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Front view of Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI

America is defined as a melting pot. From Native Americans to European settlers to African slaves and immigrants, all of us have settled in this land and defined ourselves as Americans. Part of what makes America so rich, however, is that each of these groups has its own culture, struggles and story to tell. They write books, build institutions and educate their children to preserve their identity and experience while maintaining their American identity as well.

Arab Americans are no different; they have been part of the fabric of America since its inception and have a fascinating story to tell. A recent exhibit at the Arab American National Museum is highlighting the contributions of Arab Americans in public service. “Patriots and Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country” tells true stories of heroism and self-sacrifice that affirm the substantial role Arab Americans have played in our country throughout its history. The exhibit introduces us to Hadji Ali (An Arab American known as Hi Jolly who became one of the first camel drivers ever hired by the US Army to lead the camel driver experiment in the Southwest in 1856), Ahmed Najuib, who served in the Peace Corps in Rawanda, and many others, including many Arab Americans in the military forces who served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and Iraq and Afghanistan.

The museum also highlights prominent Arab Americans who served in the Diplomatic fields of sports, science, and journalism. Museums in general present a glimpse into the lives and and lifestyles of people from other cultures or times. We visit Civil Rights museums, Natural History Museums, Holocaust Museums, and Native American Museums, all of which tell the stories of their people.

The Arab-American National Museum (AANM) in Deerborn, MI, where the story of Arab Americans began, was established to document, preserve, celebrate and educate the public on the history, life, culture and contribution of Arab Americans. The Patriots and Peacemakers exhibit is one of many events that the museum has held in the past year, both online and in its facility at 13624 Michigan, Ave., Dearborn, MI. Recent events and exhibits have included “Making an Impact,” “The Revolution is Online: Social Media and the Arab World Uprisings,” “The 2011 Arab Film Festival,” “Alfred Shaheen:Fabric to Fashion,” “The Annual Arab American Book Awards,” and the online “Reclaiming Identity: Dismantling Arab Stereotypes”. Currently, the museum is working on an exhibit in New York that will focus on the Syrian community that lived in lower Manhattan (at the site of the World Trade Center) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Welcome Sign in Arabic.

AANM is an ethno-specific museum, not an ethno-centric museum. Working closely with many other organizations such as the Ford Foundation and the Kreske Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the American-Japanese Museum and Culturally Speaking, the AANM serves as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in the US. It is also a part of ACCESS – Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, established in 1971. But most importantly, the museum aims for strong ties with the national Arab American community outside the Michigan area and counts on contributions from members nationwide. To learn more about the museum or the Patriots and Peacemakers exhibit, please visit arabamericanmuseum.org or culturallyspeaking.net.

Pins, needles, and combs are used to swirl the colors into one another, thus producing a design on the surface of the water. Paper or fabric is laid carefully on the design, and as the paper is lifted from the surface of the water, the design transfers completely to the paper. “Ebru” has been used not only for fine works of art displayed in homes and galleries worldwide, but also for backgrounds to caligraphy, borders for inscriptions, and endpapers in finely bound books.

Ebru Artist Garip Ay in Chicago, Il, 2011

My friend and Ebru artist  Garip Ay introduced me to this fascinating art. After graduating from Diyarbakir Fine Arts High School he graduated from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Traditional Turkish Arts Department. Besides calligraphy he majored in Ebru (marbling) as student of Hikmet Barutcugil. He was an assistant of Hikmet Barutcugil and worked in his studio from 2007 until may 2011. He has received the diploma from his ebru master in 2011. He attended several exhibitions and seminars Abroad. Also he developed several projects such as “Drawings on Barut Ebru”.
Some of his workshops are:
• 2009 Turkish Cultural Association. Malmo, Sweden
• 2009 Turkish Cultural Association. Copenhagen Denmark.
• 2010 Aramco Exhibition and Workshops. Dammam, S. Arabia.
• 2010 4. International Islamic Arts Convention. Kuwait.
• 2010 Turkish Cultural Fest. Lisbon Portugal.
• 2010 Kazan Ministry of Culture. Kazan Russia.
• 2010 Turkish Products Exhibition (ITO). Damascus, Syria.
• 2010 International Forum for Islamic Arts‏ (Kuwait)
• 2010 Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi / UAE).
• 2010 Yetenek Sanat Evi Gallery
• 2010 Gallery Kazan Kremlin (Russia).
• 2011 Matka Tourism Fair. Helsinki, Finland.
• 2011 Turkish Products Exhibition (ITO). Tirana, Albania.
• 2011 Chicago Turkish Festival. Chicago, USA.
Some Group Exhibitions

Br. Arthur L. Farahkhan

Br. Arthur had once heard his great grandfather, who lived to be 111 years old, mention the events of May 31 and June 1 of 1921. He knew that there was a big scare, or massacre, that his great grandfather and other elders were trying to conceal. It wasn’t until 1990 when he learned the full story. During a dinner banquet organized by the Tulsa Muslim American Community, one of the first Muslim organizations in Oklahoma, he met Mabel Little, a successful businesswoman who had lived through the events. Ms. Little had written a book entitled “Fire on Mount Zion” and shared all of what she knew with Br. Arthur. “The Fire on Mount Zion” ignited Br. Arthur’s lantern and he became the next generation’s resident authority on the subject.

As both a Muslim Imam and a Community Activist he attended many civic activities including interfaith events and conferences. In 1989 he represented Imam W.D. Mohammad in an interfaith dialogue conference in Toronto Canada. His talents developed from there in many different directions: he trained clinic staff to teach homeless people about the health benefits for homeless citizens, continues to counsel troubled youth and gang members through conflict resolution and rehabilitation, and even wrote and recorded a song about the massacre on Black Wall Street.

Br. Arthur has built a reputation both on the streets and in the courts as an honest straight shooter who genuinely cares about the people of his city. He is, so far as we know, the only Muslim nationwide who gathers guns from gang members on the street and turns them into the police department.

Br. Arthur’s latest project is a 3 million dollar Halal meat market and slaughterhouse in Oklahoma – a holistic, organic operation that will contract ranchers to raise cattle, sheep, goats and chicken on their natural diet without any hormones or antibiotics. The meat will be slaughtered Islamically (Zabeha) and the animals raised in healthy, Halal conditions. This enterprise, which will distribute meat nationally and internationally, has already received verbal approval from the city of Tulsa and the USDA. “We intend to provide a healthy, quality product. Hopefully our work will show Americans that Islam teaches wholesomeness and offer Muslims and others organic Halal meat.”

Br. Arthur’s dedication to the Muslim ummah and the community at large shines through everything he does. He is a living example of how dawah should be performed: just do good and care about people. During a meeting between Br. Arthur and Imam W.D. Mohammed, Imam Mohammed charged Br. Arthur with a special mission. “Allah gave you a gift for making friends, use that gift to serve the community and to improve the Muslim image in the outer community.” And that is what he has been doing ever since.

But just like the proverbial Phoenix, the American Islamic College is rising again – with new blood, renovated facilities and a new outlook.

To begin the dream of reopening, the executive management dug in and began rebuilding the institution they so believed in. Their first obstacle was the facilities themselves. Part of the building has been rented out to a French school and a French Montessori school. The parts of the school that had not been rented out , was left in disrepair for many years. Roofs were leaking, floors were damaged, equipment was ruined. The AIC spent $600,000 renovating the dorms alone.

Then once they had the facilities in shape, they turned to rebuilding the academic programs that would be the real heart of the university and getting the accreditation to put them in operation. The OIC, in cooperation with the executive management, appointed Chicagoans to the Board of Trustees. These prominent community members brought many years of academic experience to the AIC, and provided the accountability and accessibility that makes for a successful governing body.

Receiving accreditation for a university is not a one-step operation. The AIC has applied through the Illinois Board of Higher Education for Operating Authority. This authority, which will allow AIC to offer for-credit courses, is expected to come through in the next few months. Degree-granting authorization takes a bit longer and the application is in full swing. They hope to be offering for-credit courses in the fall of 2012 and degrees within the next 3 to 5 years. The first degree offerings will include Bachelors and Masters in Islamic Studies and Imam Training. Later degrees in economics, media, political science and other subjects will be available.

But the American Islamic College is not just sitting back waiting for all that to happen; in the meantime, they’re working to overcome the largest obstacle of all. Those who lived through the past three decades and witnessed the university’s first incarnation were left with little faith in the institution. The new management has a long-range plan for earning back their confidence, and it includes the college, the Islamic community in the US, and the community at large. They’ve begun with a free lecture series featuring prominent academics, politicians and writers. The series is open to the public and has had an enthusiastic response. interfaith activities are helping AIC renew its relationships with adherents of other faiths as well. An interfaith garden, an open arms attitude toward visitors and a Sounds of Faith program are among the projects that are revitalizing interfaith ties. In addition, the university has hosted two “Islam and Muslims in America” conferences that brought together Muslim scholars and national politicians.

While they are awaiting full accreditation, the university is also offering non-credit courses in subjects like Islamic studies, Arabic studies, Sufism, Classical Arabic Music and Turkish Ebru (The art pf paper marbling with oil paint on water). These courses are being attended by students from neighboring universities.

With a local Board of Trustees and Executive council in place, a curriculum developed by experienced professors, a league of qualified, prominent instructors and a beautiful facility with a sparkling new library, auditorium, lab, cafeteria and dorm, the American Islamic College will be ready to receive students from overseas, from Americans across the US and from Chicago itself. The university is ready to become the home of future Muslim scholars, economists, media professionals and politicians.

The AIC has regrouped, restructured and rebounded. “We have the preparation, the planning and the finances in place,” AIC spokesman said. “What we need now is du’a from all the community members. We need their support to become the first-rate institution we envision.”

Bilal ibn Rabah Al-Habashi, (the Ethiopian) is well-known as the African Muslim who called the early Muslims to prayer. But he was much more than that. In addition to lending his magnificent voice to the adhan and being a humble believer who was promised paradise, he was, in today’s terms, the Prophet’s personal administrative assistant. He was in charge of the Prophet’s schedule and finances, as well as his trusted companion on the battlefield.

Bilal was a slave in Mecca, the “property” of a man named Umayyah bin Khalaf. Bilal lived a difficult life during his pre-Islamic days because Bin Khalif was not a kind man by any means, although he kept Bilal strong and treated him as valuable property. When Bilal heard the message of Islam, he marveled at, among other things, its doctrines of human equality – slaves being treated kindly, fed well and not overworked. He saw his freedom in Islam and was among the first to become Muslim. Of course his master didn’t react kindly to his conversion.

As both punishment and incentive to renounce Islam, Bin Khalif frequently placed Bilal on the hot sand under the harsh desert sun with a bare chest and a boulder placed on his ribcage. Bin Khalif mocked him and asked, “Why doesn’t your God come and save you?” Bilal said nothing but “Ahad, Ahad,” God is one, God is one. This infuriated Bin Khalif not only because he was a polytheist, but because the implied belief in human dignity for all went against his treasured self-superiority.

The more Bilal insisted that God was one, the more torment was inflicted upon him, until one day Abu Bakr approached his master during one of these sessions and offered to buy him. Bin Khalaf knew by this point that there was no chance Bilal would renounce Islam, and the price that Abu Bakr offered was twice what a slave would normally bring. So he sold Bilal to Abu Bakr, who immediately freed him.

When the adhan was adopted as the call to prayer, Bilal’s habit was to stand on a rooftop every morning and call, “O Allah, I praise you and I ask your help for Qur’aish, that they may accept your religion.” Then he made the call to prayer. When the time for prayers arrived during the day, Rasoolullah (saws) would say, “Bilal, relieve us from it,” meaning “Bilal, relieve us from these worldly concerns by calling us to the tranquility of prayer.”

Tomb of Bilal in Damascus, Syria - Photo courtesy of "onemilegrads.blogspot.com"

When the Prophet died, Bilal was too grief-stricken to stay in Medinah. He ceased to make the adhan and traveled instead. In this way he came to be buried in Damascus.

Now, some 1400 years later, people in Syria and all over the world are standing up in the face of violence and oppression and demanding the human dignity bestowed upon them by Allah in the Qur’an – the same universal rights that inspired Bilal to stand up to Bin Khalaf in the middle of the Arabian desert so many years ago.

At Culturally Speaking our goal is to help create a world where everyone’s humanity is esteemed, everyone’s culture celebrated, everyone’s religion respected and everyone’s contribution valued. Just as Islam teaches.

Twenty years ago there was no such thing as an Apple home computer. Ten years ago there was no such thing as an iPod. Five years ago there was no such thing as an iPhone or an iPad. People wrote papers on electronic typewriters, listened to music on Walkmans, talked to each other on land lines, and played games on their TV sets. No one imagined that an interconnected family of devices could meet all those needs and more. Yet now, millions of people around the globe depend on Apple products for all their writing, listening, communication and entertainment needs. Apple created a line of products that made things easier, educated the public about them, and became the manufacturer of an indispensable part of 21st century living. And all this was the vision of two guys who saw what could be done to improve things and worked to do so without faltering.

Similarly, twenty years ago there were no Islamic textbooks in English. Ten years ago there were no graded series that provided teachers with continuity from one grade to the next. Five years ago there were no integrated curricula for Islamic and Arabic studies. Principals and teachers had to put their syllabi together piecemeal, pecking out random Islamic and Arabic resources from wherever they could find them. Yet now, IQRA provides a comprehensive curricula to Islamic schools around the world, who depend on their systematic approach to complete, integrated Islamic education. And all this began in the 1980s with the vision of Abdullah and Tasneema Ghazi, who have worked tirelessly over the past two decades to bring Islamic education to the same level as core subject curricula.

One of the successes of both companies is that they have developed almost universal brand recognition. Everyone in the computing world knows the apple with a bite missing, and it’s seen being used by actors in movies as well as students in coffee shops. Likewise, when anyone in the English–speaking Muslim world says they use IQRA’s curricula, everyone else in that world knows what they mean, and knows that what they mean is business – the business of giving Muslim children a quality education and teaching them to love Islam, not just know the rules.

Finally, Steve Jobs and the team at Apple are masters of the wow effect. When one opens an Apple product, sees all the sharp, colorful packaging, reads the easy-to-understand instruction manual, and plugs in their product to the miracle of having it work well straight away, they can’t help but marvel, “WOW!” Muslim educators are being treated to a similar wow effect by virtue of IQRA’s ever-growing inventory of inspiring Islamic studies books and textbooks, colorful new editions of classic books with stunning graphics, and now state-of-the-art ebook publishing so that schools and students can benefit from Islamic information in both hard-copy and electronic formats. Readers can now take their IQRA books with them to study and enjoy on their iPad, Mac, Kindle, Nook or PC.

The two companies with so much in common now provide the hardware and content that will allow Muslim students to study structured Islamic curricula wherever they are.

What is the future for an American Islam that is able to be seen as a full component part of the larger Muslim world? In other nations Muslims were able to be Malay and Muslim, Berber and Muslim, Indian and Muslim, or even Turkish and Muslim.

Muslims have been in the Unites States ever since Columbus “discovered” the New World and claimed it for the Crown of Spain. During the time of slavery, Muslims were here and some were able to preserve some of their culture for a short time. We see this in Selim the Algerine attending the first Continental Congress and in the Arabic writings of al-Hajj ‘Umar ibn Said and Bilali Muhammad and his selections from the Maliki fiqh text al-Risalah.

When slavery ended we had some false starts at an American Islamic Community. The most noteworthy, from the beginning of the 20^th century, was from a Missouri born convert – Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb – who founded an Islamic journal and press and wrote the first text for propagation of Islam in America.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War I, large numbers of Arab, Turkish, Albanian, and Bosnian immigrants came to America. Most assimilated quickly and only further immigration kept the number of Muslims growing.

In the general American society many ills were occurring such as Racism, Sexism, etc. The abused saw Islam as a solution but the immigrant (for the most part) were not spreading the Message of Islam. Therefore, sects and schisms arose that spoke more of solving social ills than of practicing Islam.

In the late 1950s the Sunday School Movement was started in Toledo by the Bosnian scholar Shaykh Kamil Yusuf Avdich – a graduate of Sarajevo’s Gazi Husref Bey’s Madressa and Cairo’s al-Azhar. He also helped to start four Islamic journals in America and to open the Northbrook, Illinois Islamic Cultural Center (ICC) and the Bosnian American Cultural Home formerly on Halsted in Chicago from which the ICC grew.

From that humble center on Halsted, MCC (Chicago’s Muslim Cultural Center) and Mosque Foundation were given birth. Today we see the fruit of the pioneers, but we are still chasing after every identity but that as American Muslims.  The tragedy of September 11^th should have opened our eyes. As American Muslims we were harmed also. Our brothers and sisters were killed in the twin towers.

How to we achieve the American Muslim Identity?

Several scholars have provided answers such as Dr. Ismail Farooqi and the “Islamization of English” and many social scientists that are beginning to see Islam as an American phenomenon. However, like all cultures, we need an Islam that is a reflection of the culture we are in. Muslim societies have done this in the past by the use of prose, poetry, novels, and other literary devices. Food, clothing, and change in language are other ways this can be affected. It is hoped that we as American Muslims can find a path to develop as a cultured people.

“MOOZ-lum” The Movie playing in Kansas City.
Sat, May 14, 2011

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