Ali Center Participates in U.S. Department of State Grant - “Islamic Life in the United States”
Louisville, KY (April 12, 2004) ... The Muhammad Ali Center is privileged to collaborate in a mutually beneficial program with the University of Louisville that promotes mutual understanding among cultures. Fifteen Muslim religious scholars, teachers and preachers from South Asia are visiting Louisville and other cities as part of a $343,785 U.S. Department of State grant awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Louisville, in December 2002. The program is entitled “Islamic Life in the United States.”
The University of Louisville was the only university in the nation to receive the State Department grant under a program that was developed after the September 11, 2001 attacks carried out by terrorists of Arab/Muslim origin. The State Department was so impressed by the proposal submitted by the College of Arts and Sciences that it changed its original plans, according to Dr. Thomas Johnston, Senior Exchange Specialist at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the State Department.
Even though the original plan was to distribute smaller grants to more schools, the proposal submitted by the College of Arts and Sciences was so compelling that the State Department allocated all of the funding to one university. According to Dr. Johnston, “It was an extraordinarily good proposal that clearly understood what we were looking for.”
“Islamic Life in the United States” has two Phases, each with two parts. In the first part of Phase I, South Asian Muslim religious scholars, teachers and preachers are visiting the U.S. and in the second part of Phase I some American scholars will visit South Asia. Phase II would be a repeat of Phase I.
At the start of Phase I of the program, Dr. Riffat Hassan, Director of “Islamic Life in the U.S.” visited Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, to meet with the concerned cultural specialists of the U.S. embassies/consulates/post in the selected countries. In consultation with them and other experts, Dr. Riffat Hassan identified a number of scholars, teachers and preachers from the selected countries to visit the United States in Spring 2004 for a month long, intensive program.
The program is designed to make the visitors aware of how Islamic Studies is taught in the U.S. and how diverse Muslim communities live in the context of the multi-cultural environment of this country. While “Islamic Life in the United States” program proposes to give the visitors an opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of Americans in public settings as well as in their homes, it also aims at giving Americans a better understanding of mainstream Islam and Muslims.
The expected outcome of the program is to enhance participants’ understanding about the place of Islam in U.S. society and culture. It is also expected to increase their awareness of, and appreciation for, the serious study of Islam that is conducted in the United States. Furthermore, it is expected to provide a forum for serious discussion about such issues as the compatibility of Islam and democratic structures, and the social vitality that grows from mutually respectful co-existence among diverse religious communities in the U.S. and in the world.
For two and a half weeks the visitors are meeting and interacting with faculty, student and staff of the University of Louisville and other institutions in the Kentuckia area. They are participating in a number of academic, interfaith and cultural programs and events. They are also attending social events arranged by local Muslim and other communities.
The visitors are traveling to other cities and locations including Cincinnati (April 6), Frankfort, Kentucky (April 7), Southern California (April 10-15), Chicago (April 21-23), Indianapolis (April 23), and Washington D.C. (April 24-27).
Dr. Riffat Hassan, Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies at the University of Louisville, who is an internationally-known scholar of Islam, is the Director of the “Islamic Life in the U.S.” program. Dr. Thomas Byers, Professor of English and Director of the Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society in which the “Islamic Life in the U.S” grant is housed, will assist with this program.
Guest speakers from other cities will be making presentations at the University of Louisville or participating in interfaith dialogues sponsored by our community partners. The Muhammad Ali Center is particularly grateful to sponsor events that enhance the visitors’ experience in order to embellish their learning experience and to offer exchange opportunities for Americans. Among the events sponsored by the Ali Center are:
- A videoconference in conjunction with Jefferson County Public Schools entitled, Understanding Cultural Differences: A Dialogue Between Islamic Scholars and U.S. Students. The program originated from Louisville’s Central High School, and included eight other interactive sites: Ballard, Pendleton County, Waggener, Campbell County High Schools and Winburn Middle School (in Kentucky); and Scottsburg, North Harrison, and Austin High Schools (in Indiana).
- Schools from the Louisville Metro area and surrounding counties in Indiana and Kentucky were recent guests of the Muhammad Ali Center and the Kentucky Center at the student matinee performance of Brown Butterfly at the Brown Theatre. As an added treat, Islamic scholars spoke to students on teenage life in their countries and the experiences they’ve had in the United States.
- The Muhammad Ali Center in conjunction with the Universtiy of Louisville will be hosting a roundtable discussion on the Bellarmine campus between Islamic and American Islamic scholars. Observing and participating in the open discussion will be Muhammad Ali Center staff, representatives from Bellarmine University’s staff and students, selected high school students from the metro Louisville area, and invited guest and friends. Virginia Gray Henry, Director of Fons Vitae Publishing and Distribution, along with Dr. Riffat Hassan from the University of Louisville will also participate.
Other partners of this grant include Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish Americans. Topical areas of learning include ongoing research on Islam at universities and Islamic Research Centers; culture, daily life, social and political issues, and other aspects of U.S. Islamic communities; interfaith dialogues; interactions of Muslim Americans with U.S. democratic structures, including electoral politics and representative government; freedoms of speech, the press, and religion; academic freedom and faculty governance. Short-and-long-term results will include enhanced mutual understanding; scholarly relationships and projects including potential collaboration among U.S. and foreign Muslim scholars; establishment of ongoing relationships between foreign Muslim intellectuals and U.S. scholars and citizens, and between foreign Muslim and U.S. institutions such as universities, Islamic Centers, and interfaith groups; further citizen exchanges; and distance learning projects.
The names of the visiting Muslim scholars, teachers and preachers, and their countries of origin are as follows:
Afghanistan: Mr. Abdul Rauf, Mr. Hayatullah, and Mr. Momin Shah
Bangladesh: Professor Dr. A. N.M. Wahidur Rahman, Professor Dr. Azizun Nahar Islam, and Professor Dr. Kazi Nur ul Islam
India: Professor Dr. Rukhsana Nikhat Lari, Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood, and Mr. Zaheer Abbas Rizvi
Pakistan: Ms. Farhat Naz Rahman, Mr. Hanif Jallandhari, Professor Sharif Al-Mujahid and Syed Muhammad Zakir Hussain Shah
The four women in the group are Dr. Azizun Nahar Islam, Dr. Rukhsana Nikhat Lari, Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh and Ms. Farhat Naz Rahman.
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