Manchester, N.H. – The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH) and Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) will host a community dialogue entitled, On Being Muslim in the Deep North, on Sunday, November 4 2018 from 3 pm to 5 pm at the Walker Auditorium at SNHU in Manchester.
Facilitated by Kyla Page, the Directory for Diversity Programs at SNHU, the dialogue and panel discussion will explore the issues facing the growing Muslim community in New Hampshire and the intersection of race and religion in a post 9/11 America.
America is home to one of the most diverse Muslim populations in the world, including people of almost every ethnicity, country and school of thought. Although widely viewed as recent immigrants the history of Muslims in America goes back more than 400 years. The first clearly documented arrival of Muslims occurred in the 17th century with the arrival of enslaved Africans.
Presenters will share their stories of being Muslim in today’s climate of confusion and prejudice. Their shared stories will offer perspective and insights about what it means to be part of a religious group that is broadly misunderstood, mischaracterized and even persecuted within mainstream American culture, one whose tenets include freedom of religion for all.
Panelist includes Robert Azzi, Rashida Mohamed, Daouda Abdoulaye Dieng and Kafisa Ibrahim.
Robert Azzi, an Arab American Muslim, is a photojournalist, columnist, public speaker and education consultant. He writes on issues of identity, conflict and Islam. His goal is to open up new perspectives for his readers and expose them to points of view which they might not have previously considered.
Rashida Mohamed is a victim advocate for the Manchester Police Domestic and Sexual Violence Unit. She works in conjunction with the Domestic Violence Project, a community-based effort to support all victims of domestic violence.
Daouda Abdoulaye Dieng was born and raised in New Hampshire to a Muslim father from Senegal and a mother from Germany. Between his interracial background and growing up in New Hampshire, he was exposed to a variety of religions and encouraged to search for his own truth. That journey has guided him back to his roots and he is now a practicing Muslim.
Kafisa Ibrahim is a junior honors student at Southern New Hampshire University. She serves as Vice President of the Multicultural Student Union and Director at Large for the Human Resource Student Association Club.
This intentional and participatory dialogue will serve as a catalyst for deeper excavating of Black New Hampshire history, while also facilitating intellectual and communal connections between racism’s grip on our past and its contemporary manifestations. The goal is to create a space for deeper thinking on issues that divide as one way to make our state’s future one where everyone thrives.
This program is an expansion of the BHTNH signature Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series. Two additional community dialogues are planned. The Coloring of Law and Punishment: Exploring the Role of Race, Ethnicity and Class in Incarceration will be held in January in Concord. Sites of Memory: Reconstructing the Past will be held in Hanover in February.
This expanded series is sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities.
For more information visit: https://blackheritagetrailnh.org/website/programs/tea-talks/
