MIST stands for the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament. MIST is a fun, educational, interactive program of competitions and workshops geared towards bringing high school students together from around the nation to develop leadership, communication, and other creative skills in order to develop a strong identity.
Our mission is to bring high school students together to develop leadership, promote communication, and inspire creativity while gaining a deeper understanding of Islam and Muslims. We do this through our annual regional and national tournaments. MIST was founded in 2002 by an undergraduate freshman girl in Houston, Texas, and now takes place in 15 regions across North America.
We are dedicated to empowering high school students by giving them a venue to:
Develop confidence and professionalism by practicing presentation, public speaking, and problem solving skills
Meet and network with diverse peers who share the same talents and interests
Express their thoughts and ideas through various creative mediums
Learn strategies to deal with stereotypes and prejudices against Islam and Muslims
Develop Confidence and Professionalism
One of our objectives is to provide a platform to help our participants develop confidence and professionalism by practicing presentation, public speaking, and problem solving skills. Competitors present their projects in front of a panel of judges and an audience of other MIST participants. All participants have the opportunity to explore and discover unknown talents and hidden potential!
Learn Strategies to Deal with Stereotypes
Another one of our objectives is to help our participants learn strategies to deal with stereotypes and prejudices against Islam and Muslims. This is accomplished through providing an avenue for a sharing of ideas among peer competitors as well as through workshops. With so much going on in the world today, understanding the faith of over a billion inhabitants of our planet has never been more important. Through MIST, we hope to train the future leaders of this world with the right tools to garner a global environment of respect, understanding, and peace.
Express Thoughts, Feelings, and Ideas
Having a safe space for personal expression is a critical objective of MIST. Every individual has a unique voice. Through our competitions, we strive to validate and motivate our participants to be successful, compassionate human beings.
Meet and Network
MIST provides participants with the opportunity to meet and network with diverse peers who share the same (or different!) talents and interests, as well as build relationships that can last a lifetime. We welcome everyone of any religion or no religion. Since our topics and workshops are geared towards developing critical thinking skills while promoting a greater understanding of Islam and Muslims, MIST is a great educational opportunity for anyone who is interested in broadening their socio-environmental knowledge.