A New PBS Series Shows the History of Muslims in America

Producer & Writer: Mafaz Al-Suwaidan

Project Lead: Graham Judd

Executive Producers: Graham Judd, Maytha Alhassen, and Zaheer Ali

Hosts: Malika Bilal, Aymann Ismail, and Asma Khalid

American Muslims: A History Revealed is a series of six short documentary films that reveal and explore the early history of Muslims in America. The series is hosted by three leading American Muslim journalists: Malika Bilal, Aymann Ismail, and Asma Khalid. Over the course of the series, they travel the country to piece together stories spanning over 200 years.

The new docuseries begins with the portrait of Mamadou Yarrow, or Yarrow Mamout, an African man. What’s remarkable about the painting is not the artistry, but the subject-a formerly enslaved Black man, a Muslim who bought his freedom. This portrait was created by a famous Revolutionary War painter, showcasing a forgotten history.

Yarrow’s story is part of the PBS docuseries American Muslims exploring the untold stories of Islam in the U.S.

Cohosted by NPR’s White House correspondent Asma Khalid, the series aims to challenge and reshape our understanding of American history and identity, highlighting the contributions of Muslims in shaping the nation’s story.

Episodes

• Ep 1: Little Mosque on the Prairie
  Is This One of America’s First Mosques?
  Duration: 22m 1s

Among the millions of immigrants arriving in the United States at the turn of the 20th century were thousands of Muslims from Lebanon, then part of Greater Syria. In this film, host Aymann Ismail (author and staff writer, Slate Magazine) tells the story of two of these people, a woman named Mary Juma and her husband Hassen who homesteaded in North Dakota in the early 1900s. Traveling across the Midwest, Aymann explores how the community that Mary and Hassen founded constructed one of the first purpose-built mosques in the country, keeping their traditions alive while creating a new identity on the American frontier.

• Ep 2: Hidden from History
  From Slavery to Freedom: The Untold Story of America’s First Muslims
  Duration: 23m 19s

Even before the United States was founded, tens of thousands of Muslims were already present, captured in West Africa and brought to colonial America in chains. Host Asma Khalid (NPR’s White House correspondent and ABC News contributor) tells the surprising story of one of these people, a Muslim man named Mamadou Yarrow, who, after 45 years of enslavement, negotiated his way to freedom, bought a house in Georgetown, and had his portrait painted by the famous Revolutionary War artist Charles Willson Peale. Through Yarrow’s story, Asma reveals the little-known story of America’s first Muslims, whose labor helped build the economic foundations of the early United States.

• Ep 3: Muslims and the Civil War
  Fighting for Freedom: The Little-Known Story of Muslims and the Civil War
  Duration: 22m 24s

Muslims have been present at every defining moment in American history, including the Civil War. Malika Bilal (Senior Presenter., Al Jazeera English) tells the recently discovered story of Muhammad Kahn, an immigrant from Afghanistan who traveled to the United States in 1861, fought in the Union Army, and left behind a 200-page pension file documenting his experiences. While piecing Kahn’s story together, Malika also discovers the stories of other Muslims involved in the conflict. These include Nicholas Said, an African immigrant who fought in the United States Colored Troops, and a senior Tunisian official who wrote to the U.S. government in 1864, urging them to end slavery. This letter made its way to Senator Charles Sumner, a leading abolitionist in the United States, who referred to Islam in his speeches on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

• Ep 4: Unexpected Unions
  How South Asian Muslims and Mexican Americans United in the 1920s
  Duration: 23m 39s

Asma Khalid travels to Sacramento and Phoenix to piece together the story of a man named Mir Dad, a South Asian Muslim who arrived in the United States in 1917 and made a home in the American Southwest. Asma discovers the prejudice faced by South Asians of all religions traveling to America in the early part of the 20th century and the race-based naturalization and immigration laws that shaped their lives. She also discovers how Mir Dad joined a growing number of South Asian and Mexican American couples who built their lives together in the 1920s and 30s, forming blended communities whose descendants still treasure their mixed heritage today. Includes readings from actors Kamal Khan and David Rasche.

• Ep 5: Muslims at the Nation’s Founding
  How South Asian Muslims and Mexican Americans United in the 1920s
  Duration: 24m 43s

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of the Qur’an? That George Washington owned enslaved people who were Muslim? And that a Muslim diplomat broke his Ramadan fast in the White House in 1805? These are just. some of the facts that Aymann Ismail (staff writer, Slate Magazine) discovers as he explores the role that Muslims played in the imagination of America’s founding generation. Aymann’s journey takes him from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello but begins in the Library of Congress. Here he sees two books that symbolize the promise and contradictions of the early Republic; Jefferson’s copy of the Qur’an and an autobiography written by an enslaved African Muslim, Omar Ibn Said, who was brought to the United States during Jefferson’s presidency. Through these books, Ayman discovers how some Muslims were included in the founders’ vision of religious freedom in the nascent Republic, while other Muslims were denied all their rights, because of their race and legal status.

• Ep 6: How Islam Influenced Black Americans in 1920s Chicago
  Duration: 23m 44s

The 1920s saw a revival in Islam among Black Americans fleeing poverty and persecution in the Jim Crow South. In Northern cities including Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Newark, and New York, they found strength and security in a range of Muslim organizations, from the India-based Ahmadiyya movement to the homegrown Moorish Science Temple and Nation of Islam. In this film, host Malika Bilal (Senior Presenter, Al Jazeera English) tells the story of these early Black American Muslim communities through a woman named Florence Watts, who moved to the bustling South Side of Chicago around 1910, where she found work as a cook and a maid. Drawing on the work of Sylvia Chan-Malik, (author of Being Muslim: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam,) Malika discovers how Florence was drawn to the teachings of the Ahmadiyya missionary, Mufti Mohammad Sadiq. In 1923, she joined one of the first multi-racial Muslim communities in the country. That same year, Florence was featured in the Ahmadiyya magazine Moslem Sunrise, her image captured in one of the earliest known photographs of a group of Muslim women taken in the United States. Through Florence’s story, Malika discovers how these Muslim groups helped working-class Black Americans resist the confines of race in the United States and feel part of a global community of believers. They in turn helped to create a legacy of Islam that has been embraced by African Americans since.

Source: https://www.americanmuslimsfilm.com/

In 2015, three Muslim-American students were executed while eating dinner at their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, filmmaker Tarek Albaba makes an impassioned case for justice for these innocents and for the Muslim-American community. The film charts the victims’ families’ agonizing overnight pivot from trauma to advocacy as they struggle to prevent their loved ones’ deaths from being dismissed as the result of a mere ‘parking dispute’. They courageously speak the truth about the hate crime that destroyed their lives, about the overt and insidious ways racism plays out in society, and about the need to reform a hate crime system that is broken. This is a project about grace and the will to fight for the truth in the worst of circumstances.

Zeteo proudly presents, exclusive to paid subscribers, this award-winning documentary available in a limited release until December 31 only. 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime is only available to watch here during that time. Free subscribers are able to watch just a 10-minute preview.

Part of Zeteo’s mission is to serve as a platform for voices, perspectives, and stories that mainstream news has ignored. 36 Seconds is a film that isn’t just about what happened in 2015. Zeteo has chosen to license it for subscribers and to co-host a screening of it in Washington, D.C. this week (more information on that here, including a link to tickets) because the film reopens the essential and timely conversation of race-based violence in the US, and Islamophobia in particular. With the return of Donald Trump and his allies to the White House in just weeks, Americans will very soon have to grapple with the consequences when it comes to racial tensions and the emboldening of far-right white supremacists, including even individuals in Trump’s inner circle.

A Note from the Director

“As a Muslim/Arab American growing up in the South, I had experienced challenges our community continues to face. In the weeks post 9/11, I was bullied, physically assaulted, and called a terrorist during my high school soccer matches. I had seen hate and ignorance up close and knew this virulent mix could ultimately kill. When the tragedy happened on February 10th, 2015 our worst fears had been realized in my home state. Over the ensuing months, I watched the Abu-Salha and Barakat families struggle to convince the authorities to investigate the murders as a hate crime. Whether on the news or in front of thousands of grieving supporters, they were stoic, articulate and brave. I was deeply moved by their dignity in the face of so much pain. Our community rallied behind these families, to help amplify their voices by all means necessary.

“Through our research on the film, we have found a direct parallel between the election cycle and an increase in hate crimes. There has also been a wave of dangerous Islamophobia since the war started in Oct 2023. Many of these targeted attacks are focused on our community members protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We will not stand down and we will not be intimidated. Our stories matter and that is why we are so blessed and honored to partner with Zeteo. Mehdi and his team have been working around the clock to deliver bold, unfiltered news and independent films like 36 Seconds to people who demand the truth. I believe it is incredibly important to support platforms like Zeteo at a time when we desperately need reliable journalism.”

Source: Zeteo

A new documentary, So You Want To Be A Muslim, directed by Hoda Elatawi, premiered on documentary Channel, with streaming available on CBC Gem starting October 23.

The film highlights the spiritual journeys of five North Americans who have converted to Islam, exploring the challenges and rewards of their transitions in a Western society that often views their decisions with skepticism.

Elatawi’s feature-length documentary chronicles the diverse experiences of these converts—three Canadians and an American couple—over a span of eight years.

Delayed in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film presents an intimate exploration of how adopting Islam has reshaped the lives, identities, and relationships of its subjects.

A Journey of Faith & Identity

One of the featured individuals, Barbara, was a promising musician and aspiring Anglican minister in her early 20s when she converted to Islam after marrying a Muslim man.

Despite the eventual breakdown of her marriage, her faith journey took her in unexpected directions, ultimately leading her to a fulfilling new role as a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Stephanie, a Millennial and francophone Acadian from New Brunswick now living in Ottawa, embraced Islam and adopted the hijab.

However, she continues to embrace parts of her pre-conversion life, including occasional social drinking and LGBTQ+ activism, particularly in support of her two gay fathers.

Rima, born in South Africa and raised in a culturally Jewish family, found her new Islamic identity in sharp contrast with the prejudice and Islamophobia she faced from her own relatives.

Her conversion to Islam brought her face to face with the biases within her family, complicating her rich sense of identity.

Johnae and her husband Eli, an African American couple from Puerto Rico now residing in the Bronx, also converted to Islam.

The pair live more conservatively than they did in their younger years, but their reversion to Islam has deepened their relationship with each other and their faith.

Breaking Stereotypes

The documentary reveals the complexities of living as a Muslim convert in the West. The individuals often feel torn between two worlds, struggling to find acceptance within their communities while also facing Islamophobia and misconceptions from the broader society.

Through their diverse stories, the film underscores the universal quest for meaning and belonging.

Director Hoda Elatawi hopes So You Want To Be A Muslim will serve as a tool to challenge widespread stereotypes about Islam.

“With words like ‘extremist’, ‘jihadist’, and ‘terrorist’ plaguing mainstream dialogue when the subject of Islam and Muslims come up,” Elatawi explains, “I hope the deeply personal stories revealed by the diverse group of people in my film will help break stereotypes and challenge preconceived notions about Islam.”

Produced by GAPC Entertainment, So You Want To Be A Muslim is supported by the Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, and several other cultural institutions. Elatawi aims to bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims by focusing on the shared humanity and struggles revealed through the lens of these personal, transformative journeys.

Source: About Islam

The inaugural edition of the Muslim International Film Festival (MIFF) was held from May 30th to June 2nd in London’s Leicester Square with the gala screening of Naqqash Khalid’s directorial debut ‘In Camera‘ on the closing night.

During the event, winners were announced for Best Film and Best Short. Ten feature films were up for consideration and were judged by a festival jury.

The jury was made up of Claudia Yusef (Head of Development at BBC Films), Leon Oteng (Production Inclusion Manager at BFI Filmmaking Fund), Neila Butt (Creative Diversity Lead, Nations and Regions at Channel 4), Tas Brooker (filmmaker, When We Speak), Youssef Kerkour (BAFTA nominated actor for Channel 4’s Home).

In the competition were Khalid’s sharp showbiz satire, Kamal Lazraq’s ‘Hounds’, Selman Nacar’s ‘Hesitation Wound’, Moin Hussain’s ‘Sky Peals’, Mohamed Kordofani’s ‘Goodbye Julia’, Behrooz Karamizade’s ‘Empty Nets’, Mohamed Ben Attia’s ‘Behind the Mountain‘, and Amjad Al Rasheed’s ‘Inshallah A Boy‘.

‘Inshallah A Boy’ takes Best Film at MIFF

In the end, ‘Inshallah A Boy’ was awarded Best Film. The Jordanian drama about a newly widowed woman and her daughter facing eviction from their home because of patriarchal inheritance laws is a worthy winner.

It has earned similar acclaim at film festivals including Red Sea International, Bengaluru, Thessaloniki, and Cannes – the first Jordanian film ever to be invited to premiere on the Croisette – as well as the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Al Rasheed said he was honored to collect the award at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on Sunday night and is one of the X feature directorial debuts screened during the festival.

This above-average number highlights MIFF’s commitment to showcasing the filmmaking prowess of emerging talent from the Muslim world and/or filmmakers writing about it.

Yet, the absence of female directors in this curated selection seems a rather glaring oversight, especially considering the inclusion of a few standout features centered on female perspectives.

Women’s journeys in Muslim cinema

As well as ‘Inshallah A Boy’, Kordofani’s ‘Goodbye Julia’ is a powerfully intimate portrait of two Sudanese women and the racism, ethnocentrism and religious differences that compounded the political, social and economic tensions leading to the secession of Southern Sudan in 2011.

Given current events, ‘Goodbye Julia’ is a sensitive and nuanced entry point into the Sudanese conflict that has claimed far too many lives and displaced far too many people.

By centering women (played evocatively by Eiman Yousif and Siran Riak), as with ‘Inshallah A Boy’, these films also expose how often patriarchal structures are weaponized to suppress, subordinate and oppress the female populace.

The winner of Best Short similarly highlights this struggle. ‘Yellow‘, written, directed by, and starring Elham Elhas, tells the story of a young Afghan woman, played by Afsaneh Dehrouyeh, as she buys her first chadari (full-body veil) in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

While the film maintains a light, playful touch, the oppressive nature of the militant regime is always looming beneath the surface.

Elsewhere, Asena Nour’s ‘See You in the Dark‘ – one of the few shorts written and directed by a woman – grapples with the ominous threat of an Internet troll as a London-based artist seeks to confront the man who sexually assaulted her on the opening night of her exhibition.

Steeped in rage and pain, the semi-autobiographical film is a potent and personal examination of the casual infliction of misogyny and rape culture on women.

It’s a strong example of how the festival is willing to challenge and expand our understanding of stories from the Muslim world.

Empowering diverse voices through cinema

The program is not simply seeking to pedestal Muslims and put them in an uncritical spotlight; rather it wants to showcase the diversity of human experiences that exist within the Muslim faith and champion those who come from it to tell big-screen stories.

“I have been lucky to travel, collaborate with the most extraordinary people, create work which I hope will stand the test of time, films which have moved and engaged with people around the world,” said British filmmaker Asif Kapadia as he collected the Trailblazer award.

Outsiders have been a recurring theme in the award-winning writer-director’s work, which includes ‘The Warrior’, ‘Senna‘, ‘Amy’, and ‘Maradona’.

“Those who may not conform or fit into the power systems around them,” he added.

“Becoming a film director, a writer, producer or indeed working on the crew in the film industry, isn’t an obvious or simple choice for someone born in Hackney to working-class British Indian Muslim parents during the 70s. But I feel lucky that I found filmmaking – it changed my life.”

Cinema certainly has the power to change lives and perspectives and MIFF has been a golden opportunity to recalibrate the celluloid image of Muslims after decades of Western marginalization.

With submissions already open for the second instalment of the festival next year, here’s hoping it makes more space for female filmmakers to showcase their feature-length efforts to reflect the vastness of Muslim communities and cultures – and give London audiences an even better chance to empathize with them.

Source: The New Arab

This is the 19^th International award that the short-film has bagged so far. Previously, this short film was nominated in two international festivals in Baku and Istanbul.

The film narrates the hardships of the family of a Hazara victim in the bloody attacks of 2015 and 2018 in the city of Quetta, depicting the pain and suffering faced by the Hazaras as a result of targeted attacks.

Between 2018 and 2015, Pakistani Hazaras, most of whom live in the city of Quetta, witnessed deadly attacks in which hundreds of people were killed. Most of these attacks were carried out by extremist groups, including Lashkar Jhangvi and Lashkar Taiba.

Hussain Ali Yousafi, chairman of the Pakistan Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), was also assassinated in one of these attacks in 2009 by Lashkar Jhangvi.

Parwaz Dar Shab (Flying in Darkness)

Director and Writer: Safar Ali Danish

Producer: Safar Ali Danish, Aun Ul Haider

Release Date: April 2022

Cast: Howra Batool, Nargis Batool, Abdullah Jan Ghaznavi, Najeeb Hazara, Mirza Husssain Hazara

Storyline

Najeeba is a young girl, yet eldest daughter left in the family, to run demised father’s vegetable vendor, who recently martyred in an explosion at the fruit market in Hazar Ganji, Quetta. While living in a male dominant society, she is to confront the harsh realities that make her take some tough life decisions.

About the Director

Safar Ali Danish is an award-winning filmmaker based in Quetta, Pakistan. He graduated from Iqra University, Karachi with a degree in Film & TV. As the founder of the first production house in Quetta, Filmsaaz Production is a pioneer in the film industry in the region. He has Produced, wrote, directed and edited many documentaries and short films. He has received 16 international awards & 20 official selections for his short film “Parwaz Dar Shab” and has been recognized for his documentary films as well. His work aims to convey the unique experiences and perspectives of the people in his community to the world. He is passionate about using film as a medium to raise awareness and promote social change.

Source: Instagram

First launched in 2007 by a group of Muslim students at the University of Alberta, the Mosquers, a combination of Muslim and Oscars, still works 14 years on to combat misconceptions about Islam and Muslims.

“It’s generally a celebration of Muslim creatives and art,” said Yasir Iqbal, the festival’s outreach director.

“Filmmakers use our festival to discuss and share their films and narratives that they feel like might be underrepresented in traditional media or social media,” Iqbal said.

For the 2023 event, over 1,000 films were submitted from all over the world, with eight being selected as finalists to be screened throughout the weekend.

According to Iqbal, the event welcomes everyone, Muslim or not. It also features a combination of universal and Muslim-specific themes across genres.

The film festival comes as Canada marks the annual Muslim Heritage Month in October.

Every October, Canadian Muslims mark Islamic Heritage Month with events to celebrate and educate about the rich Muslim heritage.

The IHMC Theme for 2023 was “Celebrating Muslim Women in the Arts & Sciences”.

It aimed to honor the historical contributions of Muslim women through the ages and their influence on the progress of the Arts, Sciences, and Society.

Read more at: AboutIslam.net

The hero, Mohammad Salman Hamdani is a Pakistani-American NYPD cadet. The Star Wars-obsessed police cadet and EMT ran toward the Twin Towers to save lives on Sept. 11, 2001. Hamdani was recognized as a hero.

“People need to hear the story, they need to know more about Salman and about what he believed and everything that he embodied,” Eyde said. “To me, it was all the good things about America in one life that was tragically cut short.”

Wanting to take on an interfaith project, Eyde and Khalil thought about things that had changed America. They started conducting interviews in 2016 with Hamdani’s family, friends, professors, and two Muslim survivors of the attacks.

Their effort resulted in American Jedi: The Salman Hamdani Story, a 38-minute documentary that will be screened at the University of Michigan. Eyde, who has some experience with acting and producing short films, said he hopes audiences will get to know Hamdani as he did through the production process.

Source: AboutIslam.net

Director: Valentina Canavesio

Duration: 76 min

A documentary following seven Muslim women and their relationship with hijab premiered at the Broadway Theatre in Barking, one day after the International Women’s Day.

Coming from different backgrounds, the 7 protagonists of the film Marianne challenge the dominant narrative of Muslim women in France.

One of the women featured is the deputy leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Saima Ashraf, who moved to the UK 18 years ago.

“In France, the state’s version of secularism – laïcité – has been used to justify the exclusion and discrimination of Muslim women, including those who choose to wear the hijab,” Cllr Ashraf told Barking and Dagenham Post.

“As a Muslim woman who grew up in France, it is heartening to see a film like Marianne challenge these harmful stereotypes and show the reality of our experiences.

“I am proud to be part of this project and to share my story in the hope that it will inspire others to speak out against discrimination and for the right of all women to choose how they express their faith.”

Marianne also aims to contribute to the effort to redress this imbalance by giving voice to Muslim women.

“I made Marianne to challenge what sadly is too often the discourse about Muslim women in the context of French media and politics – that of a monolithic and submissive group in need of liberation,” Director of Marianne Valentina Canavesio said.

“I hope the film challenges this view through the portraits of its protagonists and makes the viewer question their own beliefs about laïcité, feminism and liberty.”

What Muslim women choose to wear is a controversial topic in France. In 2004, it banned hijab in public schools, and in 2010, it became the first European nation to ban burqa, which covers a woman’s face.

Currently in France, a majority of Bar Councils, including the largest in Paris, have internal rules that do not allow religious symbols such as hijab.

Of Bar Councils representing 75% of practitioners, 56% have banned religious symbols worn with the gown, according to a survey requested by Poirret for this case.

Source: AboutIslam.net

Host and filmmaker: Amal Mohamud

Duration: 4min

For Muslim women, wearing hijab is an act of worship as well as a way to practice modesty, a principle expected in the behavior and dress of all Muslims.

As the world marks the 11th anniversary of World Hijab Day, a new short film has been released in Canada to explore misconceptions around hijab and why some Muslim women in Edmonton choose to wear the head covering.

The film World Hijab Day shares its name with an annual event that was founded in 2013. Watch the video Here.

“I wanted to do this video to spread awareness and kind of just educate people,” said Amal Mohamud, the Edmonton filmmaker behind the project, CBC reported.

Seeing hijab as symbolizing her faith, Mohamud said she wanted people to know why Muslim women choose hijab.

In the film, part of CBC’s Creative Network that aims to amplify voices of the next generation of Canadians, Mohamud interviews community advocate Safia Ibrahim and social media influencer Hafsa Bint Yusuf, who has nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok.

Exploring people’s attitude towards hijab, Mohamud believes there is a long way to correct misconceptions about hijab and Muslim women.

Yet, she hopes her film will help diversify Canadian film and television, particularly when it comes to portraying Muslim women.

“I think we’ve never really had a documentary that just solely, focuses on the hijab,” said Mohamud.

Source: AboutIslam.net