ISB Speaker Part of Living Library
Iqbal Kalla
On Wednesday, May 27th, ISB speaker Iqbal Kalla attended a special event at Atlanta's Central Library. The event--the first of its kind--was hosted by the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System and titled "Living Library". The purpose of the living library was to provide members of the public with the opportunity to "check-out their prejudice" by engaging in conversations with "living books." The "objects of prejudice" identified by the library organizers included a Muslim, an HIV-positive gay man, an albino, a homeless person, a witch (Wiccan), and a policeman.
The "living books" had their own tables where they could engage in 10-20 minute conversations with library patrons. The ISB's objective was to answer the questions of library patrons and staff, many of whom had never met a Muslim.
Following the presentation, the ISB received the following feedback from Mr. James Taylor, Outreach Services Manager of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System: "On behalf of the Library and Fulton County, thank you all for making the Living Library program a complete success. [Fulton County]Commissioner Rob Pitts was so impressed he wants to do it again."
Iqbal Kalla contributed to this report.
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Meaningful Conversations at Doraville Mosque
At the invitation of Mr. Ashraf Awad of Masjid At-Taqwa in Doraville, Ehab Jaleel presented the ISB's Meaningful Conversations workshop on Friday, May 1.
The purpose of the workshop is to provide members of the Muslim community with the tools for successful interfaith dialogue and civic engagement. Like other Muslim communities, members of Masjid At-Taqwa community get asked questions about Islam from curious neighbors, friends, and work colleagues. The Meaningful Conversations workshop was designed to address these questions.
The session was attended by approximately 20-25 members of the mosque, and included role-play activities. Imam Mohammad Zahirul Islam expressed his desire to have the ISB back for a follow-up Meaningful Conversations workshop.
The ISB looks forward to further Meaningful Conversations initiatives with local mosques.
Ehab Jaleel contributed to this report.
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About the ISB
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.
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Dear Supporters,
The following stories reflect the ISB's activities during the month of May.
Our emphasis during this month has been twofold: combating stereotypes and building relationships at the community level. To achieve this goal, we visited Atlanta's Central Library and participated as "living books," sharing information with library patrons and staff. We also spoke to heart-health volunteers at Piedmont Hospital, participated in interfaith panels, and continued our ongoing Muslim-Jewish dialogue with Temple Emanu-El. Please enjoy these stories and consider how you can challenge prejudice and create understanding in your own way.
Be sure to look for upcoming reports on the ISB's summer activities, which will include assisting the Kids4Peace, Emory's Youth Theological Initiative (YTI), and the interfaith summer-lunch program in Fayette County. As summer begins, please remember the ISB as you make your charitable contributions. We rely on the generosity of our supporters to do this necessary work. You can make a secure online donation through our website or send your contributions to ISB Atlanta, P.O. Box 2608, Peachtree City, GA 30269. All donations are tax deductible. Have a relaxing and enlightening summer!
Soumaya Khalifa
Executive Director, ISB Atlanta
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Mending Hearts with Knowledge
ISB speaker Ehab Jaleel delivered the ISB's signature presentation, Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam, to Mended Hearts volunteers at Piedmont Hospital on Thursday, May 7. The presentation was at the invitation of Joann Gorrell, RN, Clinical Manager of Cardiac Rehab at Piedmont Hospital-Fuqua Heart Center, who read about the ISB in an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and invited the organization to help inform her volunteers about Islam and Muslim customs related to health care. The volunteers, members of Mended Hearts, a national nonprofit affiliated with the American Heart Association, are a group of people who have survived and thrived after experiencing heart-related health conditions. The group's goal is to help cardiac patients recover faster through hospital visits and support meetings.
The interactive presentation included a question-and-answer session where Mr. Jaleel discussed Muslim views on illness and health care etiquette. Audience members expressed appreciation for the knowledge the ISB provided, allowing them to reconcile negative stereotypes of Muslims and Islam with the revealing insights the presentation provided about Islam and Muslims.
Ehab Jaleel contributed to this report.
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Keeping the Faith
On Monday May 4, ISB speaker Amin Tomeh represented the Muslim perspective on an interfaith panel titled "Keeping the Faith." Organized by ACCESS, the young adult division of the American Jewish Committee's Atlanta Chapter, the panel included Rev. Nikki Hardeman of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia and Rabbi Loren Lapidus of The Temple.
Keeping the Faith is an outgrowth of ACCESS's "Ask the Rabbi" events of prior years. This year the group sought to learn more about other faith traditions, hence the interfaith panel. Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed of the ISB served on an interfaith host committee, which helped to brainstorm questions for the panelists ahead of the session.
The event drew wide participation, featuring an engaged audience and thoughtful insights from the speakers.
Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed contributed to this report. |
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Kids4Peace Gearing Up for Annual Camp
ISB's 2008 Building Bridges Award winner Kids4Peace invited Ehab Jaleel to present Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam to a group of middle school students, their parents, and program administrators at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Buckhead. The presentation took place on Sunday, May 3.
Kids4Peace hosts an annual youth camp in Georgia for local children and Muslim, Jewish, and Christian youth from Jerusalem in order to foster understanding and the mutual desire for peace. Mr. Jaleel is a popular speaker with the organization, having presented to members for several years. The students were bright-eyed and eager to learn about Muslims and asked inquisitive, respectful questions throughout the presentation. Adult participants had questions as well, ranging from whether Mr. Jaleel had been to Mecca to how the Muslim's prayer provides worshipers with a "centering" function as in other faith traditions.
The session drew families from beyond the metro Atlanta area and featured a tasty spread of fruit and desserts from the Middle East, including dates (a favorite of the Prophet Muhammad). One of the adult participants remarked that she learned something new every year the ISB presented Getting to Know American Muslims and Islam. Mr. Jaleel was honored to be invited to present to Kids4Peace and hopes to visit the organization again in the near future.
Ehab Jaleel contributed to this report.
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Building Bridges with Temple Emanu-El
On Monday, April 20, Amin Tomeh presented to a high school group at Temple Emanu-El, a Reform Judaism synagogue in Dunwoody and 2008 recipient of the ISB's Building Bridges Award. At the invitation of Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, Mr. Tomeh was joined by Muslim youth representatives, Omar Hamid and Ayah Mostafa. Also in attendance was a
representative from Emory's Youth Theological Initiative (YTI), Ms.
Kim Jackson, who spoke briefly about Emory's faith-based youth initiative.
The
atmosphere was informal and included questions
on a wide range of topics, with an emphasis on Islamic theology.
The presentation concluded with pizza and positive feedback from the students, Ms. Jackson, and the Muslim youth participants. ***
Continuing the dialogue with Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, May 3, Amin Tomeh and Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed met
with Rabbi Scott Colbert and other members of the temple at Masjid Omar
Bin Abdul Aziz where they toured the mosque's new facility. This meeting was the third in the ISB's and Temple Emanu-El's continuing effort to foster Muslim-Jewish understanding. After the tour, the ISB
invited the group to lunch in Tucker where the discussion centered around the
Jewish experience in the United States and historical perspectives on Islam and
Muslims. Amin Tomeh contributed to both reports.
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