Islamic Society of Tulsa outlines youth programs and asks for civic collaboration; commission approves 2025–26 committee chairs

The Tulsa Asian Affairs Commission on a midday meeting heard from Shehab Ahmed, assistant imam and youth director at the Islamic Society of Tulsa, who described the mosque’s youth programs, estimated community size and potential points for collaboration with the commission and city staff. Commissioners also voted to approve the slate of 2025–26 committee chairs as a block.

Shehab Ahmed told the commission the Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST) serves a large, diverse Muslim community that includes people from South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, Central Asia and U.S.-born families. “My name is Shehab Ahmed. I am the Assistant, Imam and Youth Director at the Islamic Society of Tulsa,” he said, and described his role leading youth mentorship, spiritual education and character-building programs. He said IST is running summer camp programs and is seeing space and parking pressure at its mosque as attendance grows.

Ahmed asked the commission and city staff to consider closer coordination on two practical fronts: (1) recognition and visibility for community leaders and professionals from Tulsa’s Muslim community, and (2) support finding space for Eid prayers. He said the upcoming Eid al-Adha morning prayer is a time when many Muslims who do not attend weekly services come to pray and that the congregation has asked the city about possible locations for larger outdoor or overflow gatherings. Ahmed also cautioned that as a religious organization IST is wary of activity that could be perceived as political; any civic engagement would need to preserve that separation.

Commissioners discussed several ways to work with IST. Members offered to include IST in the commission’s January cultural event planning and to host educational programs at the mosque — for example, to have translators or outreach partners present on services such as United Way’s 2-1-1 resource line. Staff and commissioners noted ongoing work to translate and publicize 2-1-1 in many languages and suggested an anonymous, language‑specific referral option could help families who do not want public visibility when they seek help.

The meeting included a broader discussion about culturally competent mental-health outreach for AAPI communities. Commissioners and staff said stigma and cultural norms can make standard mental‑health approaches less effective and proposed alternatives such as community-based education (mental-health first aid trainings adapted for AAPI audiences), bringing trusted community leaders into outreach, and piloting programs delivered through mosques or other faith-based organizations.

Separately, the commission’s cultural event and awards planning took up a large portion of the agenda. Commissioners reported the city and private partners have offered event space (the Cox Business Center banquet hall was cited) for a large, free public cultural celebration planned for January 2026; the committee is still finalizing the event name, vendor fees and sponsorship strategy. The commission also discussed a nomination process and proposed expanding award categories to increase participation across multiple Asian communities, and a student-scholarship component that will require an application and rubric (essay and selection criteria were proposed).

Votes at a glance

• Motion to approve the slate of 2025–26 committee chairs as a block — moved and seconded during the meeting. Meeting minutes record commissioners answering “Aye” when the chair called for the vote; the motion was approved as presented. (No individual roll-call vote names were recorded in the transcript.)

What the discussion produced

Discussion items that generated action items or next steps included: staff follow-up on potential public locations for Eid prayers; staff coordination with IST about educational presentations (including United Way 2-1-1 outreach and translated materials); cultural-event committee work to finalize the January 2026 program and sponsorship strategy; and data/research committee follow-up on a June 11 meeting with United Way about 2-1-1 marketing and integration into the commission’s resource mapping.

Ending

Commissioners closed the meeting after public comments and outreach announcements. The commission set committee meeting dates (data and culture committees in June) and signaled continued coordination with community groups, including returning invitations to IST to participate in cultural-event planning and in education sessions designed for families who may hesitate to use standard municipal services.