Chelsea residents plan Islam forum as part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration

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http://www.annarbor.com/news/chelsea/chelsea-residents-plan-differences-without-divisions-islam-in-america-to-celebrate/

Chelsea residents plan Islam forum as part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration

By: Lisa Allmendinger
AnnArbor.com Staff

A group of about 10 to 15 Chelsea residents have been meeting since the summer to plan a forum on tolerance of religious diversity for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17 that will take place at the Chelsea District Library.

“Differences without Divisions: Islam in America,” will feature nationally recognized Islamic leaders who will provide a broad perspective at the 7-9 p.m. event.

Included topics are:

  • Contemporary issues for Muslims living in America.
  • A place for Muslims in the world today.
  • American media representations of Islam and its practitioners.
  • Islam and youth.
  • The role of women in Islam.
  • Islam and humanitarian service.
  • The future of Islam and its role in America and the world.

“Islam is practiced by roughly a quarter of the world’s population and is the majority religion in close to 50 countries,” said Micky Howe, who spoke at a recent Chelsea City Council meeting about the upcoming program.

The focus of the forum will be contemporary issues facing Muslims in America. Speakers include Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini, a scholar and religious leader at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn; Najah Bazzy, a nurse specializing in transcultural health care and the executive director of Zaman International; and Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The forum will be moderated by David Crumm, a religion journalist and editor of ReadTheSpirit, an online magazine covering religion, spirituality and popular culture.

The presentations will be followed by questions and discussion with the speakers.

Also planned on Jan. 17 is a youth forum from 1-3 p.m. at the library led by students from the University of Michigan Muslim Student Association. Included is a feature film on being Muslim in America.

The Chelsea District Library is located at 221 S. Main St.

For more information about the youth or adult forums, contact Micky Howe at mickray@aol.com.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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