“Expressions of Islam in Contemporary African-American Communities.”
The Alwaleed Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University is hosting its Fourth Annual Conference on April 7 & 8, 2012, entitled “Expressions of Islam in Contemporary African-American Communities.” Speakers will explore and highlight the varied experiences of African American Muslims in the United States. The conference will not only showcase research on African American Muslims by leading academics, but will also feature contemporary artists and community activists who speak directly to the subject through their work.
Panels include talks on African-American converts to Shia Islam (minorities within minorities), the role of Hip Hop and “Muslim Cool,” Leadership and Community Activism and relationship between/among African-American Muslims and African Muslim immigrants. There is also a short film, Mustafa Davis’ The Wayward Son.
The conference is sponsored by the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, an interfaculty and interdisciplinary initiative seeking to improve understanding about Islam and Muslim communities in diverse national and transnational contexts, the W.E.B. Dubois Institute at Harvard, the Department of African American Studies, and the Committee on the Study of Religion.
The conference website is: http://harvardafricanamericanmuslims.wordpress.com/