Restoring the Balance Through Scholarship and Creational Stewardship
Ramadan Earth Day Iftar with Dr. Sarra Tlili, Isra Hirsi, and Huda Alkaff, with Preacher Moss serving as MC
Date: Friday, April 22, 2022
Time: 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM CT
Tickets: $65.00, early bird $50.00 until April 18
Venue: South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S South Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60649
Our 2022 Ramadan Gala will be hosted by Preacher Moss, an all-star comedian and educator whose work synthesizes storytelling, education, comedy and activism. Dr. Sarra Tlili, Isra Hirsi, and Huda Alkaff will participate in a joint discussion on Islam and the Quranic imperative to restore the environmental balance.
Dr. Tlili is a scholar of Arab & Islamic Studies and an Associate Professor at the University of Florida where she teaches Arabic literature and culture at the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. She received her Ph.D. in 2009 from the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Her primary research area is animals in Islam. Her book, Animals in the Qur’an, offers a non-anthropocentric reading of the Islamic scripture and proposes new ways of thinking about animals. In other publications, she explores environmental and animal ethics in a variety of Islamic texts and historical periods. is a scholar of Arab and Islamic studies.
Huda Alkaff is an ecologist, environmental educator, and the founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims, a grassroots environmental justice group formed in 2005 connecting faith, environmental justice, sustainability, and healing through education and service. For over two decades, Alkaff has advocated for environmental justice, initiating Muslim and interfaith programs on energy and water conservation. Alkaff received several awards including the 2015 White House Champions of Change for Faith, Climate and Justice Leaders by President Barack Obama.
Isra Hirsi is a high school student from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a climate and racial justice advocate who is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the US Youth Climate Strike. She led the organization of hundreds of strikes across the country on March 15th and May 3rd. Hirsi started her climate activism her freshman year of high school by joining her schools environmental club. Driven by her identity as a Black Muslim woman in this work, Hirsi has been a longtime advocate for intersectionality and diversity within the climate justice movement as well as in her daily life.
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