City of Residence: Woodbury, MN Occupation: Civil Engineer Excerpt: “The diversity I found in my youth was simply astonishing. I mean, to be honest with you, when I was growing up in East Africa, I was in a very closed and very Indian environment. But when I went to the UK, as well as later on as …
City of Residence: Maple Grove, MN Occupation: Pharmacist Excerpt: I think we have to realize that [when] we do the Sunday schools, the Islamic schools, the weekend schools, that we are not in Kabul anymore. We are not in Karachi anymore. We are not in Cairo anymore. We are not in Mogadishu anymore. We’re in America and we …
City of Residence: New Brighton, MN Occupation: Tailor Excerpt: “For me my challenge was myself, otherwise I have no challenge, because life is the way you live. Life is challenge always but if you try to be good to your community wherever you live the community you live into and also if you greet people even no …
City of Residence: St. Paul, MN Occupation: Retired high school teacher Excerpt: “My family comes from Lebanon, and it’s an all-Islamic heritage. My dad came in probably the mid—I think it was 1913—with his dad and his uncle. My dad sold merchandise with a horse and buggy, and then later a car. That’s how he made his living. …
City of Residence: Minneapolis, MN Occupation: Adjunct Islamic Law Professor at the University of Minnesota Excerpt: “After I arrived here I was able to get employment from the local county here, so I became a county worker at Hennepin County here in Minneapolis. And I’ve worked there as an eligibility officer in the Department of Human Services. …
City of Residence: Plymouth, MN Occupation: M.D. (Cardiologist) Excerpt: “I am currently the director of the Al-Shifa Clinic which is a philanthropic clinic that we run at the Islamic Center of Minnesota every Sundays. The project has been existent for almost fourteen years now. The Anoka County Social Services, a couple of churches, a Hindu temple, they basically …
City of Residence: North Minneapolis, MN Occupation: Homemaker, retired daycare provider Excerpt: “I came to Islam under Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam. Eventually when his son Warith Deen took the leadership role in I think it was 1975 and he brought what I call the Orthodox Islam to us at that time. The Qur’an—I always had …
City of Residence: Brooklyn Center, MN Occupation: Vice President of Transportation and Logistics at Wells Fargo Excerpt: “It was a politically dangerous situation at the time because Idi Amin was threatening the Asian community to be treated no different than the Jewish people that were treated in Germany, and so there was a discussion, or a talk, …
City of Residence: Brooklyn Park, MN Occupation: Director of the Islamic University of Minnesota Excerpt: “My first session, I remember, in summer 1989, going to the highest maximum security in state of Minnesota prison, didn’t know what to expect. I went there and I found about probably 10, 12 Muslims waiting for me, and I have to …
City of Residence: Washington D.C. Occupation: National Communications Director for Council on American Islamic Relations Excerpt: “We saw that there was a need for a Muslim civil rights group in the mode of the NAACP, the ADL, even at times the ACLU and that was missing particularly at the national level. The Muslim community was very dispirited and …