On Monday, July 24th 2017, Muslim American Leadership Alliance held an event at the historic Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
The event, “Muslim American Journeys: Collecting, Preserving, and Archiving Stories from the Muslim American Community,” in partnership with American Folklife Center and NPR’s StoryCorps oral history project, was a celebration of MALA’s collection of over 350 stories of Muslim Americans.
Many of these stories are archived in the Library of Congress as part of the program.
The occasion also reflected Muslim Americans’ diversity, individuality, innovative contributions to mainstream American society, and assimilation as proud citizens.
Importantly, it also provided a platform for dialogue and discourse, furthering an understanding of the struggles and successes of Muslim Americans.
The archived stories were showcased through a listening session and panel discussion, in which attendees were given the ability to hear intriguing journeys of Muslim Americans through their own first person narration.
Panelists included Ahmed Salim, a native from Pakistan now running for Congress; Supna Zaidi, a Pakistani-American chronicling her life as a liberal Shia growing up in California; and Zabi Rahat, an Afghan refugee who carved out a new life through the opportunities and resources that democracy was able to offer in America.
Stephen Winick from American Folklife Center provided thorough information to the audience about recording and archiving stories from within their communities. Tamara Thompson from StoryCorps highlighted the community partnership with MALA for the past two years.
Due to the success of “Muslim American Journeys,” a similar event will be a part of the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s ‘Inherit Chicago.’ Inherit Chicago is a citywide festival of art, ideas and performances at neighborhood heritage museums and cultural centers.
On behalf of MALA, I would like to invite citizens to join us on October 26th, 2017 at the National Hellenic Museum for an evening that celebrates this ground breaking project and participate in a panel discussion with three storytellers. Registration is free, and the event is open to all. Here is a link to the event: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/muslim-american-journeys-preserving-heritage-and-spotlighting-voices-tickets-36560782284
