Archive for July, 2008|Monthly archive page
Professor, Imam Present ‘A History of Islam in America’
On July 18, Dr. Ihsan Bagby and Imam Qasim Khan will present on “A History of Islam in America” at the Minnesota Dawah Institute.
The presentation, set to begin at 7 p.m., will feature Bagby, a professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky. Bagby has been a key figure in documenting the lives of Muslims in America; in 2000, Bagby conducted the first national survey of mosques in the United States.
“A History of Islam in America” is sponsored by the Muslim Alliance in North America, a national network of mosques, Muslim organizations, and individuals working together to address the needs of Muslim communities.
The Dawah Institute is located at 478 University Avenue in St. Paul, 55103.
Event Brings Muslim Indians’ Struggle to Attention of Minnesotans
By Zafar Siddiqui, Engage Minnesota
“Impunity and the Struggle for Justice in India,” an event sponsored by the Minnesota chapter of the Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA), was a great success.
About 90 people attended the program.
The July 12 event began with the recitation of verses from the Qur’an. After that, Dr. Hyder Khan gave an update on the newly formed Minnesota chapter of Indian Muslim Council – USA. The executive committee of the local chapter is managed by President Dr. Syed Mustafa Shahkhan, Vice President Airaj Ahmed, Secretary Syed Mohammad Asim, and Treasurer Hamed Vaseem. IMC-USA now has 14 chapters nationwide and is working to establish more.
The night’s program featured the award-winning documentary Encountered on Saffron Agenda. This documentary highlighted the extra-judicial killings of Muslims by the government of Gujarat—a state in western India—in connivance with the state police. Read more »
Taking Heart: What Would You Do?
Filed under: Guest, interfaith | Tags: interfaith, Taking Heart, Uncategorized
Leave a Comment By Gail Anderson
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From a Taking Heart dinner,
May 2008. |
What would you do if you saw a store clerk refusing to serve a Muslim customer?
That was the question explored in a recent ABC news story. We will be using that video as our discussion starter at the next Taking Heart, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday July 9 at Masjid Ummat Muhammad, 315 East Lake Street, second floor. A free meal will be served.
There were more than 30 people at our last Taking Heart event at Lake Harriet United Methodist Church. We had discussions about sacred texts and wherever else the conversation took us. Read more »
Bright Spot in Charter-school Report: Tarek Academy
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, Uncategorized
Comments (2) By Marcia Lynx Qualey, Engage Minnesota
On Monday, Minnesota education officials released a report on our state’s charter schools, and not all the news was good. In particular, the achievement gap between white and non-white students has widened considerably. This certainly should give us pause.
But test-score troubles didn’t just hit schools with primarily non-white or low-income students. Math was one area where Minnesota kids seemed to have the hardest time. According to education reformer Joe Nathan, math-passing rates declined by half from third to 11th grades.
But there were some bright spots. The Star Tribune reported that—among schools with a majority of low-income kids—the best math performer was Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy. Indeed, that’s the same charter school that was attacked by Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten. Her charge that the publicly funded institution was “teaching Islam” was shown by the state’s Department of Education to have been unfounded.
At Tarek Academy, 84 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. Eighty-six percent reached math proficiency.
Congratulations to Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy. Read more »
