[Peace] CIMIC events March 9 - 12

[Naeem Sheikh]

Dear Subscribers to CIMIC Events List:

UIUC Muslim Students Association (MSA) is having their annual Unity 
Week this coming week. Here are the events:

Sunday and Monday: "Muslims in America: A History", a traveling 
documents and photography exhibit. A history of the Muslims from the 
pre-slave period, to Civil Rights, to the significance of the Nation 
of Islam, and current times.

"Muslims in America: A History" is a traveling photography and 
documentary exhibit that has been seen throughout many campuses, 
including Harvard University, Howard University, University of Indiana 
Bloomington, and Stanford University to name a few, as well as the 
Smithsonian's Anacostia Museum and Center for African History and 
Culture.  The exhibit represents the first major national exhibition 
that brings together an extraordinary range of documents and photos of 
Muslim Americans, and of the Muslims of the African Diaspora.  
Throughout America's history Muslims have played a significant role. 
Yet, in the history books of the United States our voices and our 
experiences are not told.

Sunday, March 9th : Exhibit opens at 6 pm at Central Illinois Mosque 
and Islamic Center (106 S. Lincoln). Presentation given by exhibitor 
Amir Muhammad at 8 pm.

Monday, March 10th :  9 am to 6 pm in Union 215; Lecture by Amir 
Muhammad at 8 pm in Union 314.


Tuesday, March 11th: The Night of Poetry, Islamic Poetry recited in 8 
different languages 8 pm at Asian American Cultural Center, UIUC 
campus


Wednesday, March 12th: PBS Documentary Screening, Prince Among Slaves 
8:45 PM, Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center

About the movie from the PBS website:

The inspiring true story of an African prince who survived 40 years of 
enslavement in America before finally regaining his freedom.

Abdul Rahman was captured in 1788 and sold into slavery in the 
American South. He endured the horrific Middle Passage and ended up 
the "property" of a poor and nearly illiterate planter from Natchez, 
Mississippi, named Thomas Foster. Rahman remained enslaved for 40 
years before finally regaining his freedom under dramatic 
circumstances, becoming one of the most famous men of his day. He 
returned to Africa, his royal status acknowledged. PRINCE AMONG SLAVES 
ends with a family reunion of Rahman's African and American 
descendents in Natchez, Mississippi.

"Abdul Rahman survived the harsh ordeals of slavery through his love 
of family and his deep abiding faith," says co-executive producer 
Michael Wolfe." The film depicts a universal story of perseverance and 
hope. Abdul endured unimaginable indignities and faced immeasurable 
odds, yet managed to survive his long fall from royalty with character 
and integrity intact."

"I was immediately attracted to this story because of its powerful 
message," re-enactment director and supervisory producer Bill Duke 
says. "Too many people continue to be enslaved by poverty, drugs and 
bad decisions. But like Abdul Rahman, they can come out of it and 
regain their dignity and respect."

The film contains insight from a distinguished and diverse group of 
experts such as Terry Alford, whose historical biography inspired the 
film; best-selling journalist and popular historian Adam Hochschild; 
K. Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at Princeton University; 
the late novelist Bebe Moore Campbell; Sylviane A. Diouf, renowned 
scholar and author; Michael Gomez, professor of history at NYU; 
historian David S. Dreyer; Artemus Gaye, a descendant of Abdul Rahman; 
and Hamza Yusuf Hanson and Zaid Shakir, Islamic scholars at the 
Zaytuna Institute.


--

Naeem Sheikh
on behalf of MSA