Arbaeen, and the commemoration of Imam Hussain's stand for justice, is a time for Muslims to reflect on how they too can live principled lives. This Muharram, as we remember the heartbreaking story of water being withheld from those who desperately needed it in Karbala, we must also confront similar present-day injustices in our own communities.
To help us live up to example of compassion and empathy set by the Prophet (pbuh) and his family, please join us for an enlightening conversation with Dr. Sylvia Chan-Malik, who will discuss our moral and ethical imperatives as Muslims to be stewards of the earth and seek justice in our food systems. In particular, she will address the importance of food sovereignty, growing our own food, and ethical meat production through a discussion of the terms “halal” and “tayyib." Sheikh Jafar Muhibullah will continue the conversation by reminding us of our religious obligation as Muslims to care for those impacted by hunger and poor food access.
Professor Sylvia Chan-Malik is an associate professor at Rutgers-New Brunswick, where she directs the Social Justice Program, chairs the Faculty Advisory Board of the Center for Islamic Life (CILRU), and teaches courses on race and ethnicity in the United States, Islam in/and America, social justice movements, and food justice. She is the author of Being Muslim: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam (NYU Press, 2018), and her commentary and writing has appeared in numerous scholarly anthologies and journals, as well as media venues such as NPR, Slate News, The Intercept, Middle East Eye, Daily Beast, PRI, Huffington Post, Patheos, Religion News Service, and more. Dr. Chan-Malik holds a Ph.D in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Mills College, and is an advisory board member of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC).
Shaykh Jafar Muhibullah is a resident scholar and Imam of the Ahlul Bayt Association in Austin, Texas. Shaykh Jafar is a native English speaker, fluent in Arabic and Farsi, and holds a Masters degree in Islamic Studies from Duke University and a Bachelors degree in Islamic Law and Theology from Qum.