Community Matters

On July 23, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared July Muslim American Heritage Month, joining only a few states that recognize the month.

“Today Utah is enriched by its Muslim American people and culture in the arts, cuisine, business, government and sports,” reads a declaration from Cox. “For over a century, Muslims have been making valuable contributions to virtually every aspect of American society.”

The declaration, announced by the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, also recognizes that bigotry, stereotypes and anti-Muslim hate speech and actions have resulted in Muslim American history being neglected and says that such abuses must be combated with education and awareness.

The division expressed gratitude for the advocacy work of the Utah Muslim Civic League on social media.

“We are extremely thankful,” said Luna Banuri, the league’s executive director. “The reaction from the community has been varying. Some had not heard about it, and some had looked at it as the gateway to solutions for every issue the Muslims face in their daily life to be solved by this proclamation.”

Banuri added that the Utah Muslim Civic League is planning a celebratory event and hopes to have a monthlong celebration in 2023 that highlights various ethnic communities within the larger Muslim community through food and culture.

She said ideas for such a month stretch back to 2020, when the league’s advocacy efforts for the state’s Bosnian community resulted in then-Gov. Gary Herbert, Salt Lake City mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County mayor Jenny Wilson issuing proclamations marking the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. Banuri said active conversations with Cox’s team about the month began at the beginning of this year.

Muslim American Heritage Month certainly isn’t the only month in the U.S. dedicated to celebrating an ethnic heritage; however, it may be the newest. Arab American Heritage Month, which gained federal recognition last April, is a close second.

Illinois celebrates the month in January, and Washington State celebrates it in July. Both states began recognizing the month in 2022.

Chicago freelance journalist Tasmiha Khan is among the awardees selected as the 2022-23 Richard C. Longworth Media Fellows.

A collaboration with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Longworth Media fellowships promote international reporting by Chicago and Midwestern journalists. Fellowships in the amount of $10,000 are awarded each year, thanks to a grant provided by the Clinton Family Fund to honor Longworth, a former Chicago Tribune foreign correspondent and current Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council.

The fellowships seek to reconnect Midwestern readers with international stories that impact their daily lives after years of financial pressure forced regional outlets to cut foreign correspondents from their staffs.

For her project, Khan will report on religious communities in the Midwest and South Asia and how they think about adhering to their religious values as they arrive in the Midwest as immigrants. She will focus primarily on the South Asian community, beginning with Bangladeshis and potentially other immigrant communities. Her reporting will look at immigrants’ relationships with religion across borders: How does the family back home influence the adherence and expression of religious faith among immigrants in the U.S.?

Khan’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vox, among other outlets. Currently, she covers a wide range of topics related to health, race, politics, culture and religion. This past year, Khan was named a fellow for Knight Science Journalism at MIT and an Interfaith Youth Core/Religion News Service Religion Journalism fellow. She has also founded Brighter Dawns, a nonprofit that addresses health concerns for women in Bangladesh. President Obama invited her to the White House twice in recognition of this initiative.

Founded in 1922, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs.

Khizr Muazzam Khan, a Gold Star father whose son, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, was killed in 2004 during the Iraq War, was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

The medal is awarded to those who “have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors” by the sitting U.S. president.

Khan, a prominent advocate for the rule of law and religious freedom, served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom under Biden. He is the founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center.

The Illinois-based Nagamia International Institute of Islamic Medicine and Science (NIIMS) inaugurated the “Rare Quranic collection of Antique Qurans and

Quranic Manuscripts” on June 13 at the NIIMS Museum/Library, in the Rolling Meadows suburb of Chicago.

Some pieces are 600 years old. Among them are the oldest historic Qurans in the U.S. This collection includes almost a 100 Qurans and Quranic manuscripts, all hand-written, some of them on bamboo, palm trees and leather. The press release stated that NIIMS is the nation’s first library to acquire this treasure.

“We are honored to have these [the Quranic collection and “priceless” Quranic manuscripts] on display at the NIIMS Museum,” a spokesperson for NIIMS is quoted as saying in the press release. It urges the public to donate to the initiative by visiting flipcause.com.

Bennington College students Muhammad Ammar and Ahmed Shuwehdi have started a Muslim Students Association to help promote the needs of Muslim students.

The platform’s goal is to not only represent the college’s Muslim students, but also to become a channel through which they can freely, safely and comfortably practice their faith on campus.

This event has sparked interest within the community. The students have already made Ramadan food service arrangements and obtained a designated prayer space in a college facility. The building is equipped with multiple prayer mats, a shoe rack, a small ablution space and an occupancy indicator that allows them to pray free from any interruptions.

Looking forward, the association is planning more activities for the general public.

This local MSA is also collaborating with the resettled Afghan families in the area and hope to host events on campus.

Ammar told the Bennington (Vt.) Banner July 4, “We have also been planning educational events that allow us to educate our wider college community on how to actively counter and dismantle Islamophobia in our community.” The Islamic Center of Tacoma moved into their new $11 million, 60,000 sq. ft. facility.

“The Lord blessed us to have a whole community for us to be here so we can show and share our bread and share our love with the rest of our society,” Imam Abdulhakim Mohammed, the center’s executive director, said addressing the Eid al-Adha congregation.

The new Islamic Center which, includes a mosque, fitness gyms, café, a food bank, Sunday school, a clinic, and a minaret, replaces the center’s former mosque, which was heavily damaged by arson in October.

Castle Rock (Dakota County, Minn.) township hall’s board of supervisors unanimously approved Al Maghfirah Cemetery’s request to use a building on site as a prayer room and space for ritual washing for burial.

The town board approved the permit on the condition that the cemetery either put up fencing or plant trees as screening anywhere the cemetery abuts houses.

CAIR Minnesota chapter executive director Jaylani Hussein said, “This cemetery is going to serve the metro-area Muslim community for more than 100 years.”

The permit allows a prayer room or mosque and a space for bodies to be washed without chemicals or embalming, as well as a second structure to hold cemetery equipment, including an excavator to dig graves and landscaping equipment.

The 73-acre cemetery in a rural area near Farmington will provide a final resting place for members of the Muslim community, which has just one other cemetery in Burnsville, accepting new burials in the metro area.

CAIR has advocated for the cemetery since 2015. ih

ACHIEVERS

Najeeba Syeed started as the inaugural El-Hibri endowed chair and executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg University on Aug. 1.

In this role, she functions as a national interfaith ambassador and partner with campus leaders as a change agent for interreligious learning and living. She is also the faculty advisor for Augsburg’s Interfaith Scholars.

Last year, Fuad and Nancy El-Hibri gave a significant gift to the university to create the El-Hibri Endowed Chair and executive directorship for the Interfaith Institute.

“Professor Syeed is an experienced mediator, a publicly-engaged scholar, a passionate educator and a seasoned organizational leader,” said Augsburg president Paul C. Pribbenow. “This appointment represents a crucial and exciting step forward in our commitment to enhancing interfaith leadership on campus and nationally.”

An award-winning educator, Syeed has taught extensively on interreligious education and published articles on faith and community-based conflict resolution, restorative justice and interfaith just peacemaking. She previously worked for 10 years as an associate professor at the Claremont School of Theology; held faculty positions at Starr King School for the Ministry and Chicago Theological Seminary, where she was most recently associate professor of Muslim and interreligious studies; as the co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Religion and Politics Section; and as a member of the Academy’s Religion, Social Conflict and Peace Section.

Syeed (BS, Guilford College; JD, Indiana University School of Law) also brings significant executive experience to organizations focused on conflict resolution in community, higher education and government settings, including the Western Justice Center Foundation and the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center. In 2021, she held the post of chief of staff to Nithya Raman, the first Asian American woman elected to the Los Angeles city council.

Huda Alkaff, founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims, received the Bill Iwen Environmental Justice Award, which

was established by Midwest Environmental Advocate.

The award, presented at the 4th Annual Environmental Justice Awards Celebration on Oct. 11, was established in 2019 to honor local leaders who make a lasting difference in Wisconsin by advocating for the rights of all people to live in a clean and healthy environment.

Alkaff is an ecologist, environmental educator and founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims, a grassroots organization that addresses environmental justice issues related to climate change, clean air and water, healthy food, solar energy, energy efficiency, waste reduction and transportation equity. For over two decades, she has advocated for environmental justice, initiating Muslim and interfaith programs on energy and water conservation. She is a program manager at Milwaukee Environmental Consortium and the coordinator of Wisconsin Faith Communities for Equitable Solar.

Alkaff has been recognized by the 2015 White House Champions of Change for Faith Climate Justice Leaders, the 2016 Sierra Club Great Waters group Environmental Hero of the Year, the 2017 Environment America’s Voices for 100 percent Renewable Energy, the 2018 Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education Eco-Justice Award, the RE-AMP Network Superstar award, the 2021 Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award and the 2022 American Climate Leadership Award Finalist.

Dr. Shereef Elnahal confirmed as Under Secretary for Health at the Veterans Health Administration by the Senate on July 21. He is now one of the Biden Administration’s highest-ranking Muslim American appointee will oversee hundreds of hospitals and clinics that comprise the largest health care system in the nation.

Elnahal (BS, Johns Hopkins ’07; MBA, Harvard ’12; MD, Harvard ’12) has a longstanding history of working to advance and deliver healthcare to vulnerable populations throughout his professional career. In 2015, he was a White House Fellow for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and later served as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary until 2018.

Following that, he became New Jersey’s health commissioner, making history as the youngest and first Muslim American to hold the job. His success in that role resulted in him becoming CEO and president of University Hospital, New Jersey’s only public acute-care hospital.

Judge Enrique Medina Ochoa swears in Laila Ikram as her husband Javid holds the Quran being used in the ceremony.

Laila Ikram was sworn in as a judge pro tempore by Judge Enrique Medina Ochoa (who sponsored her for the position), the justice of the peace for the Downtown Justice Court Precinct in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 27.

Ikram, who becomes the state’s first Muslim and the first hijabi judge, was the first one to swear the oath of office on a Quran.

Pro tempora — or “pro tem” for short — judges fill in on matters when full-time judges cannot. Being a pro-tem judge can be a starting point to being appointed a permanent judge.

Ikram, a North Carolina native and graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, will be filling in for judges in the county’s Justice Courts, which are some of the most high-volume courts in the state.

Chaplain Aida Mansoor, founder of the Moslem Coalition, Walk Against Hunger, is director of field education for Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. She was inducted in the Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame (IHHF) on July 14 at the National Immigrant Heritage Center.

She is among the four iconic contributors to the fabric of life in Connecticut and the nation, all of whom represent vast accomplishments, varied backgrounds and religious traditions. It’s the first time that an entire class of inductees are women.

Mansoor, born in the U.K. to Sri Lankan parents, obtained her joint honors BS degree in biochemistry/physiology at King’s College, University of London. She has MAs in community health and in Christian-Muslim relations. She earned her Islamic Chaplaincy Certificate in 2012 and has been presenting about Islam since 1999. She is a board member of the Connecticut Council for Inter-religious Understanding, Hartford Hospital & St. Francis Hospital Pastoral Service Committee and the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford.

Mansoor received the Human Relations Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice in 2011, has been a board member since 2009 and was president of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut from 2011-16.

Amina Waheed’s documentary strand “Fault Lines” won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award for its 2021 episode “Unrelinquished: When Abusers Keep Their Guns.”

The award, given by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, was announced on May 24 in an online ceremony. Other winners for that year’s awards include PBS, USA Today, the New York Times and the Miami Herald.

The documentary, produced by Al Jazeera English in partnership with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, won in the Domestic Broadcast category.

The team included Amina Waheed (producer), Adrienne Haspel (editor), Joel Van Haren (director of photography), Darya Marchenkova (associate producer), and Laila al-Arian (executive producer).

“We are so grateful to the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards for this honor, as well as to our partners at Reveal and to the families who spoke with us despite their tremendous losses,” said al-Arian.

“I hope this film, and the recognition it’s received, will spur action that prevents countless tragic deaths at the hands of armed domestic abusers,” Waheed said.

Al Jazeera English had previously won Robert F. Kennedy Journalism awards for its coverage of the “Arab Spring” protests in 2011 and the Fault Lines’ film on human rights issues in the clothing supply chain in Bangladesh.

Founded by the reporters who covered Robert Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign, the Awards honor outstanding reporting on issues that reflect his concerns, including human rights, social justice and the power of individual action in the U.S. and around the world.

Al Jazeera English, in recent years it has won three Royal Television Society awards, a Peabody and several Emmy awards, including two for Fault Lines’ episodes, the statement added.

Yusra Betul Medik (MD, University of Istanbul, ‘17), resident physician, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health, was named Resident of the Year (first year class) 2021-22. She served as postdoctoral research fellow at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center (2021-18).

Fairfax County (Va.) Sheriff Stacey Kincaid awarded scholarships to area students pursuing criminal justice degrees.

“This diverse group of eight students succeeds academically, faces challenges head on and is passionate about public service,” said Kincaid. “I commend them on their strong work ethics and wish them the very best as they pursue careers in the criminal justice field.”

The Muslim American awardees include Duaa Chaudhry, a second-year student in George Mason University’s Honors Program, majoring in criminology with a concentration in criminal justice and a minor in forensic psychology. She has a 3.9 GPA.

A first-generation college student, her goal is to become a law enforcement officer and make a difference in her community. After obtaining her degree, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in criminal justice.

In addition to her academic achievements, Chaudhry is employed with the George Mason Police Cadet Program. In 2019, she participated in the Virginia State Police Youth Cadet Law Enforcement Program. She is very proud of attaining her black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Nour Mohamed of Fairfax (Va.) received a scholarship to continue her high school education at the United World College-USA (UWC; Montezuma, N.M.).

Mohamed, who completed her sophomore year at W.T. Woodson High school, is among 59 U.S. students selected for the merit-based Davis Scholarships.

UWC is an international high school for 16- to 19-year-olds with 18 campuses worldwide. Its mission is to unite cultures through

ANISHA RAIYAN IQBAL (EDITOR-INchief, The Oracle, [2020-22], the student newspaper of the West Springfield High School, Springfield Va.), Eshaan Mani (executive digital editor, The Kinkaid Falcon, The Kinkaid School, Sugar Land, Tex.) and Farrah-Adhan Muhammad (Poston Butte High School, San Tan Valley, Ariz.) were among the 25 high schoolers who attended the Asian American Journalists Association’s (AAJA). This annual weeklong multicultural journalism training program (JCamp) event was held from July 23 to 29 at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

More than 800 students have graduated from this training programsince the first one was held in 2001. Professional journalists serve as faculty mentors throughout the

education, thereby creating a peaceful, sustainable world. UWC students represent up to 90 countries at some campuses; many come from conflict regions.

Barry University’s School of Law professor, Nadia B. Ahmad — a author, attorney and sustainability expert, is a co-principal investigator within an interdisciplinary team from Barry University, the University of Minnesota, University of Richmond, University of Kansas, and Pennsylvania State University, which has been awarded a threeyear grant of almost $500,000 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to work with communities in designing a framework for creating policies that mitigate these impacts for a more just transition to renewables. The research is intended to expand renewable energy production in the most vulnerable communities with environmental justice considerations.

The three-year grant will support a multi-institutional and community partner collaboration for the project, “Just Energy Transitions and Place.” The project will examine how place-based considerations should be incorporated in federal and state energy transition initiatives. Understanding local considerations such as extreme weather events, environmental and health impacts from the energy sector, political dynamics, tribal land dispossession, land loss, and historical inequities will give researchers an unprecedented, broad set of factors for development of the framework.

week and provide students with hands-on training in writing, reporting, photography, broadcast and online media. JCamp instruction prioritizes the program’s core values: the importance of diversity in the newsroom and in media coverage; the value of cross-cultural communication skills, networking and media ethics; and the fundamentals of leadership, inclusion and collaboration.

Waliya Lari (director of programs and partnerships, AAJA) stated, “Our JCamp students are the future of journalism, and we are so thrilled to welcome them to the AAJA family.”

Students’ expenses were covered, in large part, by the support of donors such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and other generous sponsors. ih

The research will contribute to a growing literature on energy transition policy by identifying opportunities for cross-state learning in policy design and areas where place-based context must be considered for effective and responsive policymaking. The team will use an engaged-research model to ensure this research is connected to the lived experience of communities facing energy transitions.

“The participatory aspect of this research will provide a more integrated assessment of law and policy to examine the specific interaction between changes in land use, energy demands and community dynamics in the presence and absence of fossil fuels and how these factors impact transitions to renewable energies that serve vulnerable communities” said Leticia Diaz, Dean of the Barry University School of Law. ih