|
Noor Abbady presented "Exploring Muslim Traditions and Their Practices" to a group of 10 12th graders at Wesleyan School, a private Christian school, on March 1. ISB speakers are regularly invited to speak at Wesleyan.
Ehab Jaleel facilitated a Meaningful Conversation (MC) workshop, training on how to engage in meaningful conversation with people of other faith traditions, at the East Cobb Islamic Center (ECIC) on March 4. The workshop, attended by 40 ECIC members, was coordinated by Asif Saberi and attended by new ISB speaker Abdul Kareem Amer. This is the second time that Jaleel conducted an MC workshop at ECIC.
Zaynab Ansari Abdul Razacq was a "human book" at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library on March 8. Other "human books" included a politician, a professional philosopher, a gay man with HIV, a Wiccan, a Mormon, a Sikh, an ex-gang member, and a former jailer.
The "human book" project brings people representing groups that have experienced discrimination or have been the objects of misunderstanding to function as "books" to public library patrons. Librarian checks out a "human book" to a patron for a 20 minute private conversation. "It's a great way to break down barriers and talk to people one ordinarily might not approach," said Ansair Abdul Razacq.
Dr. Abdullah Kapic and Jelena Naim were both invited to speak to two classes of the Global TESOL (Teachers of English to Students of Other Languages) Program at the University of Georgia on March 10 and 11 respectively.
Soumaya Khalifa conducted two teacher cultural competency training sessions for students taking diversity courses at Kennesaw State University on March 15. There were 30 students in each class. The professor described the interactive training sessions as "informative, engaging, and eye opening."
Alan Howard presented to a group of 10 middle school-aged students attending a Confirmation class at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement on March 18. Also attending were the congregation's Rector, Reverend Chris Starr, and 5 parents. The goal of the presentation was to expose the young students to different faith traditions.
Salma Stoman presented "Overview of American Muslims and Their Faith" to a group of students at Clayton State University. The presentation was sponsored and hosted by the Muslim Student Association and was open to the entire student population. The group expressed interest in inviting ISB back to present the "Women in Islam" presentation.
Mansour Ansari presented to a group of 26 students at Georgia State University (GSU) on the subject of "Poverty in Atlanta and What Can We Do To Help." The presentation was sponsored by the Muslim Student Association at GSU and Project Nur, a student-led initiative advocating for social justice by empowering leaders to cultivate an environment of acceptance and mutual respect between Muslims and other faith communities. Ansari discussed Islam's teachings on how to address poverty. He also listed the different efforts by the Muslim community in the Atlanta metropolitan area aimed at addressing the issue of hunger and poverty. Ansari encouraged the students to get involved as volunteers in these efforts.
Ehab Jaleel presented to a group of Cub Scouts from Cub Scout Pack 83 at Al-Farooq Masjid on March 25. New ISB speaker Fouad Kurdi also participated in the presentation.
|