Islam Awareness Week 2008 hosted by Penn Muslim Students Association
Suhail Dar
My name is Suhail Dar and I along with my colleague Dara Elass are organizing Islam Awareness Week 2008. Attached below and as a separate word document is the event description briefly detailing all our events for the week. You will also find a flyer for the IAW event this year that you can send out on your respective listservs. We have some really good events this year: Native Deen, Imam Zaid Shakir, Jerald Dirks, Baba Ali, and Taha Abdul-Basser. Bring as many people along with you (doesn't matter if they are Muslim or non-Muslim) as you can to these events.
Danish, that would mean the PPS listserv. For the other MSA presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries that would mean your own respective listservs. You can choose how to advertise this on your listserv as long as people know who is speaking, when, and where. Let me know if you guys have any questions:
The Penn MSA would like to invite each one of you, be you
Muslim or not, to our 2008 version of Islam Awareness Week. Very well known,
respected members of the American Muslim milieu will attend to share their own
take on Islam through a lens of their experience and work. We now ask all of
you to come one and all for a very beneficial week of enlightenment,
understanding, and realization of perspectives that usually do not pervade our
everyday life. Below, you will find a list of the events, speakers, locations,
timings, and brief descriptions of the speakers and their topics. Insha'Allah
(God willing), we will see you all there.
There is also a facebook event group that one can join: http://www.facebook.com/events.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=27008804522
Eid Banquet: Celebration of Islamic Culture
Date: October 19th, 2008
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=50
Come join us to celebrate the cultural and ethnic diversity of Islam through our concluding observance of Eid through a banquet. Insha'Allah (God willing), we will have a henna booth, the sounds of Nasheed, calligraphy, and other displays that reflect Islam both visually and audibly. A catered dinner reflecting the ethnic cuisine of a diverse group of Muslim backgrounds will be provided.
Islamic Music Workshop: A presentation by Native Deen on music in Islam
Date: October 20th, 2008
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=50
Native Deen, a music group that began as three young Muslims possessing unique talents and aspirations, will deliver a modern fusion of Hip-Hop and R&B flavors. Through an interactive workshop, they will discuss the background of their music and reason for delivering their message using only percussion instruments. The majority of their discussion will focus on how they have fused Islam and music, and the difficulties they have faced along the way. Further, they will elaborate upon the weight their careers carry on the American Muslim social fabric.
Journey to Spirituality through Islam in the West: Imam Zaid Shakir discusses the method for which many have come to Islam in a post 9/11 era
Date: October 21st, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Terrace Room, Logan Hall
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=71
One of the most recognized scholars in America today and visiting faculty member of the respected Zaytuna Institute, Imam Zaid Shakir will deliver a powerful lecture on Islam, spirituality, and its presence in the West, especially after the atrocities of 9/11. More specifically, he will elaborate upon how it has led many non-Muslims, both African-American and Caucasians, to embrace the fastest growing faith in the world.
Interfaith: The Similarity between the Three Abrahamic Faiths- An Academic Look on the greatly overlapping principles and ethics of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism
Date: October 22nd, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Hall of Flags, Houston Hall
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=50
Dr. Dirks, a former Harvard educated Christian minister and now Muslim academic, an expert in comparative religion will deliver an enlightening presentation on Islam, Christianity, and Judaism to bridge the great divide of misunderstanding that exists in a post 9/11 era. As a former Christian minister, Dr. Dirks brings a perspective from both sides of faith while maintaining expertise in an understanding of Judaism. This event should help shed light concerning the present myth of the outcast image of Islam, rather a faith that is far more similar to others, which is otherwise unknown.
Islamic Comedy Workshop: Baba Ali (Ali Ardekani) presents Ummah Films
Date: October 23rd, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Terrace Room, Logan Hall
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=71
They say laughing is healthy. Baba Ali, although known for his YouTube videos, will do some stand up comedy along with showing a few of his now famous Ummah Film videos on YouTube. Afterwards, he will give a talk on how Islamic comedy has become a bastion for critical, yet funny minds, such as Azhar Usman and Preacher Moss. Through this, he will elaborate upon the medium of communication he has utilized through YouTube to convey the etiquette of his faith and flaws he finds with the Muslim Ummah today.
State and Need for Dawah in the West: Taha Abdul-Basser discusses how Muslims must revive this aspect of Islam if we are to be better understood in a post 9/11 world
Date: October 24th, 2008
Time: 1:15 pm
Location: College Green in front of College Hall
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=20
Harvard Chaplain and well-studied individual of Islam, Taha Abdul-Basser will deliver the Friday sermon on the lack of Dawah (invitation) on the part of Muslims in North America, not only to convey a message of submission to God alone but also to wash away misconceptions some share about Islam. Seven years after 9/11, Taha Abdul-Basser will elucidate on the importance of such education, sharing important Prophetic narratives and other occurrences in Islamic tradition that epitomize the magnitude of this act. We expect many non-Muslims to observe our Jummah outside, visually understanding the importance of this holy day.
Project Downtown: Joining people of varying origins, faiths, and practices for a day of community service
Date: October 25th, 2008
Time: 10:00 am
Location: Huntsman Hall, Locust Walk Entrance
Directions: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_bldg.php3?id=146
Students from a wide variety of organizations will get together to give back to the Philadelphia community. This event, in conjunction with Project Downtown Philadelphia will mainly involve handing food and clothing to the homeless of Philadelphia. The community service event is an effort to benefit the underprivileged of Philadelphia with meals and clothing considering their inability to easily attain such necessities.
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Suhail Dar
Wharton School Class of 2009
University of Pennsylvania
Mobile: (330)-703-4714
suh...@sas.upenn.edu
