to improve your performance at school, work, or passion projects. Dedicate the power of your abilities to building a life that reflects you and your values.
My Responsibility
Do what you can from where you stand. At Emerald Project, we believe that you have the power and responsibility to do good. By instilling a sense of duty to serve, we guide young people to consider the impact of their actions on others and the world, nurturing a generation that values empathy, integrity, and service.
My Community
Come as you are. At Emerald Project, we believe that in a healthy community there is room for everybody. Let’s gather in get-togethers, big or small, where we can have fun, connect, and learn from one another.
My Future
Get in the driver’s seat and explore the array of possibilities that can become your future. It’s normal to be uncertain, in fact it’s a core piece of the journey and you are not alone. Focus on maximizing what is in your control. Self reflect, take risks, take opportunities that interest you, then try again. Take the time to learn what you love and what you’re good at. Remember that when it comes to your future, nothing is off the table.
Our Story
Emerald Project held its very first event in Salt Lake City in February of 2017. The community discussion was in response to President Donald Trumps Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States also known as the “Muslim Ban”. Our community was saturated with discourse around Islam and Muslims – but most of that discourse was rooted in misinformation.
It was time to offer a safe space to have a real conversation, this time with a focus on the truth. Three young Muslim women led a team to put on our very first event – ‘Is Islamophobia Real?’ Hosted at Marmalade Library, this event kicked off what would come to be the first of many conversations and activities to come.
Our mission statement was formalized in 2018: “Emerald Project seeks to combat the misrepresentation of Islam.” We believed that by clarifying the truth about Islam, by exalting the diverse voices of the Muslim community, and by fostering meaningful connection with non-Muslims, we would be able to overcome the apparatus of Islamophobia in America – one connection at a time.
For 6 years Emerald Project hosted dozens of events, facilitated hundreds of conversations, with thousands of people. We spoke with: law enforcement (from Utah Transit Authority to the FBI), Universities (from BYU to Salt Lake Community College), lawmakers and public officials at all levels of government. And of course at the core we connected with the citizens of Salt Lake Valley, individuals from all backgrounds, religions, and views. We eventually took on the complex and difficult challenge of addressing the wounds and barriers between the ethnic segments of our own Muslim community. Bosnians, Arabs, Kurds, Pakistanis, Somalis, Indians, and Turks. A challenge met with a team as diverse as the community it served.
But then something powerful happened. As our ambassador program developed and we spent more and more time understanding their backgrounds and experiences, as we grew to know the people in our community, we realized misrepresentation is only one part of a much bigger story. Our community is limited by much more than the misunderstandings associated with their religion. In fact, the root limitations faced by our community – the ones that result in the limiting world and our human experience today – are the same limitations faced by all.
So we made a pivot. We shifted our direction to pursue the solution to that root limitation that plagues us all. Our relationship with our self, our belief systems, our mindset about who we are, what is possible, and what our responsibility to advance in the direction of freedom truly is – both at the personal level and as collective society.
We studied the root of what creates real change, and decided to dedicate our passion and curiosity to developing a framework that could be applied by all in the direction of absolute freedom.Today we pursue those things, that strengthen the individual and the society. Introspection, compassion, curiosity, service, connection, courage, humility, and action.
Our Mission: Emerald Project connects, prepares, and inspires young people to transform, as their self-actualization is the key to liberty and justice for all.
Self-actualization means building the strength, clarity, and confidence required to transform a world that resists change. When you build self-worth and act from your beliefs rather than your insecurities, you become stronger and more resilient in the face of challenges. You stop waiting for permission and take action.
Our Values
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Connection
Human beings need connection, REAL connection. A powerful community must be built on rooted connection.
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Leadership
We must equip young people to lead with clarity, confidence, and integrity.
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Active Citizenship
Active Citizenship means accepting your responsibility to contribute to the well-being of your community and society.
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Transformation
We understand the humility and effort required to transform for the better and embrace it. To live is to grow.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi
- Emerald Gives Back
- Talking with the FBI
- Muslim Stories
- UMFA Exhibition: Ummah
“None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself”
Having a dialogue with the FBI about Islamophobia and how our identities were misunderstood was a surreal experience. All three of the Emerald founders’ families were investigated by the FBI, post 9/11. But there we were, answering their questions. This time they wanted to know who we were, not what we were doing.
I have grown up struggling to find a momentum in living a dual cultured life. I struggle to negotiate the ethnic traditions while still upholding my American roots. That can be challenging.
As young Muslims we never had a space that reflected our identity. When Nora and I saw the exhibit upon completion we were so overwhelmed, we cried. It was the first time we saw our faith presented to the public with such respect and accuracy.
Emerald Gives Back
We are proud to call Salt Lake Valley our home, and we want to give back to the community we live in. Not only that, but because we believe it is our duty as Muslims to help our neighbors. A hadith tells us that “None of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” [Riyad as-Salihin 183]. As an organization, we have committed to serve at least 2 hours a month to various community partners around our area. Team members are not limited to the 2 hour requirement, and are always welcome to do more. If your organization needs a little help, we are here for you. Please contact Tala Shihab, our Community Coordinator, to gather our team to help yours.
If your organization needs volunteers, please reach out to our Community Volunteer Coordinator Tala Shihab at tala@emeraldproject.org .
Talking with the FBI
The Emerald Project in collaboration with the FBI hosted a private event to discuss Islamophobia. This event brought together law enforcement to have an in depth conversation about Muslims, Islam and the misconceptions of both in a post 9/11 America.
Muslim Stories
The Muslim Stories Instagram Series combats the misrepresentation of Islam by spotlighting the experiences of Muslims. This instagram campaign showcases the diversity within the Muslim community, both ethnic diversity and diversity of expereinces.
Follow @emeraldprojectslc for these featured stories, and look for #EmeraldStories.
If you are a Muslim interested to be featured on our page please email our Ambassador Nour Bilal who leads the Muslim Stories project at nour@emeraldproject.org.
#EmeraldStories
Daughterhood is a struggle I reconcile with on the daily. I live up to cultural expectations of an American Pakistani Muslim.
Three significant labels to my identity in which recently the practice of yoga has helped me to explore even deeper. Life is an ever changing phenomenon. Every single day we are on some kind of journey, in search for a stable center. That center resides within me and yoga has guided me to uncover a deeper truth about myself.
I have grown up struggling to find a momentum in living a dual cultured life. I struggle to negotiate the ethnic traditions while still upholding my American roots. That can be challenging.
Yoga is a moment-to-moment practice in which you literally learn to let go and delve into an opportunity of liberation.
Liberation of the mind, body, and soul. It’s a safe space for me to welcome silence and listen to the wisdom that lies within me. I feel that the teachings of Islam are often misunderstood in finding the balance between the expectation of culture and religion. I believe the focus of Islam is to simplify your life and just focus on the basics. I surrender in my journey to find balance, strength, and flexibility in every aspect of life. These also happen to be the elements that make up the faith of Islam: moderation and flexibility.
UMFA Exhibition: Ummah
The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) and Emerald Project present a new ACME Lab exhibition, Ummah, a collaborative and community-focused installation dedicated to celebrating Utah’s Muslim community and educating the public about the Islamic way of life. Ummah, the Arabic word for community, refers to a collective of Islamic peoples transcending the boundaries of nations and can also mean a community with any common history—a title that successfully reflects the intentions of this exhibition.
The gallery is divided into five sections, arranged to deconstruct the myths around Islam, such as the role of women, address stereotypes assigned to the Muslim community—especially following the September 11 attacks—and celebrate the diversity and traditions in the various Muslim Utah communities. Through education and experience, Ummah promotes acceptance of this often-misunderstood population, both statewide and globally.
View more stories of our works
- Emerald Gives Back
- Talking with the FBI
- Muslim Stories
- UMFA Exhibition: Ummah