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Community Corner

Dominican University and local libraries present discussion on resurgence of the Muslim veil

Dominican University’s Rebecca Crown Library, in collaboration with the Oak Park and River Forest public libraries, continues the community-wide Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys program with a discussion on Tuesday, February 25 on A Quiet Revolution: The Veil’s Resurgence, from the Middle East to America by Leila Ahmed. The discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the university’s Springer Suites located in the Rebecca Crown Library, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. 

A Quiet Revolution explores the resurgence, since the 1940s, of the wearing of the veil and headscarf by Muslim women, including feminists, university graduates and professionals. Ahmed, a Harvard University divinity professor, grew up in Cairo in the 1940s and 1950s as part of a generation of women who preferred to go unveiled in a statement bearing no relation to their religious commitment. In the book, she discusses the changing attitudes about women’s dress in the Islamic world and the controversy of the veil in many Western countries.

This discussion will be led by Hind Makki, an interfaith educator who develops and delivers training programs on civic engagement through interfaith action and youth empowerment. She co-developed One Chicago, One Nation, an Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) initiative that connected diverse Chicagoans through interfaith dialogue, community service and philanthropy. In 2008, she participated in the “Muslim Youth Project” exchange program to The Netherlands and is a Fellow of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI). She has appeared on Al Jazeera’s "The Stream," was featured in The Economist, and has published in The New York Times. Makki holds a degree in international relations from Brown University.

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This discussion is part of a series of programs designed to provide area residents with a comprehensive introduction to Islamic art, culture and history. The series revolves around a collection of books and materials, funded through grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA), which are available at all three participating libraries.

For more information, please contact Jessica Mackinnon, director of public information at Dominican University, at jmack@dom.edu.

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Our next and final book discussion, which will focus on The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States, will be held on Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. in Dominican University’s Springer Suites. Dr. Aly Drame, Dominican University assistant professor of history, will lead a discussion focusing on the Nation of Islam.

 

 

 

 

 

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