Developing a Culturally Inviting Collection

1
Developing a Culturally Inviting Collection

• Reaching the Muslim Population

2
Order of Presentation

• Brief History of Islam in America
• Major Islamic Movements
• Major Islamic Organizations
• Major Publications
• Collection Recommendations

3
Pre-Columbus
Qadir Abdus-Sabur, Ph.D.

• According to Chinese records, first Muslim
  explorers to North America arrived in 1178
• Muslim explorers came to North America before
  Columbus

4
Pre-20th Century

• In about 1863, Muslim immigrants from Syria,
  Lebanon, Jordan start arriving in North America
• In 1915, Albanian Muslims build the first Masjid
  in North America in Connecticut

5
Contemporary History

• In 1926, Polish speaking Tartars build a Masjid
  in New York
• In 1930, African Americans build a Masjid in
  Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
• Masjid in Ross, North Dakota was also built in
  1930s with 100 Muslims attending.

6
U.S. Muslim Population
7
Definition of Terms

• African Americans Those persons of African
  Descent native to the United States
• South Asians Those of Indian/Pakistani,
  Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, or Afghan Descent now
  residing in the United States
• Arabs People from Arabic speaking countries of
  the Middle-East and North Africa who are
  permanent residents or citizens of the United
  States
• African People from the African continent who
  are permanent residents or citizens of the United
  States
• Iranian People of Persian descent, usually from
  Iran, who are permanent residents or citizens of
  the United States
• Turk People of Turkish descent who are permanent
  residents or citizens of the United States
• South-East Asian People of Thailand, Malaysia,
  Indonesia, Indochina, or the Phillipines
• White Americans People of West European descent,
  who are native to the United States
• East Europeans People from various regions of
  Eastern Europe

8
Moorish Science Temple of America (MSTA)

• Timothy Drew (Noble Drew Ali) establishes the
  Moorish Science Temple of America (MSTA) in
  Newark, NJ, in 1933
• Drew Ali reportedly was commissioned by the
  Sultan of Morocco to teach Islam to Negroes in
  the United States.

9
Nation of Islam (NOI)

• Established in 1933
• One of the most significant organizations in
  American Muslim history
• Responsible for converting a high percentage of
  African-Americans to Islam
• It was also effective in highlighting American
  Christians' difficulties combating the effects of
  slavery and racism among African-Americans.

10
NOI History

• The NOI's philosophy was introduced in the United
  States by Fard Muhammad (Wallace Ford), a Muslim
  mystic who disappeared in 1933
• Elijah Mohammed succeeded Fard and built the
  organization into a strong ethnic movement
  advocating Islam as way of life
• Two of the most famous African-Americans,
  Muhammad Ali and Al Hajj Malik al-Shabazz
  (Malcolm X), were early adherents of this
  movement. Both later embraced the broader
  multiethnic concepts of orthodox Islam.

11
Elijah Muhammad

• Leader of the Nation of Islam
• Died in 1975 and is succeeded by his son Warith
  Deen Mohammed

12
AI Hajj Malik al-Shabazz

• 1965 AI Hajj Malik al-Shabazz (Malcolm X) is
  assassinated in New York
• One of the most outstanding Muslims in American
  history as well as a dedicated fighter for
  justice and equality for African-Americans and
  other oppressed people

13
Minister Louis Farrakhan

• Leadership of Imam Warithuddin Mohammed) brought
  drastic changes to the Nation of Islam
• After 3 years and a re-appraisal of the condition
  of Black people, Minister Farrakhan decided to
  return to the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah
  Muhammad and its proven ability to uplift and
  reform Blacks.

14
Warith Deen Mohammed

• Son of Elijah Muhammad
• Credited with moving the NOI toward the broader
  universal concepts of Islam. He is now regarded
  as one of the leading Muslim spokesmen in the
  United States.

15
Islamic Society of North America

• 1982 The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
  is established in Plainfield, IN. ISNA is now an
  umbrella organization for many active Islamic
  groups seeking to further the cause of Islam in
  the United States.

16
ISNAs Head

• Dr. Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, Secretary General of
  the Islamic Society of North America.

17
Muslim Students Association (MSA)

• Established 1963 as an organization to aid
  foreign Muslim students attending schools in the
  United States
• MSA now has more than 100 branches nationwide.
• In the 1970's it gave birth to the Islamic
  Medical Association (IMA), the Association of
  Muslim Social Scientist (AMSS), and the
  Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers
  (AMSE).

18
Professional Journals

• Established in the 1970s, these associations
  publish professional journals
• Islamic Medical Association (IMA)
• Association of Muslim Social Scientist (AMSS)
• Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers
  (AMSE).

19
Muhammad Speaks Newspaper

• Established in 1962, it later becomes the
  largest minority weekly publication in the
  country and reached 800,000 readers at its peak
• It has undergone several changes
• Bilalian News
• The A.M. Journal
• The Muslim Journal.

20
Islamic Magazines

• Islamic Magazine
• Islamic Horizons
• Al Jumuah Magazine
• Azizah Magazine
• The Guidance Magazine
• The American Muslim Magazine

21
Islamic Magazines Cont.

• Emel The Muslim Lifestyle Magazine
• The Message International Magazine
• All are available from http//islamicbookstore.com
  /gifts-islamic-magazines.html

22
Additional Suggestions

• English translation of Quran
• Collection of Hadith by Shahid Bukarah
• Collection of Hadith by Muslim
• Forty Hadith by Nawawi
• http//www.halalco.com/books.html

23
Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb (1846-1916)

• appointed by President Cleveland to be Consular
  Representative to the Philippines
• in 1888 declared himself a Muslim
• the first Anglo-American convert to Islam
• founded the American Islamic Press one of the
  earliest mosques in New York City
• His Muslim Mission in Manhattan (1893) was among
  the first Islamic Missions in the United States.