On June 30th, MPV held Phase I of the Muslim Musical Mosaic Project, a humanities and arts project we’ve been working on for the past seven months, thanks to the support of California Humanities a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, our long time friends Jim Kaufman and Marz Atta, and our many donors.
It was a wonderful afternoon of nourishment for the brain and heart with history, genre bending musical performances, and culture. The vision of Phase I of the Project was to develop an authentic American tradition that would create a positive emotional memory for a community that has, and continues to be, demonized and marginalized, and in doing so, pay homage to the various traditions that make up American Muslim culture.
A six-member cohort (pictured below) made up of historians and musicians of diverse cultural backgrounds gathered over the months to co-create original pieces and produce works that stretched our musical expressions, while staying rooted in our individual heritages.
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As creator and producer of the project, I gave the opening remarks before the program began, anchoring the project’s vision with the historical and anthropological contributions of Muslims to America’s music culture. Alfred Madain’s presentation, “The History of Gnawa Music” introduced the historical journey, beginning with the roots of Sufisim and the musicality of the Sufi’s spiritual practice and its evolution to Gnawa, a musical genre created by West Africans enslaved in Morocco. Together we performed a Gnawa song in Arabic and in English.
LuFuki’s presentation, “Black Muslim Influence on Music in America” connected the evolution of songs from the enslaved in America to what we know now was Blues, Jazz, Funk and Hip Hop. It is said that one-third of the enslaved individuals brought to the United States were Muslims, and his presentation drew a clear link between the intonation of the field call of the enslaved to the distinctive West African Muslim prayers. LuFuki also delved into the lives of Muslim jazz musicians and how their conversion to Islam offered them the opportunity to free themselves from the religion of their enslavers. Additionally, in learning and speaking Arabic, these early Black American Muslims gained access to spaces that were off limits to Black Americans, but not Black foreigners, during the Jim Crow era.
The musical performance of Blues Salawat was Tazeen Ayub’s form of spiritual expression in Arabic over a blues track, followed by my song “In My Soul”, a new genre I refer to as Islamic Hymns. The song’s lyrics are inspired by a poem by a female Sufi saint, Rabi’a Al-Adawiyya (also known as Rabi’a al-Basri) from 7th century Iraq, set to my original composition in the classical genre. The song begins with:
“In my soul there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church where I kneel.
Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist”
Aiman Khan performed “Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim” which translates to “the merciful and the compassionate”, followed by a performance by Farah Mitha “One Love, One Heart” a song developed using a percussive rhythm from the Nubian tradition.
The event concluded with a brief question and answer session, which allowed myself and my fellow cohort members to address the censorship of the arts in Muslim communities in the United States and Europe, a topic that will serve as the foundation of Phase 2 of the project.
Click on the hyperlinks for videos and presentations!
Onward and upward…
Ani Zonneveld,
President & Founder
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MPV is affiliated with two events at the High-Level Political Forum in New York.
Thursday, July 11, 2024, from 1:00-2:30 pm
You are invited to Gender Equality in Law: Action Needed to Achieve SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda, an official side event of the 2024 High-Level Political Forum, at UN Women Headquarters. This event is sponsored by the Steering Committee of Equality in Law for Women and Girls by 2030, and will increase support and allies’ capacity for action to achieve gender-responsive legislation and advance state commitments and global goals pertaining to gender equality, including SDG16. Speakers include affected activists as well as high-level representatives from the Secretary-General’s Office, UN Women, Member State missions, and the World Bank.
Please register here to join us in person. Due to limited seating, in person attendance is reserved for official participants in the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, including government, UN, and participating HLPF civil society representatives.
All other interested attendees are warmly invited to participate online by registering at this link. Arabic and French interpretation will be available to online attendees.
For any questions, please visit the event website. We look forward to welcoming you to UN Women soon.
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Tuesday, July 16, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
The Multi-Faith Advisory Council will hold an “Interfaith Collaboration as an Imperative for Building a Sustainable Future” forum.
For the concept note and program outline please visit here.
To register (for both in-person or virtual): Webinar Registration - Zoom
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Essays on Progressive Islam Launch |
Now Available on MPV’s website store! Dr. Adis Duderija has spent 20 years researching and studying progressive Islam. In this newly published collection of essays, Dr. Duderija explores different aspects of progressive Islam, including how it is defined, its philosophical and metaphysical ideas, its social and political implications, its cultural and civilizational dimensions, and its economic relevance. Get your copy below!
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Scholarly Insights - Unit 1 Launch |
To supplement the different units of our recently launched Progressive Islam Curriculum, MPV is partnering with different scholars of Islam to highlight the academic basis of the content of the curriculum. This month Ani Zonneveld was fortunate to speak with Dr. John Andrew Morrow, an academic and author of one of our favorite books, "The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World", about Unit 1 of the curriculum, "What is Islam?". You can watch his insights below.
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MPV is proud to announce the launch of Unit 3 of the Progressive Islam Curriculum - Hermeneutics of Progressive Islam! Unit 3 introduces readers to the science of hermeneutics and the various ways that hermeneutics can be used to understand Islam in a progressive way. The unit also reviews the hermeneutical approaches of 3 scholars to highlight the diversity of the tradition and underscore intersecting themes used to read human rights in the Qur’an.
You can download Unit 1, 2, and 3 of the curriculum on our website below!
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Muslims for Progressive Values is proud to announce the publishing of the Mental Health Counseling of LGBTQ+ Muslims Toolkit. Written by Afnan Elmaghrabi, the toolkit is a culturally competent training program designed for formal and informal mental health counselors to compassionately and appropriately work with LGBTQ+ Muslims. Download the toolkit and learn more about the training program below. |
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We are excited to share that we’ll be launching an MPV-Arabic page in August. Stay tuned for further updates! |
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MPV Boston - Eastern Edge |
Muslims for Progressive Values-Boston chapter hosted the show "Eastern (Edge): Welcoming Spring with Music and Art” on June 9th at the Cambridge Public Library. The contents ranged from traditional singing to experimental performance, as well as visual art that engages both tradition and modernity. The visual artists on display included Nadia Khan (top right), Sehr Yaqoob and Sameeta Ahmed (top left). The performers included: Ammara Nawaz Khan, Maia Majumder, Mustufa Taj, Tamanna Syed, Alaa Aldeen Kayali, Sami Saifullah as well as Sameeta Ahmed.
The Co-Director of MPV-Boston, Kandeel Javid expressed in the intro that “Islam has strong roots of Arts and Music since the 7th century, and the Arts connects us to the rest of the world and it is crucial”. Co-Director Nadia Khan stated that “we celebrate the divine aspects of Al-Musawwir, the shaper of all forms, and the speaker of “kun faya kun” (Be! and it is). Our love for beauty brings us closer together and to the One who connects us all”.
The event was co-sponsored by these organizations: Boston South Asian Coalition (BSAC), Coalition for a Democratic India, Hindus for Human Rights, Party of Socialism and Liberation (PSL)-Boston and SouthAsia Peace Action Network (SAPAN).
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MPV-Boston participated in ‘No Pride in Genocide’ march (top) that took place in Providence, RI with our comrades Party of Socialism and Liberation RI . We demand for a #Ceasefire now in Palestine.
MPV-Boston was also delighted to have their first ever Eid-ul Adha (bottom) communal prayer with in-person and virtual attendees. Community members enjoyed the sermon on the importance of gender inclusive prayers spaces for women and marginalized minorities.
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The New York chapter of Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) celebrated Eid al-Adha with a vibrant potluck, welcoming many new participants to the community. The event was honored by the presence of staff from Assemblyman Steven Raga’s office, who joined in the festivities, showcasing their support for the inclusive and community-driven spirit of MPV-NY. |
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Join MPV NY for a night of games and camaraderie on Saturday July 20 from 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM at Hex & Co! There’s limited space available so make sure to get your tickets below ASAP. We look forward to seeing you there! |
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Thank you to those that joined our “MPV Chicago Restart” meeting in June. We continue to be excited about the opportunity to restart and grow our Chicago community.
July 30: MPV-Chicago will be hosting our monthly meetup. Additional details can be found at the link below!
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Last month, Muslims across the world traveled to Mecca to make hajj but devastating news came from this holy pilgrimage, with hundreds succumbing to heat exhaustion. Our new piece on the blog, by guest writing Mustafa Haque, details the impact that climate change and extreme weather will have on the pilgrimage and the steps that need to be taken to prevent future tragedy. |
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Connect with us on our social platforms! |
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