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Muslim Voices Indiana University

Dena El Saffar on her listening practices by Ezgi Benli

Posted on by IU Muslim Voices

“To really have the spirit of the Middle Eastern music, you shouldn’t be looking at a piece of paper, you know, you should be looking at each other or closing your eyes or looking at your instrument.”

Right before the pandemic, Dena and I were practicing for an upcoming Turkish concert. After our rehearsals, I often hang around and find myself in an engaging conversation with Dena. It was one of those days, Dena and I began to talk about Middle Eastern Ensembles, the differences between Western musical practices, and the practice of oral transmission, also known as meşk.  (more…)

A Story from Muslim Indonesia By Puji Mudiana

Posted on by IU Muslim Voices

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country on the globe, laid along the equator in Southeast Asia. The culture is diverse, with over 300 ethnic groups and hundreds of traditional languages. Religious values abundantly influence our lives in Indonesia. We are practicing our beliefs, doing the services as manifestations of our faith regardless of our religion. Officially, we have the Ministry of Religious Affairs responsible for taking care of the six different beliefs, including Islam, Christian, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.  We observe the holidays of those religions with countless rites and festivals. According to the National Education Law, our education aims to “develop learners’ potentials so that they become persons …. who are faithful and pious to one and only God.” The curriculum includes several hours of religious courses to be delivered in the classrooms from grade schools to higher education to achieve that goal. There, we both institutionalize and celebrate our beliefs.  (more…)

An Interview with Ala and Yaman Hayani

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Shems al-Ubaidi
Audria Hettinger

Shems al-Ubaidi and Audria Hettinger, two seniors in Professor Iman Al-Ramadan’s course “Arabic Culture through Music” at Indiana University, met with Syrian artist Ala Hayani and his son Yaman Hayani to discuss Arabic music, their music, and how the war in Syria has impacted their lives as artists. Hayani and his family are originally from Aleppo, and following the outbreak of the war in 2011, they immigrated to Lebanon when Yaman was only four years old. (more…)

“A GEM FOR THE COMMUNITY”, THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF GREATER TOLEDO (ICGT)

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“A GEM FOR THE COMMUNITY”, THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF GREATER TOLEDO**

“A gem for the community” was how Bill Hilt, a local teacher from Perrysburg City Schools described the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo (ICGT) during a pre-pandemic visit to their annual “International Festival” that has been running for almost 2 decades now. At this festival, cultures and food representing countries the members of this local mosque have heritage in are shared with their visitors. Some of these countries are Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brazil, etc. There are also games to play, music to enjoy, animals to feed, and tours of the mosque! (more…)

FIRST GENERATION MOSQUE PRESIDENT?

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 FIRST GENERATION MOSQUE PRESIDENT?

We often hear the term “first generation” used in contexts such as the first-generation college graduate, first-generation American, or first-generation immigrant, etc. However, at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo (ICGT), this term is used to define their former young female president Dr. Nadia Ashraf-Moghal, an emergency medicine doctor at Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green, OH. Having a female president at the ICGT is not new though. Chereffe Kadri was the one who started the trend and probably was the first female mosque president in the world at the time according to Dr. Nadia who happened to be the third consecutive woman holding this position so far.  (more…)

“To live your life, you have to be a part of the community”: A Conversation with Dr. Abdel-Wahab Soliman

Posted on by IU Muslim Voices

The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo (ICGT) is an integral part of the local northwest Ohio community. This religious institution does not want to be a space only for Muslims or only for religious worship. Instead, it sees itself as an institution that can bring together people from different backgrounds in a spirit of tolerance, respect, and understanding.

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“The mosque is not for prayer alone”: A Conversation with Dr. Fatima Al-Hayani

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Step inside the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo (ICGT), and it’s clear that this is an active community space, not just a place for prayer services. This is especially true during the annual International Festival, when the mosque invites members of the public, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to come together around delicious food and carnival games to learn more about each other.

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Photoessay: Finding Community at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo

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Islamophobia in the United States rests on a number of negative assumptions about Islam and Muslims. Many Americans consider Islam to be a foreign religion that is incompatible with Western values.

Politicians and media commentators commonly describe American Muslims with suspicion, associating them with terrorism, violence, and isolation from the wider American community. These stereotypes of Muslims as foreign and isolated does not account for the long history of Islam and Muslim communities in the United States or the important contributions Muslims around the country make to their local communities.

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