Greetings!
The month of December marks a confluence of holidays and sacred days. December 7 marked the start of the Islamic New Year, ushering in 1,432 years of faith and devotion for Muslims the world over.
The Jewish community observed Hanukkah from December 1-9. Christmas is next week, while Kwanzaa festivities will begin December 26 and culminate on January 1.
The concurrence of these special days is a reminder of the shared joy we have in our humanity and our respective faith and cultural traditions.
In celebration, we want to draw your attention to World Interfaith Harmony Week, an initiative of The UN General Assembly.
The ISB supports this initiative and looks forward to partnering with local organizations to celebrate the inaugural week of World Interfaith Harmony Week in February.
Since 2001, the ISB has been at the forefront of interfaith partnership and dialogue between Atlanta Muslims and members of other faith communities. This work is critical. However, we cannot sustain our efforts without your support. Our work depends on the support of community members -- women and men like you, who value the importance of building bridges of understanding and dialogue.
As you make your year-end donations, please consider contributing to the ISB. You can make a secure online donation through our website, or mail a check to ISB Atlanta, P.O. Box 2608, Peachtree City, GA 30269. All donations are tax deductible.
Thank you,
Soumaya Khalifa
Executive Director
ISB Atlanta
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| Dr. Abdullah Kapic: 2010 Speaker of the Year |
 | | Dr. Abdullah Kapic |
Originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dr. Abdullah Kapic and his family emigrated from a war-torn nation to the United States nearly 15 years ago. Dr. Kapic earned a Ph.D. in comparative religions from Sarajevo University and was teaching when the war broke out. The family moved to the United States in 1996 and, in Dr. Kapic's words, "started from scratch." He took a manufacturing job and worked his way up to become plant manager but always yearned to return to his true calling as an educator. For the past eleven years, Dr. Kapic has taught social studies in Gwinnett County Public Schools. He is married to Adisa, a fellow educator, and they have a son, Omar, who is in college, and a daughter, Fatima, who is a high school senior. Zaynab Ansari recently spoke with Dr. Kapic about his passion for education. Their conversation follows. Zaynab: Dr. Kapic, how has your training as an ISB speaker helped you in the classroom? Dr. Kapic: Being an ISB speaker has helped me become a better teacher, Muslim, and human being. The network the ISB has created has put me in touch with so many different people. I'm the only Muslim teacher at my school and, since 9/11, I've been the main source of information on Islam at my school. It's been a very positive experience working in such a supportive environment. For the past five years, my school has invited ISB speakers to supplement the social studies curriculum. Georgia standards require that students learn about world religions, so, in addition to calling on the ISB, my school has invited speakers from other faith backgrounds. This year, my school will be inviting speakers from the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish traditions. The ISB has helped to establish these connections and friendships. Zaynab: How did you first hear of the ISB? Dr. Kapic: Through my good friends, Mansour Ansari and Rashid Naim, founding members of the ISB. From the beginning I was a strong supporter of the ISB. However, a couple years ago, I decided to take the training and start speaking. I love the connections I'm able to make with my audience. Zaynab: You approach your work with a lot of love. Dr. Kapic: Everything I do in my life is defined by three loves: Love for God, love for my family (including my ISB family), and love for my calling as an educator. As a Muslim American, I view education as a lifestyle, not a job. America has been my home for the last 15 years. We Muslims have a lot to bring to this society and it's our responsibility to take that first step to reach out, and I see the ISB as fulfilling that responsibility. Zaynab: You have a very touching story to share about your daughter and the women in your life. Dr. Kapic: Fatima was born in 1994 in Sarajevo when the city was still under siege. I was outside of the city at that time as part of the effort to defend it. I didn't get to see my daughter until six months after she was born. But, you know what? She recognized me as soon as she saw me. It was like we were never apart. I've been blessed by the presence and leadership of the women in my life. My grandmother, who passed away in 1994, had lived through three wars, and taught me everything I know about Islam. I owe so much to my mother, my wife, my daughter, my school's principal, and the ISB's director. All of these women have inspired me so much.
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| ISB Director Heads to DC for Humanities Workshop |
| Alex Kronemer, Co-Executive Producer, UPF
Photo credit: UPF
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Soumaya Khalifa attended "Prince Among Slaves: The Cultural Legacy of Enslaved Africans," a Unity Productions Foundation (UPF) workshop held in Washington, D.C. on December 10. UPF produced the award-winning documentary film, Prince Among Slaves, which premiered on PBS in February 2008. The ISB sponsored an advance screening of the film at Georgia State University's Rialto Center for the Arts in August 2007. The December workshop focused on a new initiative, Dialogue in the Humanities, an outgrowth of UPF's national 20,000 Dialogues program.
Aimee Schmidt of the Rialto Center was also in attendance at the workshop. The Rialto Center is a UPF and ISB partner.
A photo gallery of the workshop may be viewed here.
More information about a dialogue in Atlanta will be forthcoming in our next newsletter.
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| British Consulate Hosts Reception for Atlanta Organizations | |
On December 9, Bassem Fakhoury represented the ISB at a reception at the British Consulate-General in Atlanta. Consul-General Annabelle Malins hosted the event to thank the many organizations that have partnered with the consulate over the years. The crowd of approximately 50 consisted of high level representatives from the government, business, education and the media.
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Connecting with Atlanta Muslims of All Ages
| | In November, Dr. Abdullah Kapic presented the Meaningful Conversations workshop at a Muslim Student Association (MSA) picnic in Lawrenceville, GA. MSA members from four area high schools held the event in celebration of Eid ul-Adha, one of Islam's most important holidays. Approximately 60 students were in attendance.
Dr. Kapic also presented an overview of the ISB's work to members of the Islamic Community of Bosniaks at an Eid
celebration dinner. The audience of approximately 500 expressed their gratitude to ISB Atlanta for its outreach.
This month, Salma Stoman and Huma Faruqi presented Meaningful Conversations to Girl Scout Troop 1271 and their parents.
The Meaningful Conversations model is an approach that the ISB pioneered three years ago to give Muslims the tools to engage in interfaith dialogue.
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Food for the Homeless
| | ISB member Amjad Taufique along with Imam Furqan Muhammad and Imam Nadeem Ali of SHARE Atlanta partnered with Sisters United in Human Service, Inc., Giving Back to Humanity, Custodians of Faith, and the Muslim Student Association's Project Downtown to feed nearly 1,200 people in downtown Atlanta the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Along with hot meals, Atlanta Muslims distributed hygiene kits to the residents of downtown. Atlanta Muslim organizations have been feeding the homeless and hungry in downtown Atlanta for a decade.
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ISB Presentations at Private Institutions
| | Last month, Huma Faruqi presented Women in Islam to a class at Agnes Scott College, a private, liberal arts women's college founded in 1889. Students were very engaged and had questions about gender in Islam, Muslim cultural practices, and Islamic theology. Asma Elhuni, a speaker-in-training, observed the presentation.
Also, last month, Dr. Abdullah Kapic presented to students at Marist School, an independent Catholic college preparatory school founded in 1901. The ISB's host, Dr. Douglas Seanor, regularly invites speakers to his world religions classes.
Finally, Zaynab Ansari and Mansour Ansari visited Oglethorpe University, a private, liberal-arts school founded in 1835, to present to world religions students.
The invitation came from the Rev. Dr. Gil Watson, who is an Oglethorpe alumnus, a member of the board of trustees, an instructor at the university, and senior pastor at Northside United Methodist Church.
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East Cobb PTA Diversity Summit
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In early November, the ISB's Jelena Naim was invited to join a panel of multicultural community members in order to take questions from an audience of East Cobb Schools PTA members and parents. The panel was moderated by Wendy Stewart, Diversity Chair of the East Cobb PTA. The program was designed to open channels of communication enabling the diverse members of the panel to present their faith or culture and address misperceptions of their faith and/or culture in the public school system.
Panelists represented several ethnic communities--Brazilian, African-American, Korean, and Chinese--and several faiths--Baptist, Korean Christian, Mormon, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim.
Ms. Naim writes, "The summit was a good effort at bringing together a tremendously diverse group."
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About the ISB
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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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