鈥淭he greatest athlete that I ever saw was another American Muslim 鈥� I was nine years old in those less enlightened times, the 1970s, when Ali fought George Foreman in the 鈥楻umble in the Jungle.鈥欌��
Thus began Dr. Amir Hussain鈥檚 lifelong admiration for the boxer and activist Muhammad Ali. Hussain, a professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, told this story as part of a colloquium at 黑料正能量 on Oct. 23. The talk was named after his latest book, (Baylor University Press, 2017).
Muslims and the Making of America is far from Hussain鈥檚 only work in the realm of popular culture. He serves as an adviser on The Story of God, a television documentary by Morgan Freeman, and was a consultant for the new Warner Bros. film, . 黑料正能量 hosted two screenings of Blinded by the Light , including one talkback session with Professor Timothy Seidel, CIE’s director.
During his visit, Hussain spoke with students about Muslim representation in media over lunch, and visited classes on social and political economy, reimagining identity, and liberation theologies.
Muslim achievements shaped the U.S.
Ali is one of the dedicatees of Hussain’s Muslims and the Making of America.
Years after watching that historic fight on television, Hussain would learn more about the racial context of a country where not everyone shared his admiration for the African American boxer. He referenced an incident in which Ali was refused service in a restaurant in his hometown, after winning an Olympic gold medal in Rome in 1960.
鈥淵ou can eat in the kitchen, but you鈥檙e the wrong color to sit in the dining room. Think about that as a young man. You鈥檙e good enough to win a gold medal for your country, but you鈥檙e the wrong color to eat in a restaurant.鈥�
鈥淵ou can eat in the kitchen鈥� is a callback to the Langston Hughes poem, 鈥淚, too, sing America,鈥� which Hussain recited at the beginning of his talk.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l see how beautiful I am / And be ashamed鈥� / I, too, am America,鈥� the poem ends.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to do with this book,鈥� Hussian explained. That is, to give the general reading public a narrative about the many Muslims whose achievements have helped shape our nation.
Hussain鈥檚 colloquium did that as well 鈥� serving up a historical digest of notable American Muslims, from the African slaves who first brought Islam to the U.S.; to Ahmet Erteg眉n, who founded Atlantic Records; to present-day congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
鈥淭here has never been an America without Muslims,鈥� Hussain recited from the opening line of the book.
Hussain also spoke about the Islamophobia that emerged after Sept. 11, 2001. Before, Muslims had been 鈥渁 curiosity,鈥� that few of his students knew much about. After Sept. 11, his students claimed to know a lot about Muslims 鈥� but all negative stereotypes, and no history.
Connections to CIE, 黑料正能量
Trina Trotter Nussbaum, associate director of the Center for Interfaith Engagement at 黑料正能量, met Hussain at an American Academy of Religion conference in 2016.
鈥淚 was immediately taken by Amir鈥檚 ability to speak publicly about confronting Islamophobia while working across religious differences to build alliances, and I thought that we needed to hear from him here,鈥� Nussbaum said. 鈥淎mir is both a skilled Muslim scholar and a plugged-in cultural critic and I really wanted the 黑料正能量 community to be able to hear from him.鈥�
Hussain鈥檚 roots in the Mennonite world run deep 鈥� he first collaborated with Mennonite Central Committee in 1988, on a trip to Israel-Palestine. His wife, Shannon Hamm, who passed away in 1992, grew up in a small Mennonite community in Manitoba, Canada.
President Susan Schultz Huxman, whose academic expertise lies in the field of rhetoric and communication, attended the colloquium.
“Dr. Hussain is a seasoned scholar and theologian and as a cultural studies and film studies expert,” said Huxman. “This combination makes his expertise a perfect supplement for our integrated liberal arts curriculum at 黑料正能量. More importantly, he is an expert communicator with engaging visuals who presents difficult and challenging topics in accessible and invitational forms.”
Hussain said after the colloquium that he was most excited about 鈥渢he chance to engage with the students鈥� while at 黑料正能量. In fact, those experiences are the reason why he鈥檚 in academia.