Date: Wednesday,  December 9, 2020
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm talk, followed by Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

Get Her Book: The Mind of an Entrepreneur: Discover Mental Strategies For Navigating The World of Business
Podcast: The Mind of An Entrepreneur

Wendy is an International Entrepreneur. She is currently President and the Director of Business Affairs for the Minimally Invasive Vascular Centers where, along with her Business Partner, she has developed a progressive new business model for outpatient surgery centers and micro-hospitals. The brand has recently expanded to major markets throughout the U.S. and Africa. Their state-of-the-art facilities have revolutionized the delivery of advanced healthcare services to marginalized communities around the world.

Wendy is a Franchisee Partner that owns and operates an Award-Winning Massage Envy in Downtown Silver Spring Maryland. She was recently nominated for Franchisee of the Year 2019 and also sits on the National Franchisee Advertising Board for Massage Envy.

Wendy is the creator and developer of the Mind of an Entrepreneur™ brand that currently produces and facilitates books, radio shows and film projects on business development and mental strategies for navigating the world of business. The Mind of an Entrepreneur™ brand also focuses on helping members of marginalized communities open the pathways to wealth and abundance through owning and operating businesses and introducing much needed goods and services into their communities.

Wendy has also expanded her Business Consulting Practice to include Hospital Investments, Turnaround Consulting and Healthcare Acquisitions. One of her new exciting ventures includes the reclamation and renovation of a turn of the century mansion that was once the former home of the Honorable Elijah Muhamad. The building will be the new home of the Mind of an Entrepreneur™ that will serve as a cultural exhibit as well as, a training and development center for entrepreneurs from marginalized communities around the world.

As a Business Consultant, Executive Project Manager and Business Thought Leader, she has trained thousands of entrepreneurs and emerging leaders and managed over $500 million in Projects. She has served as Crisis Manager for many Corporations, Executives and Celebrities.

Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Time: 11:30 am CT – 1:00 pm CT
Where: Virtual, RSVP to get links

11:30 am
Welcoming Remarks
Exploring the transformative vision and mission of AIC
Q & A

PART 1: ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, REGISTRATION, FINANCIAL AID & SCHOLARSHIPS
11:40 am
Degree Program Offerings, Chaplaincy Program, Arabic Language Institute, & Course information for Non-degree seeking students
Admissions Information
Financial Aid and Scholarship Info
Q & A
Meet with Faculty: Dr. Shabana Mir, Dr. Omer Awass, & Dr. Talaat Pasha
Q & A

PART 2: STUDENT LIFE
12:10 pm
Housing
Campus Events
Student Organizations & Clubs
Student/Alumni Reflection
Q & A

Dr. Shabana Mir contributed a chapter to The Routledge Handbook of Islam and Gender, titled “French Muslim women’s clothes: the secular state’s religious war against racialized women.” The Handbook is an educational reference that responds to political scrutiny of Islam and Muslims, which often centers on gendered concerns.

Dr. Mir also spoke on the important topic of “Islam, Race, & COVID-19: A Conversation” hosted by Boston University. The conversation was moderated by Dr. Kecia Ali. Panelists included, Dr. Kameelah Rashad and Dr. Donna Auston.

Linda Maryam Millan is an AIC Senior finishing her Civic Engagement Internship this semester at the Center for Changing Lives (CCL) in Chicago. CCL is a Financial Opportunity Center. It offers financially focused services to individuals and families who may be currently experiencing homelessness, housing or financial hardship, or in need of self improvement goals in any of those areas. CCL works with clients through financial, employment, and resource development to advance the skills and capacities needed to achieve their life’s vision. Linda works as an Outreach and Community Engagement Coordinator using her project and program management talents and bilingual skills in Spanish and English for new member orientation and for managing volunteers on the Chicago Connect program (a free Internet plan for qualifying Chicago Public School families). As part of her internship, she has already worked on process improvements to the new member intake process. CCL is unique in its approach. It believes that everybody is resourceful, creative and whole. The coaches are there for support and to provide tools for members to self-actualize and achieve their personal goals.

“I want to uplift Linda Maryam Millan, who is extremely thoughtful, diligent, and brings her passion for community service, as a non-profit employee, to her study of Sociology, always seeking practical applications for her theoretical knowledge.” -Dr. Shabana Mir

Register for a virtual information session to learn more about degree programs, course offerings, scholarships, and how to apply.

30-minute sessions

Information sessions are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 AM Central Time. Please contact Ozlen Keskin at registrar@aicusa.edu to schedule a virtual information session.

Film: American Muslim
Date: Thursday,  January 21, 2021
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Speakers: Discussion with the filmmaker, Adam Zucker, and Assoc. Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Shabana Mir
Registration: Virtual Event on Zoom

Register to receive the link to the film and secure your space at the discussion where you will have the opportunity to meet with the filmmaker, Adam Zucker.

Five Muslim Americans, each once an immigrant and now a naturalized citizen, are forced to contend with a changing world in the Age of Trump. The filmmaker chronicles five diverse Muslims in his hometown of New York City, telling the stories of an Indonesian Imam in Jamaica, a Bengali small businessman in Ozone Park, a Yemeni activist in Ditmas Park, a Palestinian community organizer in Bay Ridge, and an Algerian mosque director in Sunset Park. Together they create a composite portrait of Muslim life today.

Firmly committed to the U.S., they find their presence here questioned in ways never imagined, and each fights back against the Muslim Ban while continuing to explore a Muslim identity. Across the year a half period from the President’s Inauguration to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Ban, Shamsi, Kobir, Debbie, Aber and Mohamed navigate the constantly evolving reality of being an American Muslim.

Learn more about the film at: www.americanmuslimfilm.com

Adam Zucker is an independent filmmaker and editor. His most recent documentary is American Muslim (2019), chronicling five diverse Muslim Americans in New York City dealing with a changing landscape in the Age of Trump. Previous films are The Return (2014), a film about young Jews in Poland today rediscovering their Jewish identity, which was shot over a four year period in Poland, Israel and the U.S. The film has screened at over 75 film festivals, community centers, synagogues and universities in the U.S., and in 13 other countries. Prior to that, Zucker released Greensboro: Closer to the Truth (2007, about the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission held in the U.S), which received the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Rome International Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Dead Center Film Festival. Its associated Audience Engagement campaign, The Closer to the Truth Project, ran workshops and study sessions in dozens of American communities looking to re-examine their own parallel, deep-seated social problems.

Adam produced and directed the third episode of the Emmy-award winning series Free to Dance (2003, PBS), and he has received grants from the Sundance Documentary Fund, Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, The Southern Humanities Media Fund, The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture, The Foundation for Jewish Culture and many others.

Adam is simultaneously an award-winning editor and has cut dozens of feature documentaries. Edited projects include Dori Berinstein’s Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (Tribeca Film Festival, theatrical), Rory Kennedy’s American Hollow (Sundance Film Festival, HBO), Sue Williams’ Death by Design, Michael Kantor’s Broadway: The American Musical (PBS), Madison Davis Lacy’s Richard Wright: Black Boy (PBS), Ken Burns and Steve Ives’ The West (PBS), Josef Astor’s Lost Bohemia (theatrical) and Dori Berinstein’s Show Business and Gotta Dance (both Tribeca Film Festival and theatrical). Adam has edited numerous films in the PBS American Masters and American Experience series, and has taught at the Rockport Film Workshops, Lee Strasberg Institute, Downtown Community Television, Film/Video Arts and for a number of years has served as an Editing Mentor at the IFP Documentary Rough Cuts Lab.

Shabana Mir is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of Undergraduate Studies. She teaches Islamic Studies, Gender Studies, Research Methods, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Muslim American and Muslim World Literature. She is the author of the award-winning book Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity, published by the University of North Carolina Press (2014). The book has received the Outstanding Book Award from the National Association for Ethnic Studies and the Critics’ Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association (2014). Shabana taught at Millikin University, University of Southern California online, Oklahoma State University, Indiana University, Eastern Illinois University, and the International Islamic University (Islamabad). She received the Outstanding Dissertation Award for her doctoral dissertation from the American Anthropological Association’s Council on Anthropology and Education (2006). She conducted ethnographic fieldwork in the Washington, DC area, as Visiting Researcher at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University. She also has an M.A. in English Literature from Punjab University, Pakistan and an M.Phil. in Education from Cambridge University (U.K.). Dr. Mir has lived, studied, and taught in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan. She has worked as a curriculum designer, residence hall director, retreat leader, faculty development expert, and research consultant in a variety of settings. Shabana has written academic chapters, journal articles, children’s literature, a blog, and, of course, her book. She is an international public speaker on gender, religion, education, and politics. She speaks English, Urdu and Punjabi, and some Arabic and Farsi.

This program is brought to you by A Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at the Lutheran School of Theology and American Islamic College.

Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Registration: Zoom

Join President Timothy Gianotti for an unscripted discussion about AIC, its unique approach to transformative, holistic education, its current programs, new programs in the making, and his vision for the College’s future.

Date: Wednesday,  January 27, 2021
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm talk, including Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

Dr. Muna Ali holds a PhD in anthropology from Arizona State University. Her research focuses on American Muslims, Western Muslims, religion in the public sphere, and on the social determinants of health. She has authored articles and book chapters on Muslim Americans and on Islam and bioethics. Her book titled “Young Muslim America: Faith, Community and Belonging” focuses on the perspectives of diverse younger generations of Muslims on identity and on their assessment of the American Muslim community and society.

Dr. Ali also holds a doctorate in physical therapy. She co-founded the Islamic Center of North East Valley, the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona, the Arizona Muslim Historical Society, and the Rumi Center.

Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm talk, including Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

Malcolm X’s biography opened a doorway to a forgotten story in Dr. Rahim’s family history–one that was lost due to the war, communism, and genocide. Dr. Rahim will share his personal tale about exploring his ethnic history and religious identity after converting to Islam in America.

Emad Rahim is a Khmer American and survivor of the Cambodian Killing Fields whose life was turned into the short documentary “Against the Odds“: (F.A.M.E. ‘US International Film Festival’s 2016 Bronze Award Winner), and adapted into a theater production titled “Tales from the Salt City,” which is an extension of the acclaimed Undesirable Elements series written by celebrated playwright and Presidential National Medals of Arts Award recipient, Ping Chong. He has been featured in the Huffington Post, Rutgers’ The Humanist, Forbes, CEO Magazine, WorldClass Magazine, The Post Standard and covered by BBC and NPR.

Rahim was born in a concentration camp in the Killing Fields of Cambodia. He arrived to the United States with his family as a refugee living in Brooklyn New York and was raised in Syracuse NY. After struggling with street violence, gangs, drugs, poverty, family abuse and dyslexia as an adolescent, he found his way through higher education to become an award-winning educator, entrepreneur, author and community leader.

Rahim currently serves as the Kotouc Family Endowed Chair and Professor at Bellevue University and Dean of Social Impact at Claremont Lincoln University. He is an award-winning entrepreneur, educator, Fulbright Recipient and TEDx Speaker. He was the former Dean at Colorado Tech and Strayer University, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Oklahoma State University and Syracuse University, and Visiting Scholar at Rutgers University.

For more info: www.emadrahim.com

Date: Thursday,  November 12, 2020
Time: 6:30 pm -7:30 pm talk including Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

Laila Al-Arian is an Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker, investigative journalist, author and executive producer of “Fault Lines,” a U.S.-based documentary and current affairs program on Al Jazeera English. In her talk, she will discuss what led her to journalism, including the coverage of Islam, Muslims and the Middle East when she was growing up in the 80s and 90s, the challenges she has faced along the way, how storytelling can be effective and the importance of having Muslims involving, working and leading in one of the most influential spaces in public life.

Laila Al-Arian is a Washington DC-based journalist and the executive producer of Fault Lines, an award-winning current affairs program on Al Jazeera English. She has produced documentaries on subjects ranging from the Trump administration’s Muslim ban to the impact of the heroin epidemic on children and an investigation into factory conditions producing garments for Walmart and Gap in Bangladesh. For her work, she has been honored with two News and Documentary Emmys, a Peabody Award, a Robert F Kennedy Award in journalism, Overseas Press Club award, National Headliner Award, and has been nominated for 14 News and Documentary Emmys.

Prior to joining Fault Lines, Laila worked for Al Jazeera English for four years, covering everything from Guantanamo Bay’s youngest detainee to the re-settlement of Iraqi refugees in the U.S. She received a BA in English literature from Georgetown University and an M.S. from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in The Nation, Salon, The Independent, and other publications, and she is co-author of the book Collateral Damage: America’s War Against Iraqi Civilians.