Islamic Heritage Month

What You’re Doing (My Story)

ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH is an annual month long series of FREE educational public programs commemorating Islamic heritage, culture, and civilization during the month of October.  Programs will be hosted at Masjidullah- The Center for Human Excellence and CAIR-Philadelphia, featuring a wide variety of arts and performance arts media including but not limited to Films, Humanities Lectures, Museum Artifact Exhibits, Music, Drama, Performance Arts and Visual Arts.

There will also be a Juried ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH Student Art Exhibit open to 10^th-12^th grade students in the Tri-State area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.  This will be the finest collective of performance artists, visual artists, and cultural artists. Insha Allah.

Why it Matters (The Impact)

Help us to make an impact by giving da’wah, educating and reaching large masses of the general public by sharing the cultural heritage and civilization of Islam.

This is possibly the greatest opportunity we have, for one month, to share with the American public the various interconnected aspects of Islamic Heritage.

We are actively striving towards making this an unforgettable impacting month long series of events.

ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH serves as one of the greatest opportunities to present Da’wah to large numbers of the general public in Philadelphia-The Cradle ofLiberty-during the complete month of October.  THAT’S 5 DAYS AFTER ‘ID UL ADHA, AND 3 DAYS AFTER THE VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS WORLD FAMILY TOUR TO PHILADELPHIA.

This is something every Muslim should be proud of participating in.  Insha Allah.

All Are Welcome!

Come join us in this effort!

The Project

ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH is planning to present 5 weekends (Friday-Sunday) in October of public programs commemorating Islamic heritage, culture and civilization. We will also add weekday events for school groups.  Each Friday Night is “Free Film Night” hosted by CAIR-Philadelphia Branch, and features such film titles as: “Islamic Art-Mirror of the Invisible World”, “Koran By Heart”, “Out of Cordoba”, “Journey to Mecca”, “Islam-Africa to America” and “Muhammad-Legacy of a Prophet”. “Out of Cordoba” also features a 17^th Century Antique Qur’an MusHaf Exhibit with an Antique Torah Exhibit.  The MusHaf Exhibit is from the “Timbuktu African Artifacts Museum Exhibit”. Many films will feature a post screening interactive 30 minute lesson plan.

Each successive Saturday and Sunday weekend features major performance and visual arts productions hosted by Masjidullah -The Center for Human Excellence. These programs include:

1) Humanities Lecture & Multi-Media by Prof. Amadou Shakur, University of Barcelona –“ History of the Moors”+”5 Great Islamic Empires”(Weekend Event)-“Islamic Spain, “North Africa”+”West & East Africa”

2) Juried “ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH Student Art Exhibit”

Open to all 10^th–12^th Grade applicants in Tri -State area, PA-NJ-DE.  This will be a 14 day exhibition from October 14-28, 2015 juried by Baba Kenya, Faraz Khan, and Aisha Holland.

3) Official Gala Event-“Songs in Praise of Allah”

This is a special showcase of individual Muslim Male and Female Vocalists, Musicians, and Performance Artists who write and produce their own praise songs celebrating worship and adoration of the Creator. Program opens with Child Qur’an Recitation and Adhaan.  This year presents: Sahir El-Amin, plus Female Vocalist, and from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, “Dawah Ensemble” (ATL) and “Innove Gnawa Band” (Morocco) featuring Traditional Moroccan Gnawa Music & Songs.

4) Arabic Calligraphy Exhibit & Islamic Arts

 Demonstration Work shop – Faraz Khan-Princeton University Artist in Residence (Pakistan)

5) “Living History Heritage Project” & “Forgotten Roots”-Muslims in Early America

The powerful unforgettable dramatic performances of Omar ibn Sayyid from “The Life & Times of Omar ibn Sayyid”and “Muhammad Ali ibn Sayyid-292 United States Colored Troops”.

 *Special Museum Relic Exhibit”-Handwritten Arabic Quranic Writings by Abdur Rahman Ibrahima ibn Sori (Prince Among Slaves) and Omar ibn Sayyid-Courtesy of Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1828 Handwritten Arabic Surah Fatiha by Abdur Rahman Ibrahima (Prince Among Slaves)

“Forgotten Roots”-Muslims in Early America

Amir Muhammad-American Islamic Heritage Museum (DC)

“Forgotten Roots: Muslims in Early America’s” explores and traces the early presence of Muslims in America.  The presentation covers America’s rich Islamic history from the mid 1500s to 20^th century. Learn about some of the famous Muslim personalities in America, how Muslims fought and participated in all American wars, and about some of the many towns in America with Islamic names.

Amir Muhammad is author of seven books and curator of America’s first Islamic Heritage Museum located in Washington, DC.

6) Islamic Arabic Calligraphy Exhibit & Islamic Arts

 Demonstration Workshop

Aisha Holland-Master Islamic Arabic Calligrapher (USA)

Aisha Holland is a Master Calligrapher of Arabic and Latin Letters with Ijazah Certificate fromTurkey.

7) “Forbidden Love” Dramatic Theatre Production-Featuring Post Performance Q & A by Kaliek Hayes & Bilal Islam

              Childhoods Lost Productions

“When two worlds collide…things are not always what they seem.”

8) “History of Islam in Philadelphia”

Photographic exhibit by Nationally Renown Photographer/ Archivist-Fareed Numan

Where will the funds go?

Our Target Goal for Launch Good is $11,500.  The total projected budget forISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH is approximately $13,500-$14,000. We have secured $5,000,which only leaves $8,500-$9,000 balance which must be obtained by donations. We need to crowd fund $11,500 in order to have a net $8,500-$9,000. Out of the $11,500 target goal for Launch Good crowd fundraising, at least 25-26% will pay for fee percentages, Pay Pal percentages, and purchase/production cost and shipping for sponsors prizes.  Also included is $400 to purchase “1001 Inventions & Awesome Facts from Muslim Civilization” books from National Geographic to be given FREE to teachers and educators with student groups of 10 or more. The remaining 75% ($8,500-$9,000) balance is added to our $5000 secured funds. This will pay everything from humanities experts, performance artist and visual artist fees, as well as radio and media advertisements, promotions, graphic artists, various formats printed ads, signage and exhibit installations.

*The majority of our humanities experts, presenters, performance and visual artists are from out-of state, and travel expenses are included in their fees.

Our Track Record

Images of the Motherland-Interactive Theatre is a501 (c) 3 Non Profit registered 1999 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

Our primary dramatic enrichment educational heritage programs are relevant to the lives of Muslims enslaved in Antebellum US History through Emancipation Proclamation.

We tour the United States, providing audiences with a rare and unique dramatic experience of the lives of historical African Muslim personages, and their lives in Africa, before they were captured and enslaved in the Americas.  Two of our major productions are: “Living History Heritage Project” and “Timbuktu African Artifacts Exhibit”.  “Living History Heritage Project” features dramatic productions of the lives of Omar ibn Sayyid, and Muhammad Ali ibn Sayyid, based upon their autobiographies.

Our programs include the best “known and unknown” historical dramatic character reenactments, like Abdur Rahman Ibrahima- The Prince Among Slaves, the newly created story of “Bilali Muhammad-Almamy of Sapelo Island GA’ and our ever expanding traveling museum exhibits, “Timbuktu African Artifacts Exhibit” and humanities scholars. We have cultivated and collaborated with numerous Non-Profit groups to bring annual quality enrichment programing to the general public.  As a result of these programs, Images of the Motherland-Interactive Theatre has attained exceptional recognition from scholars and laymen, as well as numerous annual awards from Guide star , Great Non Profits and D&B. Our public profiles and annual awards garnered are a testament to the quality of our productions and their educational value.  We produce lesson plans for all our historical dramatic productions, and partner with other educational publishers like History A&E, UPF-TV, Penguin Random House Publishers and others to provide FREE educational aids and publications to our audiences.  We are the only production company with this content and quality in the US.

Source: ICNW