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Newsday on America to Zanzibar

Here is a Newsday article on the exhibit America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far, at The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, for which I was the lead academic advisor. It’s a good chance to shout out my friends from high school. “Our goal is to have children deal with differences in a healthy, positive way and encourage them to be inquisitive while exploring the world instead of running away from its differences,” Rashid said, an experience not so different from his years growing up in Elmont.  

America to Zanzibar elumenati Video

elumenati is the company that did a wonderful immersive architectural experience for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan‘s America to Zanzibar exhibit. They have posted a promo video that only hints at how great the experience is.  

Review: Domestic Crusaders

I have to imagine that writing fiction about Muslim-Americans is a thankless task. People from outside the community are already pre-disposed to like it or hate it. Unless you’re Rizwan Manji, Aasif Mandvi, or Aziz Ansari, you can’t quite draw the crowds to be able to change minds. Of course, you also get heat from inside the community. People will invariably say “it doesn’t represent me,” “it’s not my experience.” These same people will simultaneously identify with Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and support Umrao Jaan Ada, but will not have empathy with Muslim-American characters because it is not exactly their experience.…