Atlanta Muslims in the News!
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Ongoing Dialogue at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta
On Sunday, February 8, Amin Tomeh and speaker-in-training, Mirza Dobric, visited the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. They spoke to the congregation's Sunday school, a group of about 12 middle schoolers and several adults.
The students enjoyed the presentation and asked questions spanning a variety of topics, including the age at which Muslim children begin praying and fasting, the true meaning of jihad, the role of women in Islam, and the differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims. This group of students is currently covering world religions and had a session on Islam the previous Sunday.
They also made plans to observe the Maghrib, or sunset, prayer at an area mosque.
The ISB's hostess was Marcia Fishman, who has graciously invited the organization to speak to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation several times. Mirza Dobric contributed to this report. |
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Healthcare and Islam
Amjad Taufique joined an interfaith panel, Nursing in Faith Communities, at Kennesaw State University's WellStar School of Nursing on Thursday, January 15. Mr. Taufique's hostess, Donna Kremer, was very pleased with the information Mr. Taufique provided on Islamic health perspectives. She writes, "Amjad became the 'face' of Islam for the students, most of whom had not known or dialogued with a Muslim before. He was knowledgeable and yet personable and approachable. Thank you for providing this community service." Another successful presentation was given by Soumaya Khalifa, who visited Emory's Center for Pastoral Care, on Thursday, January 29. Ms. Khalifa participated in a panel discussion on working with different faith communities.
The audience consisted of about 20 pastoral care students, serving Emory, Crawford Long, and other Emory hospitals.
Ms. Khalifa provided information tailored to the needs of healthcare providers who work with Muslim patients. Participants posed a number of questions about Muslim scriptural preferences and end-of-life practices. The ISB thanks Kennesaw State University's WellStar School of Nursing and Emory University's Center for Pastoral Care for the opportunity to educate through dialogue. |
The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta is a 501(c)3 non-profit, apolitical educational organization that provides certified Muslim speakers to promote awareness about Islam and Muslims.
The ISB is a local affiliate of the Islamic Networks Group (ING).
Donations to the ISB are tax deductible and may be mailed to ISB Atlanta, P.O. Box 2608, Peachtree City, GA 30269. Alternatively, supporters may send their contributions through our secure website at isbatlanta.org.
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Look Out for Our Next Issue!
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Dear Friends of the ISB,
I invite you to take a few minutes to catch up on the ISB's latest activities. We had a very busy February and what you will see in this newsletter is just a snapshot of the presentations that our team of volunteers conducted. February was Black History Month and the ISB was honored to visit two Atlanta public schools serving historically African-American neighborhoods. One of the schools, the New Schools at Carver, is featured in this edition of our newsletter. Continuing the ISB's tradition of strengthening relationships between diverse faith communities, several members of our organization visited Temple Emanu-El. As you might recall from our November newsletter, Temple Emanu-El was one of the recipients of the ISB's 2008 Building Bridges Award. Last but not least, don't forget that the ISB relies on the generosity of its supporters to accomplish this critical work. Please consider making a secure online donation through our website. All the best, Soumaya Khalifa Executive Director, ISB Atlanta dirisbatl@yahoo.com |
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Atlanta Students to Visit Egypt
Soumaya Khalifa with Carver Student
Students will visit Islamic historical sites as part of Egyptian tour
The New Schools at Carver, innovative high schools that feature small class sizes and provide students with the opportunity to enroll in learning tracks, invited the ISB to present to a group of students traveling to Egypt.
On Tuesday, February 3, Soumaya Khalifa presented to 43 of the 61 students who will visit the African & Arab nation. Ms. Khalifa introduced the students to the Five Pillars of Islam, played the adhan, or Muslim call to prayer, and showed pictures of daily life in Egypt. The students were eager to know what etiquette to observe when visiting Muslim religious sites, including the proper way to wrap the Islamic headscarf, or hijab.
As preparation for the trip, the students planned to visit a local mosque, reflecting The New Schools at Carver's desire for students to get as much out of the trip as possible. The cost of the trip per student is $2500 and this includes airfare and other expenses.
The ISB thanks the New Schools at Carver and their wonderful students for their engagement and wishes them a great trip to Egypt! |
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Jewish-Muslim Relations in Atlanta
On Thursday, February 26, Soumaya Khalifa, Amin Tomeh, Bassem Fakhoury, Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed, and Dr. S. Rashid Naim met with Rabbi Scott Colbert and other representatives of Temple Emanu-El. This meeting was part of an ongoing relationship between members of the ISB and the congregation of Temple Emanu-El. Readers may recall from our November newsletter that Rabbi Colbert read the Jewish invocation at the ISB's Building Bridges Awards Dinner in November, while Temple Emanu-El was honored as one of the 2008 recipients of the award.
February's meeting included dinner and discussion within the parameters of the ISB's emphasis on strengthening relationships.
Unanimously, the group expressed a desire to get to know one another better and is currently exploring the possiblity of joining together to work on a charity project. Regular meetings between Temple Emanu-El's congregation and members of the ISB are in the process of being scheduled. Since each meeting will center on a particular theme, the expectation is that the relationship between the two groups will be a sustained and positive one.
Please look for more on Jewish-Muslim relations in future newsletters.
Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed contributed to this report.
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A Visit to Park Springs
Soumaya Khalifa was invited to present at the Park Springs Retirement Community on Thursday, February 26. This invitation came to the ISB through Mr. Charles Gearing, president of Kids4Peace USA, of which Ms. Khalifa is a board member.
Initially, the invitation was to speak to the Park Springs men's group; however, the event was opened to both men and women. There were about 100 people in attendance to see the ISB's signature presentation: Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam.
The audience was very engaged and enjoyed participating in icebreaker activities and a question-and-answer session at the end.
The day's highlight was a prize drawing for the Unity Productions Foundation's documentary DVDs, Muhammad and Prince Among Slaves.
The ISB is grateful to the women and men of Park Springs for their hospitality. The facility was both attractive and well equipped. The ISB has already received very positive feedback from the community, and looks forward to visiting again in the near future.
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World Religions at Dacula's Hamilton Mill
On Sunday, February 22, Bassem Fakhoury presented Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam to a world-religions class at Dacula's Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church.
About 70 people were in attendance for the evening presentation and a special hour-long question-and-answer session. The atmosphere was very friendly, as Mr. Fakhoury fielded a number of questions ranging from the demographics of the Muslim community to the history of the spread of Islam. The audience was particularly interested to know that Muslims invoke a prayer for peace after mentioning the name of a prophet, including the prophets of earlier Abrahamic traditions.
At the end of the presentation participants stated that the dialogue had helped to clear up a number of misconceptions they had held about Islam.
The ISB thanks the congregation of Hamilton Mill and Mr. Fakhoury's co-worker, Bruce Fricks, who were instrumental in building bridges of understanding between Georgia Christians and Muslims.
Bassem Fakhoury contributed to this report. |
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Islam Awareness Week at Georgia Perimeter College
On Monday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 25, respectively, ISB members, Dr. S. Rashid Naim and Ms. Huma Faruqi, presented to students at Georgia Perimeter College's Clarkston Campus. Dr. Naim's presentation, Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam, provided the audience with vital background information about Islam's key beliefs and practices, while Ms. Faruqi's Women in Islam spoke to issues of women and gender. About 50-60 people attended each presentation and asked a number of questions of the veteran speakers.
The presentations were part of a series of events celebrating Islam Awareness Week at Georgia Perimeter College. The ISB thanks Shyam Sriram, faculty adviser to the Muslim Students Association, for hosting Dr. Naim and Ms. Faruqi.
Mansour Ansari and Huma Faruqi contributed to this report. |
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ISB Invited to Wesleyan School in Norcross
Amin Tomeh and Abdullah Kapic, a speaker-in-training, visited Wesleyan School, a private Christian academy, on Monday, February 16. They addressed two 9th-grade classes who were in attendance with their teachers. The speakers' focus included Islamic beliefs and practices, as well as the differences and intersections between religion and culture.
Wesleyan students attended the presentation as part of their ongoing study of world religions. The classes were very focused and showed genuine interest in the presentation, Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam. The invitation to Wesleyan was part of an ongoing relationship between the ISB and the private educational institution in Norcross. The ISB thanks Wesleyan, its staff, and students for their hospitality. Abdullah Kapic contributed to this report. |
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Celebrating World Cultures at Sprayberry
Amir Ahmed visited Marietta's Sprayberry High School on Friday, February 13 as part of an invitation to the ISB. Sprayberry High School celebrates an annual Multicultural Day and asked the ISB to represent Islam and Muslims to the students.
Mr. Ahmed used the ISB's Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam as the backdrop for an interactive presentation focusing on the divergences and convergences of religion and culture.
Altogether, he presented to approximately 100-150 students and several faculty members in a packed auditorium.
This was Mr. Ahmed's second visit to Sprayberry. The ISB thanks Dr. Richard Welch for facilitating this invitation. | |
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