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

Nur Amali Ibrahim is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. He is broadly interested in the governance of populations and forms of citizen politics in the contemporary moment. His first book, Improvisational Islam: Indonesian Youth in a Time of Possibility (Cornell University Press, 2018), examines Muslim student activism in Indonesia following the nation’s political transition from authoritarianism to democracy.

Date: Wednesday,  February 10, 2021
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm talk, including Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

The popular Arabic epic Sīrat ‘Antar, which spotlights the heroic exploits of the half-Ethiopian, half-Arab 6th-century warrior and poet ‘Antarah ibn Shaddād, is the most well-known source of its kind for modern readers in the Arabic-speaking world and beyond. It is also based on the life and words of a real historical figure. But what did it mean for ‘Antarah to be half-Black—both in his own lifetime and in his legendary legacy as an Arab-Muslim epic hero? This talk analyzes how racial constructs and the social structures that manage and perpetuate them change from the pre-Islamic period through Islam’s formative centuries, spanning when the historical ‘Antarah was alive and when the existence of his epic is first attested in the 1100s. Throughout the talk, we will explore the ways that using popular literary sources can illuminate aspects of racial representation that are not as present elsewhere in the premodern Arabic register, and consider why this might be so.

Rachel Schine holds a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago. She is presently a postdoctoral associate and instructor of Arabic literature and culture at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations. Her current book project, Black Knights: Arabic Epic and the Making of Medieval Race, explores the origins, literary functions, and social histories of black protagonists in Arabic popular literature, and particularly in the language’s longest epic, Sīrat al-Amīra Dhāt al-Himma. She has published on topics relating to racialization and kinship in Arabic storytelling in, among others, the Journal of Arabic Literature and al-‘Usūr al-Wustā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists.

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: 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: 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: 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.

Date: Wednesday,  September 16, 2020
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm talk, followed by Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

What are some of the challenges in the elusive quest for racial equity in education in the United States? What policies and practices serve to handicap or reinforce these inequities? Where do institutions fall short? Where do they succeed? This talk will grapple with these questions while exploring some key educational inequities, at every level from Pre-K though College, with a focus on the work at several Chicagoland area institutions.

Aisha El-Amin holds a PhD in Policy Studies in Urban Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Masters of Education from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies from the University of Maryland- European Division. Dr. El-Amin is passionate about issues of equity and justice in education. These passions have led her to become an Illinois State Board of Education Certified K-9th grade teacher, an adjunct professor at several colleges and universities, an elected school board member for Community Consolidated School District #168, appointed board member for Routledge journal, Religion and Education, board vice-chair for Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Chicago and board member with Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU). Additionally, Dr. El-Amin has served in several roles at University of Illinois at Chicago as a multi-million dollar education grant manager, director of The Council on Teacher Education, Associate Dean of Student Affairs in the College of Education and currently Associate Provost and Chief of Staff for the Provost.

Dr. El-Amin’s education and experience have allowed her to be the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Muslim Women’s Alliance 2016 Inspiring Women’s Award, Diversifying Faculty in Illinois Fellowship, Illinois Veterans Grant and DePaul/Glenview Clinical Model Scholar and Rainbow Push Excellence in Education Award. Dr. El-Amin’s activism is best captured in her historic leadership roles with various Chicago based organizations. Some of her roles included coordinating committee member of Teachers for Social Justice, co-founder of Bridging the Gap Inc., co-chair of Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) Takin’ it to the Streets event logistics, and co-chair of the Public School Initiative for Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC).

Date: Wednesday,  October 14, 2020
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm talk, followed by Q & A
Online Platform: Zoom

In his talk, Dr. Rizwan will examine the ways in which pre-modern Muslim authorities understood the directive in Q24:2 about not taking mercy when applying 100 lashes to zinā offenders. He will argue that Muslim jurists were in fact willing to grant mercy in certain cases because they were taking into account the ability of an offender to withstand the punishment as well as its unintended consequences. Dr. Rizwan will discuss how notions of mercy can be used to reimagine the criminal law within the context of criminal justice reform.

Syed Atif Rizwan grew up in New Jersey and completed his undergraduate studies at Rutgers University, where he majored in Economics and minored in Chemistry. After graduation, he spent 8 years in the financial services industry, during which time he worked in New Jersey, New York, and Los Angeles. In 2009, he matriculated in Claremont Graduate School’s Master’s in Islamic Studies program, and upon completion of his MA in 2011 he enrolled in the Islamic Studies doctoral program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He graduated from UCLA in June of 2018 and his dissertation title is “The Resurrection of Stoning as Punishment for Zinā in Islamic Criminal Laws: From Zinā Flogging in the Qur’ān to Zinā Stoning in the Islamic Legal Tradition.” In his project, he examines the beginnings of the process by which stoning became an Islamic punishment for certain forms of illicit sexual intercourse in the Islamic legal tradition. Syed currently focuses on Islamic intellectual history, the intersection of Islamic criminal laws and ethics, and interreligious studies and dialogue.

American Islamic College in Chicago welcomed Dr. Syed Rizwan at a virtual event this Wednesday, 14th of October.

In the United States, the eighth amendment protects its citizens from cruel and unusual punishment. Dr. Syed begins looking at Islamic criminal law and simply highlights punishment and mercy as being two crucial points of discussion and analyses. Dr. Rizwan notes that immediately following a punishment clause, which is for those where there are three witnesses, is a statement on forgiveness. Examples of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) telling his constituents that bountiful forgiveness is met through methods of prayer.

The next topic discussed introduces the U.S. criminal justice system and the practice of solitary confinement. Dr. Rizwan through his research has found that solitary confinement affects the individual negatively both emotionally and cognitively. There are signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder within individuals having gone through solitary confinement. Dr. Syed argues that such a tool used by the justice system is incredibly unjust. In addition, a deeper look into the systemic follies of the U.S. justice system may be understood through a prisoner’s debt, because of court imposed fees. The overreaching harms of the criminal justice system in the States needs to be addressed. Thus, when taking a deeper look into mercy as a tangible source of direction in the justice system, it would prove to be a start in dismantling oppressive systems. Dr. Rizwan comments that the philosophy surrounding the mitigation of forgiveness may be a driving force within the realm of legal punishment. Especially, when looking at an act of transgression or homicide, the question one should ask is are certain circumstances pushing the wrongful act? And thus, the individual is not morally blameworthy, but not given the space and tools necessary to cope with a society built upon capitalism.

– Wardah Muhammad
Intern, 2020

Watch the workshop live in one of these platforms:

YouTube Live: https://youtu.be/vUYih__1Nhk
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/americanislamiccollege/live

Dates: Every Saturday during Ramadan (April 25, May 2, May 9, May 16)
Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm each day (Central Time)
Where: Online live stream

Watch previous workshops here.

Dr. Talaat Pasha holds a Ph.D. in Arabic and Linguistics from the University of Utah, MA in theoretical linguistics from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), BA in English language and literature from Egypt and BA in Islamic Studies and Chaplaincy from the renowned Al-Azhar University, Egypt. Dr. Pasha has taught and lectured at several universities in Egypt, University of Illinois, University of Utah, Middlebury College, Henry Ford College, University of Bahrain, and University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. He is currently the director of the Arabic Language Institute at the American Islamic College in Chicago.

Dr. Pasha’s teaching interest is Arabic language, Arabic syntax, morphology, and rhetoric, Arabic linguistics, and critical discourse analysis. The courses Dr. Pasha has taught include the following: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Readings In Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic, Introduction To Sociolinguistics, Introduction To Linguistics, Current Issues In Arabic, Strategies Of Teaching Writing In Arabic, Strategies Of Teaching Reading Arabic.

Dr. Pasha ’s research focuses on critical discourse analysis, language and ideology, Arabic language and linguistics, pedagogy of Arabic as a foreign language (AFL). Dr. Pasha has a forthcoming book by I.B. Tauris, The (Mis) Representation of Islamism: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Egyptian Newspapersˆ.

Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Time: 6:00 pm Light Refreshments; 6:30 pm Talk
Where: Conference Room, Main Bldg, American Islamic College

Believers Bail Out is a volunteer-led effort that posts bail for Muslims brothers and sisters that are held in pretrial and immigrant incarceration using zakat. We seek to create sustainable change by focusing on three areas of concern: prison industrial complex, anti-Muslim racism, and anti-blackness. Join us to learn more about these concepts with Dr. Maryam Kashani, founder and assistant professor of gender and women’s studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“And do you realize what is the steep road? It is the freeing of a human being from bondage” (The Holy Qur’an 90:12-13)

To Volunteer with Believers Bail Out:
If you are interested in helping out our cause and would like to volunteer, join us to learn more about the structure of BBO and how you can help! Sign up on the 31st of March to receive more details!

Maryam Kashani is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Trained as an anthropologist and filmmaker, she is currently working on a book manuscript drawn from her ethnographic fieldwork and filmmaking at Zaytuna College and with Muslim communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. Medina by the Bay will examine Muslim knowledge practices and institution-building in relation to issues of gender, race, visuality, and displacement, telling an interrelated story of American Muslim subject-making and dueling discourses of wealth and poverty, dissent and assimilation. Her films and video installations have been exhibited at festivals, universities, and museums internationally. Visit http://www.maryamkashani.com/ for details on her projects.